Anil's Ghost Summary

The best way to recognise an excellent book is to give it an award. Anil’s Ghost is an excellent book, and it is without a doubt worthy of the Governor generals Award. Anil’s Ghost was written by the award winning author, Michael Ondaatje, and it was published in 2000. The novel starts with Anil Tessera returning to her home country, from the west, where she had been studying to become a forensic anthropologist. She had returned, to investigate mysterious deaths that are plaguing the country. Her and her co worker, Sarath, exhume a body on government land, and together they thoroughly research him. Anil has been asked to create a presentation, on their skeleton. However, the skeleton is stolen, and the rest of the presentation goes seriously.
It is no surprise to hear of families getting torn apart, because of injuries from the war, and from suicide: people are killing themselves, so they can get away from the horrors of war. Ananda was trying to commit suicide, when he “was lying against a corner, trying with what energy he had left to stab himself in the throat” (Ondaatje 196). Furthermore, there are many people losing family members, because of public bombs, and other devastating acts of murder occurring in Sri Lanka. These people must for sure feel deep hatred towards the insurgents. Consequently, the hospitals are so full of wounded people, that doctors are working overtime, to attempt to help as many people as they can. A specific example of a doctor doing this, is Gamini. Gamini works overtime, literally night and day, catching a few hours of sleep here and there, and consuming protein drinks to keep him awake. Many people are sent away, simply because the hospital's can only treat so many wounded. In addition, this country is not safe to live in, from the insurgents constantly killing. Bombs will randomly blow up in a public place, killing and injuring hundreds of subjects: even the president was reduced to millions of pieces, when a rebel set off a