Michael Ondaatje’s stunning novel takes place during the final moments of the Second World War. It explores the lives of four people who come together in a damaged villa in Tuscany as the war retreats around a young Canadian nurse; an enigmatic thief whose skills have made him one of the war’s heroes as well as one of its casualties; a Sikh soldier in the British army; and the English patient, who lies badly burned in an upstairs room. It is his adventures and turbulent love affair in the North African desert before the war, gradually uncovered, that become the centre around which these people’s past and present lives unfold.

Set mainly in Italy, this is a breathtaking story of love and passion that arcs back in time to Canada, to London during the Blitz and the intricacies of bomb disposal, and to the mysterious, often dangerous world of desert exploration.

Michael Ondaatje brings his formidable poetic and narrative powers to bear on the destiny of his characters. In luminous prose, he reveals the complex impact of public conflict on private lives.

迈克尔•翁达杰（Michael Ondaatje，1943-）加拿大小说家、诗人。出生于斯里兰卡，11岁时随母亲来到英国，19岁移居加拿大，接受高等教育。到目前为止，翁达杰共出版6部长篇小说、10余部诗集和其他一些非虚构作品。1992年出版的《英国病人》获得英国布克奖和加拿大总督奖，根据小说改编的同名电影大获成功。2007年出版的小说《遥望》获得总督奖。翁达杰的小说，融合了爵士乐的节奏、电影的蒙太奇手法，语言深刻而优美。