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Coming Through Slaughter

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( 6,868 ratings, 648 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Coming Through Slaughter explores the life of Buddy Bolden, a legendary early jazz musician in New Orleans. The narrative delves into his tumultuous existence, marked by creativity, personal struggles, and an eventual descent into chaos. Ondaatje beautifully intertwines fact and fiction to portray the intense emotional and artistic experiences that define Bolden's legacy.
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This book may appeal to you if you enjoy poetic prose and narratives that weave through the blurred lines of history and fiction. Set against the backdrop of early 20th-century New Orleans, it explores the tumultuous life of a jazz musician, capturing the passion and frenzy of an artist on the edge. If you are drawn to stories that blend music, mystery, and the depths of human emotion, this book might resonate with you.

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Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Michael Ondaatje's incredible debut novel of Jazz and strife, published for the first time in Vintage Classics alongside his memoir, Running in the Family.

Discover Michael Ondaatje's debut novel, 'a beautifully detailed story, perhaps the finest jazz novel ever written' Sunday Times.

Based on the life of cornet player Buddy Bolden, one of the legendary jazz pioneers of turn-of-the-twentieth-century New Orleans, Coming Through Slaughter is an extraordinary recreation of a remarkable musical life and a tragic conclusion. Through a collage of memoirs, interviews, imaginary conversations and monologues, Ondaatje builds a picture of a man who would work by day at a barber shop and by night unleash his talent to wild audiences who had never experienced such playing. But Buddy was also playing the field with two women, and inside his head was a ticking time-bomb which he was unable to stop.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Coming Through Slaughter is praised for its evocative depiction of jazz-infused street life, making readers feel immersed in its vibrant atmosphere. It is acclaimed as perhaps the finest jazz novel ever penned and noted for its exceptional storytelling, positioning it among the best novels published in English. Reviewers commend Michael Ondaatje for his poetic sensibility, bringing a lyrical quality to the narrative.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781784877828

Publisher: Vintage Publishing

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 08 December 2022

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Vintage Classics

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 16.0mm

Width: 130.0mm

Height: 196.0mm

Weight: 120g

Pages: 176

About the Author

Michael Ondaatje is the author of several novels, as well as a memoir, a nonfiction book on film, and several books of poetry. Among his many Canadian and international recognitions, his novel The English Patient won the 1992 Man Booker Prize, was adapted into a multi-award winning Oscar movie, and was awarded the Golden Man Booker Prize in 2018; Anil's Ghost won the Giller Prize, the Irish Times International Fiction Prize, and the Prix Medicis; and Warlight was longlisted for the 2018 Man Booker Prize. Born in Sri Lanka, Michael Ondaatje lives in Toronto.

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