Michael Ondaatje

The first sentence of every novel should be: Trust me, this will take time but there is order here, very faint, very human. Meander if you want to get to town. ↗

— Michael Ondaatje

#faint #first #get #here #human

Right now, I have no idea what I will write or if I will write again. ↗

— Michael Ondaatje

#i #idea #no idea #now #right

Research can be a big clunker. It's difficult to know how you can make the historical light. ↗

— Michael Ondaatje

#difficult #historical #how #know #light

Once I've discovered the story, I might restructure it, maybe move things around, set up a clue that something is going to happen later, but that happens much later in an editorial capacity. ↗

— Michael Ondaatje

#capacity #clue #discovered #editorial #going

It's an odd state to be in, blowing the whistle on your home country. ↗

— Michael Ondaatje

#country #home #odd #state #whistle

It's a responsibility of the writer to get the reader out of the story somehow. ↗

— Michael Ondaatje

#out #reader #responsibility #somehow #story

It's a discovery of a story when I write a book, a case of inching ahead on each page and discovering what's beyond in the darkness, beyond where you're writing. ↗

— Michael Ondaatje

#beyond #book #case #darkness #discovering

It doubles your perception, to write from the point of view of someone you're not. ↗

— Michael Ondaatje

#perception #point #point of view #someone #view

In the book the relationship with Katharine and Almasy is sort of only in the patient's mind. ↗

— Michael Ondaatje

#mind #only #patient #relationship #sort

I'm a Canadian citizen. But I always want to feel at home in Sri Lanka. I'm a member of both countries. ↗

— Michael Ondaatje

#both #canadian #citizen #countries #feel