Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
The English Patient  By  cover art

The English Patient

By: Michael Ondaatje
Narrated by: Jennifer Ehle
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $20.25

Buy for $20.25

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

1992 Booker Prize

With ravishing beauty and unsettling intelligence, Michael Ondaatje's Booker Prize-winning novel traces the intersection of four damaged lives in an Italian villa at the end of World War II. Hana, the exhausted nurse; the maimed thief, Caravaggio; the wary sapper, Kip: Each is haunted by the riddle of the English patient, the nameless, burned man who lies in an upstairs room and whose memories of passion, betrayal, and rescue illuminate this book like flashes of heat lightening.

©2011 Michael Ondaatje (P)2022 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"A rare and spellbinding web of dreams." (Time)

"Sensuous, mysterious, rhapsodic, it transports the reader to another world.... Ondaatje's most probing examination yet of the nature of identity." (San Francisco Chronicle)

"Mr. Ondaatje [is] one of North America's finest novelists.... The spell of his haunted villa remains with us, inviting us to reread passages for the pure pleasure of being there." (Wall Street Journal)

Featured Article: Audible Essentials—The Top 100 Screen Adaptations of All Time


As the category of great page-to-screen storytelling continues to grow, we scoured our libraries, grilled audiophiles and cinephiles, and vetted the entire Audible catalog for the 100 greatest screen adaptations for watchers and listeners alike. These are the stories that inspired some of the greatest on-screen stories of all time, from Academy Award winners and cult classics to must-see TV. They're well worth the price of admission.

What listeners say about The English Patient

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    37
  • 4 Stars
    12
  • 3 Stars
    8
  • 2 Stars
    6
  • 1 Stars
    3
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    33
  • 4 Stars
    8
  • 3 Stars
    4
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    3
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    28
  • 4 Stars
    12
  • 3 Stars
    6
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    2

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Ms
  • 12-29-22

Beautiful writing!

Such wonderful imagery called up concerning four outstanding characters. The words had such a lovely and mysterious flow.
Everything was woven like a tapestry with rich colors and content.

The reader did a beautiful job! I never wanted it to end.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

A literary masterpiece

A literary masterpiece, and well-researched historical fiction. You’d think Ondaatje was once a sapper himself. The author’s poetic talents are on full display and the prose is beautiful and haunting as the mystery of the “English patient” is revealed. All the characters have lost something very dear to them, their lives rendered apart by a great war and their own foibles. It’s a tragic yet poignant story of loves that could not endure. Excellent narration and cadence by Jennifer Ehle.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

So beautiful!

Highly recommend listening even if you may have read prior as I had. The beautiful words and prose come alive with the narration.
This novel is a treasure trove of deep meaning and irony. I feel I have been educated after reading. Thank you Michael Ondaatje

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

beautifully written

great. except for how the name "Laszlo" was pernounced. I highly recommend this book

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Elegant and Evocative

Jennifer Ehle gives a steady well modulated performance to this elegantly and evocatively written novel.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A pleasure to read a well-written book . GREAT

Loved it. Beautiful book. i read it and listened to it on Audible. Great narrator. It was even a beautiful movie.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Wow. I can't believe I waited so long!

So cerebral. so raw. Each paragraph a love letter to language. Very well read. An impossible story that makes you believe, even when you don't want to.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Mesmerizing

Listening to Jennifer Ehle read this is a delight!
It made my travels much more palatable!
I saw the movie long ago and didn’t really get it…I am ready to watch it again, but I usually prefer the book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

El Paciente Inglés

Me encanto leer esta novela y me dio una mejor visión de los personajes mas que en el filme.
Los detalles históricos fueron impresionantes.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A Captivating Story

I felt transported into the story that surrounds the moment by moment lives altered by realities of war. A sad tale but well done.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!