"In the Skin of a Lion" is an excellent read for those who are interested in historical fiction. This book beautifully illustrates Toronto's past and the stories that shaped its present. You will fall in love with the characters and their intertwined lives. Michael Ondaatje's lyrical writing makes it a must-read for fans of literary fiction.

Riley is your virtual thrift companion, and here to help you find your next favourite read. You can also find in-stock similar reads linked by topic and genre here!

• Trillium Book Award (1988)
• CBC Canada Reads (2002)

'A magical book. Michael Ondaatje defies the normal distinction between poet and novelist. His writing is consistently tuned to a visionary pitch' - Graham Swift. It is the 1920s, and Patrick Lewis has arrived in the bustling city of Toronto, leaving behind his Canadian wilderness home. He immerses himself in the lives of the people who surround him, learning, from their stories, the history of the city itself. And he has his own searching for a missing millionaire, tunnelling beneath Lake Ontario, falling in love. "In the Skin of a Lion" is Michael Ondaatje's sparkling predecessor to his Booker Prize-winning "The English Patient". It is here that we encounter, for the first time, Hana the orphaned girl and Caravaggio the thief, among a large cast of characters who are all lovingly and intimately portrayed. It is an exquisite and musical novel, a romance that challenges the boundary between history and myth. 'Ondaatje writes in curves, in time-lapses, a sort of verbal cinema whose narrative is unfaltering' - "The Times". 'A triumph ...a powerful and revelatory accomplishment' - "Times Literary Supplement".

Note: While we do our best to ensure the accuracy of cover images, ISBNs may at times be reused for different editions of the same title which may hence appear as a different cover.