--- product_id: 1697088 title: "Running in the Family (Vintage International)" brand: "michael ondaatje" price: "VT4464" currency: VUV in_stock: true reviews_count: 6 url: https://www.desertcart.vu/products/1697088-running-in-the-family-vintage-international store_origin: VU region: Vanuatu --- # Running in the Family (Vintage International) **Brand:** michael ondaatje **Price:** VT4464 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Running in the Family (Vintage International) by michael ondaatje - **How much does it cost?** VT4464 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.vu](https://www.desertcart.vu/products/1697088-running-in-the-family-vintage-international) ## Best For - michael ondaatje enthusiasts ## Why This Product - Trusted michael ondaatje brand quality - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description Running in the Family ## Images ![Running in the Family (Vintage International) - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71D56DUgDrL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Superb! *by H***T on November 13, 2022* Michael Ondaatje is one of my very favorite writers!I watch him on YouTube to hear his voice reading his gorgeous poems and excerpts from his books. Running in the Family is so entertaining and a delight to read over and over! ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Lush, evocative, and poetic! *by J***. on July 5, 2000* "Running in the Family" is an impressionistically written and reflective memoir of Michael Ondaatje's eccentric Ceylonese family.The book begins with a series of disjointed stories about Ondaatje's parents and grandparents. I found this part somewhat hard to get through as Ondaatje drops into the stories without providing the reader with the necessary information to understand who the players are and why they are important. However, since the book is highly impressionistic in style, perhaps this approach works. After all, most of us learn about our family history in bits and pieces; we don't pick up yarns and memory bites in chronological order.The third section, "Don't Talk to Me about Matisse" is a literary treasure! Ondaatje weaves a travel journal with childhood memories. Ondaatje's journey through Sri Lanka and memory land is depicted with great passion and reflection: "I witnessed everything. One morning I would wake and just smell things for the whole day, it was so rich I had to select senses. And still everything moved slowly with the assured fateful speed of a coconut falling on someone's head, like the Jaffna train, like the fan at low speed, like the necessary sleep in the afternoon with dreams blinded by toddy."Ondaatje generously included several of his poems in the middle of the book. "The Cinnamon Peeler", with its strong sensuality, serves as a fitting metaphor for the stories about romantic interludes in the author's family. "The Cinnamon Peeler" is so beautiful, I plan to commit it to memory.Ondaatje dwells on the salient qualities of his relatives and homeland. If this book were a painting, it would be a mostly green wash of color with bright, blood red splashes. The red splashes could represent the tragedy so inherent in Ondaatje's family history. Alcoholism and mental illness rule the house in this family. There are many humorous moments, however, and Ondaatje delivers them with great bravado: "Lalla's great claim to fame was that she was the first woman in Ceylon to have a mastectomy. ... She kept losing the contraption to servants who were mystified by it as well as to the dog, Chindit, who would be found gnawing at the foam as if it were tender chicken." These hilarious memories give the reader a reprieve from the underlying tragedy like a much-needed downpour during a drought.In the final sections, Ondaatje slowly reveals the many layers of his father's sad, but remarkable life. One chapter, called "Dialogues" merely consists of bits and pieces of conversations about his father. Whether Ondaatje imagined these conversations or actually heard them retold is not important. They give homage to his father in a unique and poignant way.If you're looking for a travel journal on Sri Lanka, don't look here. But, if you want unforgettable impressions of an exotic land and a remarkable family, if you yearn for a memoir rendered with the finest of literary care, "Running in the Family" will surely please. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ SO MANY GHOSTS HERE *by M***M on November 29, 2014* Years after immigrating to Canada, Michael Ondaatje is awakened by a wild, intense dream of Asia. The dream inspires him to return to the childhood home he left at age 11 to fill in the gaps of what he remembered as a wonderful, mystical place. He and present family members make two return journeys to Sri Lanka in l978 and 1980, interviewing, questioning, and wading through long lists of genealogies.Their first stop is an aunt's 1700's residence nestled within an 18th century Dutch fortress in Northern Ceylon. This is just the beginning of the wonders he and family members encounter as they continue to visit old places and family members, amplified by the fantastical escapades of his ancestors that their childhood eyes and ears hadn't known. Given the dense, sensitive prose of Michael Ondaatje, this book is a wonder of both the personal and historical. --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.vu/products/1697088-running-in-the-family-vintage-international](https://www.desertcart.vu/products/1697088-running-in-the-family-vintage-international) --- *Product available on Desertcart Vanuatu* *Store origin: VU* *Last updated: 2026-06-06*