The English Patient is a 1992 novel by Michael Ondaatje. The book is about people brought together at an Italian villa during the Italian Campaign of World War II. The four main characters are: a burned English man; his Canadian Army nurse, a Sikh British Army sapper, and a Canadian thief. The book won the 1992 Booker Prize, the 2018 Golden Man Booker, and the Governor General's Award.