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Jun 19, 2018RogerDeBlanck rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
In the Skin of a Lion is at once a spellbinding tale of self-discovery, a tragic love affair, and a searing mystery. It is a novel exploring the depths of identity, remorse, failure, and hope. When Patrick Lewis leaves the wilderness of Canada's frontier and relocates in Toronto, he becomes a “searcher” investigating the disappearance of a famous entrepreneur named Ambrose Small. While in pursuit of the elusive millionaire, Patrick begins a torrid romance with Small’s enigmatic mistress, Clara Dickins, and later on with her equally secretive friend, Alice Gull. Elements of these stories branch off and reconnect as other characters appear and take precedence, including the inscrutable thief Caravaggio and the precocious child Hana, the daughter of Alice. Everyone’s story is fascinating and the poetic prose in which Ondaatje delivers the stories leaves you enchanted and aching for more. Indeed, with his mesmerizing and evocative style, Ondaatje’s work can feel magical and oftentimes inimitable in its beauty. He is seamless at intersecting stories and people across time and through places, and he integrates myth with history to dig deeply into the realms of human experience. When reading Ondaatje, the world expands and becomes redefined through his vision. In the Skin of a Lion is a remarkable novel from one of the world’s most preeminent writers.