The English Patient - AP Worthy?

Hello, readers! Thank you so much for following my posts while I read The English Patient. This book has quickly become one of my favorites, and I would highly recommend it to anyone who needs a good story to invest in. I could see myself re-reading this book in the future. It’s both rich with beautiful imagery and detail as well as complex in its storytelling, making it a great book to read for pleasure. With that being said, I would also like to tell you why I would recommend this book as part of an AP curriculum.

After taking two AP English classes, I’ve started to figure out what makes a book good for the classroom. Most importantly, it has to be one that students can analyze for a deeper meaning. One example of this that I caught early in the book was Hana’s tendency to read to Almàsy, then read the same book to herself, causing Almàsy to miss large chunks of the story:

“She was not concerned about the Englishman as far as the gaps in plot were concerned. She gave no summary of the missing chapters. She simply brought out the book and said ‘page ninety-six’ or ‘page one hundred and eleven’. That was the only indicator,” (8).

Even through these stories, Hana keeps Almàsy in the dark about certain things despite her love for him. We see that weigh on him at the end of the book, as he has been trapped in the bed as well as his own mind, making life hard to appreciate. I found that this, as well as many other moments for these characters, made the story more compelling and impactful when pieced together.

Michael Ondaatje is very intentional with the details that he puts in his writing. Hana’s quirks, Kip’s big appetite, Caravaggio’s cockiness. They aren’t just there for no particular reason. These characters are crafted to represent the different ways that people deal with war, and how their habits can affect the people around them. They all have a different relationship with their past, the villa, and the state of the world. I could write a whole essay on the relationship between any two characters in this book, which is extremely helpful to a student. In just 320 pages, this book could aid a student in a wide range of essay questions and prompts.

This book’s use of flashbacks makes it a unique choice for an AP class. It was fascinating to see Almàsy’s character unravel through the story of him and Katharine and I think that this section of the book could be the prompt for a project, seminar, or essay. Kip’s experience as a sapper and its ties to racial inequality were also prominent parts of the book that I think could be explored by students. Overall, this book is a thought-provoking read that can still be enjoyed by people my age. I’m so glad I chose to blog about it, as it allowed me to dig deeper into an already incredibly moving story. This book is raw and emotional. It’s an unconventional perspective on World War 2 as it's told from those who have been affected by it without being a part of their country’s military. However, it doesn’t shy away from the horrors of war, but rather makes them feel all the more real and personal. I’d love to see future AP Literature students choose this book for one of their projects as it is such a useful piece of text to be familiar with.

Again, thank you so much for checking in. I’m so glad I could share this story with you, and I hope you read it for yourself if you haven’t already.