The book examines Michael Ondaatje's presentation of fictional post-colonial migrants and their quest for a post-colonial identity in their new Western surroundings as portrayed in three of Ondaatje's novels: Anil's Ghost, The English Patient and In the Skin of a Lion. The focus of the book is to determine if there is a distinct affinity between Ondaatje's migrants' colonial past and the identity confusion they encounter in their present migrant milieu. Through an analysis of the colonial/post-colonial elements of memory, location, silence and resistance this book explores how and to what extent a modern-day migrant's individual construction of post-colonial identity is disrupted by his/her preoccupation with the collective ancestral colonial heritage. The book reveals how the concept of post-colonial haunting is not one dimensional but multifaceted, as the post-colonial migrant is not only haunted by his/her recollections of the collective historical conscience but also by an anxiety of the emergence of a novel form of colonialism that will oppress him/her anew.

Autorentext

Chamindri Ayomi Liyanage obtained her Bachelor of Arts (Honours) degree in English Literature from the University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka.She is in the final stages of completing her Master of Arts in Linguistics. She is a literature enthusiast, a teacher of Speech and Drama and a lecturer of English. Her newest passion is Literary Linguistics.

Klappentext

The book examines Michael Ondaatje's presentation of fictional post-colonial migrants and their quest for a post-colonial identity in their new Western surroundings as portrayed in three of Ondaatje's novels: Anil's Ghost, The English Patient and In the Skin of a Lion. The focus of the book is to determine if there is a distinct affinity between Ondaatje's migrants' colonial past and the identity confusion they encounter in their present migrant milieu. Through an analysis of the colonial/post-colonial elements of memory, location, silence and resistance this book explores how and to what extent a modern-day migrant's individual construction of post-colonial identity is disrupted by his/her preoccupation with the collective ancestral colonial heritage. The book reveals how the concept of post-colonial haunting is not one dimensional but multifaceted, as the post-colonial migrant is not only haunted by his/her recollections of the collective historical conscience but also by an anxiety of the emergence of a novel form of colonialism that will oppress him/her anew.