I read this for university. In my opinion, it should get 1 star, but at the same time, it does not deserve it. I just did not connect with the writing at all, which prevented me from connecting with the characters and the story. I also found the story boring at times, which was really unfortunate. At times, I actually found the relationships between the characters in the villa fascinating, but then there were several chapters in a row with mostly flashbacks, and I lost interest again. In the end, I just wanted to finish the book as fast as possible, and I had honestly given up on the book and the story.

If you like the poetic prose, then this is a book for you. It was not my taste at all.

Ondaatje's descriptions of the desert/desert communities and the sappers' work were, for me, the most compelling aspects of this novel. I was also charmed by the family/community the characters build within Villa San Girolamo. Several times, Ondaatje employs an original and effective literary device in which his characters recount the conclusion of a story (and the reader is confused) before they immediately recount the events leading up to the conclusion (so the reader's confusion is resolved). Interesting commentary on the role of race in war and in the historical and future American use of nuclear bombs. Caravaggio starts as such an intriguing and even funny character, but Ondaatje largely ignores him in the later stages of the book. The ending is abrupt and felt somewhat unresolved.

I really loved this book. The characters, the writing style, the intertextual references, the way narration weaves in and out of the present moment to go back to a character's memories they share with the others… it's beautiful. I think I must've highlighted half of it, mostly because I was so fascinated by the sentences and the relationships.