Order of Book Series
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Michael Ondaatje Books in Order

Michael Ondaatje has written 22 books, published between 1967 and 2024. The first book is The Dainty Monsters (1967) and the newest is A Year of Last Things (2024). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
22
Published
1967–2024
Pages on record
3,327 in 19 of 22 books
Reading time
55–83 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 3,327 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 19 of 22 titles with a page count on record.

See all 22 books in order Printable Michael Ondaatje checklist
Photo of Michael Ondaatje, author

Michael Ondaatje is a Sri Lankan-born Canadian poet, fiction writer and essayist. The poetry came first, with The Dainty Monsters (1967) and The Collected Works of Billy the Kid (1970). The English Patient (1992) took the Booker Prize, reached film in 1996, and later won the Golden Man Booker Prize as the best of the first 51 Booker winners. Ondaatje spent two decades at Coach House Press fostering new Canadian writing. Twenty-two titles are catalogued, through Running in the Family (1982) and In the Skin of a Lion (1987) to A Year of Last Things (2024).

How many Michael Ondaatje books are there?

Michael Ondaatje has 22 books, released between 1967 and 2024.

Michael Ondaatje Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 22 Michael Ondaatje books in the order they were published, with the release year, the page count where one is on record, and how many independent book listings confirm each title. Catalogue data as of September 2026.

  1. Cover of The Dainty Monsters by Michael Ondaatje (1967)
  2. Cover of The Collected Works of Billy the Kid by Michael Ondaatje (1970)
  3. Cover of The Broken Ark by Michael Ondaatje (1971)
  4. Cover of There's a Trick with a Knife I'm Learning to Do by Michael Ondaatje (1979)
  5. Cover of Rat Jelly by Michael Ondaatje (1980)
  6. Cover of Running in the Family by Michael Ondaatje (1982)
  7. Cover of In the Skin of a Lion by Michael Ondaatje (1987)
  8. Cover of The Cinnamon Peeler by Michael Ondaatje (1989)
  9. Cover of Handwriting by Michael Ondaatje (1998)
  10. Cover of Anil's Ghost by Michael Ondaatje (2000)
  11. Cover of Vintage Ondaatje by Michael Ondaatje (2004)
  12. Cover of The Story by Michael Ondaatje (2005)
  13. Cover of Divisadero by Michael Ondaatje (2007)
  14. Cover of Warlight by Michael Ondaatje (2018)
  1. 1
    The Dainty Monsters1967 · 93 pages · confirmed 1/4
    196793
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    The Collected Works of Billy the Kid1970 · 128 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1970128
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    The Broken Ark1971 · 48 pages · confirmed 1/4
    197148
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    Coming Through Slaughter1976 · confirmed 1/4
    1976–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    There's a Trick with a Knife I'm Learning to Do1979 · 107 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1979107
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    Rat Jelly1980 · 71 pages · confirmed 1/4
    198071
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    Running in the Family1982 · 207 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1982207
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    Tin Roof1982 · 24 pages · confirmed 1/4
    198224
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    Secular Love1985 · 126 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1985126
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    In the Skin of a Lion1987 · 243 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1987243
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    The Cinnamon Peeler1989 · 192 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1989192
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    The English Patient1992 · 263 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1992263
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 13
    Previous Canoes1994 · confirmed 1/4
    1994–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 14
    Handwriting1998 · 96 pages · confirmed 1/4
    199896
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 15
    Anil's Ghost2000 · 311 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2000311
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  16. 16
    The Conversations2002 · 339 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2002339
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  17. 17
    Vintage Ondaatje2004 · 185 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2004185
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  18. 18
    The Story2005 · 48 pages · confirmed 1/4
    200548
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  19. 19
    Divisadero2007 · 288 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2007288
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  20. 20
    The Cat's Table2011 · 269 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2011269
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  21. 21
    Warlight2018 · 289 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2018289
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  22. 22
    A Year of Last Things2024 · confirmed 1/4
    2024–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Michael Ondaatje books grouped by series

Each title below is a row in the publication-order table above. None of these groups has a reading-order page of its own on this site.

Standalone books

22 books

22 Michael Ondaatje titles here are not listed as part of any series.

Do you have to read Michael Ondaatje books in order?

No. No source lists any of the 22 Michael Ondaatje books here as part of a series. The numbered table above gives them by publication date.

Where to start with Michael Ondaatje

Start with The Dainty Monsters (1967), the earliest published title.

What is the newest Michael Ondaatje book?

A Year of Last Things (2024) is the newest Michael Ondaatje book released so far.

Is there a new Michael Ondaatje book coming?

No next Michael Ondaatje book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.

Awards Michael Ondaatje has won

Wikidata records 9 awards and 1 nomination for Michael Ondaatje. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.

  • Governor General's Award for English-language fiction2007Wonfor Divisadero
  • Governor General's Literary Awards2007Won
  • Prix Médicis étranger2000Won
  • Giller Prize2000Wonfor Anil's Ghost
  • Governor General's Award for English-language fiction2000Wonfor Anil's Ghost
  • Nelly Sachs Prize1995Won
  • Booker Prize1992Wonfor The English Patient
  • Governor General's Award for English-language fiction1992Wonfor The English Patient
  • Toronto Book Awards1988Won
  • Booker Prize2018Shortlistedfor Warlight

Michael Ondaatje at a glance

Still publishing
Michael Ondaatje published a book as recently as 2024.
Release pace
Michael Ondaatje books have appeared about one every 3 years on average.
Length
3,327 pages across the 19 of 22 books with a recorded length, a median of 185 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Michael Ondaatje books, 6 of 22, were published in the 1980s.

What the Michael Ondaatje books are about

20 of the 22 Michael Ondaatje books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: canadian poetry is tagged on 5 of 20. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.