Like many works by Canadian author Michael Ondaatje,

is playful in its approach to genre, blending memoir with autobiography, biography, history and unmistakably fictional forms, such as myths, poems, and gossip. Its coupling of autobiographical cues and historical fact and repeated nods towards its own fictionalization and dubious ‘authenticity’ frustrate any attempt to neatly situate the book within a particular generic convention. The product of extensive research into his family’s history – some conducted in Canada, some the result of two trips to his native Ceylon after a 25-year absence –

has been described in rather modest terms by Ondaatje at the end of the book as “not a history but a portrait or ‘gesture’” (206). From…

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Citation: Pedri, Nancy. "Running in the Family". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 29 November 2010 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=2269, accessed 25 November 2024.]

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