[Barbour's] critical method is ideally suited to the fuller comprehension of large areas of Ondaatje's work: especially the thematics of indeterminacy and the mixed genre aspect. . . . Barbour is to be thanked for having written a spendidly incisive appreciation of Ondaatje's work….

—Gerald Lynch Journal of Canadian Poetry

On the whole, Barbour's comments reflect his adroitness as a close reader; eschewing generalizations, his analyses are detailed and always connect with Ondaatje's work in intimate ways . . . . Perhaps the greatest strength of this study is in Barbour's ability to remain open to the definitive indeterminacy of Ondaatje's work. As a critic, Barbour's admires the paradoxes, gaps and overlapping voices of Ondaatje's oeuvre. Rather than giving in to the temptation of reductionist interpretation, Barbour resists interpretive closure at the same time as he recognizes the energetic openness of his subject, allowing tension and ambiguity to prevail even as he skillfully surveys their sources and implications.

—Michael Greene Dalhousie Review