A review by lindsayharmon
Coming Through Slaughter by Michael Ondaatje

3.0

I've read all of Ondaatje's more recent books and loved them, so I decided to go back and read his early stuff. I definitely prefer his more recent novels, which, while not linear, seem more straightforward. This one follows the story of Buddy Bolden, a New Orleans jazz musician who had a nervous breakdown while performing in a parade and then was institutionalized and drifted into obscurity. The novel is made up of vignettes from the point of view of a variety of characters, as well as songs, poems, and (presumably fictional) interviews and other documents. As with all of Ondaatje's work, his use of language is amazing.