Michael Ondaatje’s Struggle between Reality and Fiction in In the Skin of a Lion

Abstract

This article investigates Michael Ondaatje’s In the Skin of a Lion in the light of Frank Kermode’s theory of fiction. It argues that the narrative’s form acts as an important medium by which Ondaatje inscribes the tension between showing respect for the contingency of reality and delivering a satisfying, consoling story. On the one hand, deeply aware of the gap between knowing and living, Ondaatje shows distrust of neat patterns in representing Toronto’s past; the narrative resists linear narrative order to create a multidimensional world that allows different versions of reality to co-exist. On the other hand, the author recognizes the human efforts to counteract time and endorses establishing plots to make sense of one’s life span; the text presents consoling moments of synthesis that illuminate the protagonist Patrick’s existence in time. The study highlights the correspondence of Ondaatje’s poetics and his thematic concern with the pursuit of meaning; by experimenting with its form, Ondaatje’s narrative encourages us to reflect on sense-making as well as the ways of sense-making.