#21 The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje

A steamy love affair, a hot north African desert, a fiery plane crash and a thimble of saffron make this book a spicy read. 

Set  during and after World War II, this book tells of a love  affair between  Lazlo de Almasy, a Hungarian explorer, and Katherine Clifton, the wife of a British official.  Passion is ignited over desert campfires and passages of Herodotus, and when Katherine ends the affair, Lazlo becomes sick with jealousy and desire.  He asks a friend about the name of the little hollow below a woman’s neck and is told-- "Pull yourself together."   Easier said than done in this story of love, sand, and war.