---
title: "2 Englishmen Quotes By Michael Ondaatje"
description: "2 Englishmen quotes by Michael Ondaatje. Plus more from Michael Ondaatje and more Englishmen sayings from other authors."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f46/michael-ondaatje-940_bombing_so-the-books-for-the-englishman-as-he-li_2578330.jpg"
---

> [So the books for the Englishman, as he listened intently or not, had gaps of plot like sections of a road washed out by storms, missing incidents as if locusts had consumed a section of tapestry, as if plaster loosened…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ondaatje/so-the-books-for-the-englishman-as-he-listened-intently-or-not-had/)

[Michael Ondaatje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ondaatje/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f46/michael-ondaatje-940_bombing_so-the-books-for-the-englishman-as-he-li_2578330.jpg)

> [I want the marginality to come into the center. This is the thing I was conscious of growing up, when I later lived in England. I saw all these war movies that came out shortly after the war, and they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ondaatje/i-want-the-marginality-to-come-into-the-center-this-is-the-thing-i/)

[Michael Ondaatje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ondaatje/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/588/michael-ondaatje-940_allies_i-want-the-marginality-to-come-into-the_2826193.jpg)

## Other authors on Englishmen

## More by Michael Ondaatje

> [“In spite of this, our table's status on the Oronsay continued to be minimal, while those at the Captain's Table were constantly toasting to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ondaatje/in-spite-of-this-our-table-s-status-on-the-oronsay-continued-to-be/)

[Michael Ondaatje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ondaatje/)

> [He will hear the rain before he feels it, a clicking on the dry grass, on the olive leaves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ondaatje/he-will-hear-the-rain-before-he-feels-it-a-clicking-on-the-dry-grass/)

[Michael Ondaatje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ondaatje/)

> [“Whenever her father was alone with a dog in a house he would lean over and smell the skin at the base of its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ondaatje/whenever-her-father-was-alone-with-a-dog-in-a-house-he-would-lean/)

[Michael Ondaatje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ondaatje/)

> [“...those who had risked everything at a riverbend on a left turn and so discovered a fortune.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ondaatje/those-who-had-risked-everything-at-a-riverbend-on-a-left-turn-and-so/)

[Michael Ondaatje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ondaatje/)

> [“All over the world there must be people like us, Anna had said then, wounded in some way by falling in love - seemingly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ondaatje/all-over-the-world-there-must-be-people-like-us-anna-had-said-then/)

[Michael Ondaatje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ondaatje/)

> [Her father had taught her about hands. About a dog's paws. Whenever her father was alone with a dog in a house he would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ondaatje/her-father-had-taught-her-about-hands-about-a-dog-s-paws-whenever-her/)

[Michael Ondaatje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ondaatje/)

> [What is interesting and important happens mostly in secret, in places where there is no power. Nothing much of lasting value ever happens at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ondaatje/what-is-interesting-and-important-happens-mostly-in-secret-in-places/)

[Michael Ondaatje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ondaatje/)

> [There's more danger in the violence you don't face.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ondaatje/there-s-more-danger-in-the-violence-you-don-t-face/)

[Michael Ondaatje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ondaatje/)

> [From this point on, she whispered, we will either find or lose our souls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ondaatje/from-this-point-on-she-whispered-we-will-either-find-or-lose-our-souls/)

[Michael Ondaatje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ondaatje/)

> [“You know it is the most relaxed thing when you when you sit with a best friend and you know there is nothing you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ondaatje/you-know-it-is-the-most-relaxed-thing-when-you-when-you-sit-with-a/)

[Michael Ondaatje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ondaatje/)

> [“There was no control except the " mood of his power... and it is for this reason it is good you never heard him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ondaatje/there-was-no-control-except-the-mood-of-his-power-and-it-is-for-this/)

[Michael Ondaatje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ondaatje/)

> [You're getting everyone's point of view at the same time, which for me, is the perfect state for a novel: a cubist state, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ondaatje/you-re-getting-everyone-s-point-of-view-at-the-same-time-which-for-me/)

[Michael Ondaatje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ondaatje/)

> [I see the poem or the novel ending with an open door.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ondaatje/i-see-the-poem-or-the-novel-ending-with-an-open-door/)

[Michael Ondaatje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ondaatje/)

> [“The Time Around Scars: A girl whom I've not spoken to or shared coffee with for several years writes of an old scar. On…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ondaatje/the-time-around-scars-a-girl-whom-i-ve-not-spoken-to-or-shared-coffee/)

[Michael Ondaatje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ondaatje/)

> [“- Daca ti-as incredinta viata mea, ai scapa-o pe jos. Nu-i asa?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ondaatje/daca-ti-as-incredinta-viata-mea-ai-scapa-o-pe-jos-nu-i-asa/)

[Michael Ondaatje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ondaatje/)

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