12478. THE ENGLISH PATIENT BY MICHAEL ONDAATJE. Thoughtful, sensitive review of Onjaatje's novel. Explicates the use of geography as the main metaphor in the novel, tracing the interaction of the characters drawn from disparate parts of the world who wind up confronting themselves and each other in the isolated setting of a bombed-out Italian villa. 6 pages, 6 footnotes, 1 bibliographic source.