Making Canada while Narrating it: Michael Ondaatje’s In the Skin of a Lion

Authors

  • Pia Masiero Università Ca' Foscari di Venezia

Keywords:

Ondaatje, identity, postmodernism, Canada

Abstract

This article addresses the themes which, unquestionably, Michael Ondaatje’s In the Skin of a Lion deals with, starting from an exploration of the formal choices structuring the book. Specifically, it argues that positing Patrick Lewis as (an impossible) narrator goes a long way in reinforcing formally Ondaatje’s thematic concerns, namely, the problematic relationship between center and periphery, between Toronto documented official history and the undocumented and unofficial stories of its protagonists.

Costruire il Canada narrandolo: In the Skin of a Lion di Michael Ondaatje
Questo articolo affronta i temi che sono al centro del romanzo di Michael Ondaatje In the Skin of a Lion a partire dalla presentazione delle scelte formali che strutturano il libro. In specifico, il lavoro dimostra come indicare Patrick Lewis come narratore (impossibile) abbia l’effetto di rispecchiare formalmente i temi cari all’autore, in modo particolare, il rapporto tra centro e periferia, tra la storia ufficiale documentata di Toronto e le storie invisibili dei suoi protagonisti.

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References

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Caracciolo, M. (2014): The Experienciality of Narrative. An Enactivist Approach. Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter.

Dave (2006): Michael Ondaatje’s Cubist Civil War. Interview. Retrieved from http://www.powells.com/post/interviews/michael-ondaatjes-cubist-civil-war

Fludernik, M. (1996): Towards a ‘Natural’ Narratology. London: Routledge.

Hutcheon, L. (1988): The Canadian Postmodern. Toronto: Oxford UP.

James, D. (2012): Modernist Futures: Innovation and Inheritance in the Contemporary Novel. NewYork: Cambridge University.

Greenstein, M. (1990): Ondaatje’s Metamorphoses. In The Skin of a Lion”. Canadian Literature, 126, pp. 116-130.

Ondaatje, M. (1988): In The Skin of a Lion. London: Picador.

Salgado, M. (2003): Nonlinear Dynamics and the Diasporic Imagination. In M. Fludernik (Ed.), Diaspora and Multiculturalism (pp.183-198). Amsterdam: Rodopi.

Schumacher, R. (1996): Patrick’s Quest: Narration and Subjectivity in Michael Ondaatje’s in the Skin of a Lion. Studies in Canadian Literature / Études en littérature canadienne, 21, 2, pp. 1-21.

Published

2021-12-29

How to Cite

Masiero, P. (2021). Making Canada while Narrating it: Michael Ondaatje’s In the Skin of a Lion. Oltreoceano - Rivista Sulle Migrazioni, (11), 79–88. Retrieved from https://riviste.lineaedizioni.it/index.php/oltreoceano/article/view/161