Rating: 
Summary: i liked it
Review: This book of poetry is really unlike any other I have ever read (I suppose with my limited experience, that might not be saying much, but bear with me). Rather than dealing with the stereotypical internal issues of the meaning of life and love that characterize many poetic endeavors, Ondaatje takes a character most of us know and then presents him, through various styles of poetry, in the gritty harshness that the subject, Billy the Kid, would require. There are no pulled punches for the sake of beauty, and the poems work all the more effectively because we understand the at-least-partly factual nature of their characters, which are strengthened through periodically injected novel-style passages. Of course, for the narrative to come off successfully, Ondaatje must be open to take certain liberties with the tale, which he gladly owns up to with the book's opening blank photo of Billy. From that point on, the story is dirty, nasty, cruel, affecting, and powerful. If there's ever been a collection of poems that had the ability to get the "man's man" into the art, this is it.
Rating: 
Summary: Strange and wonderful
Review: This collection of prose and poetry traces William Bonney's passage across New Mexico. Some of the short passages (on average, one per page) are Billy's voice, others Pat Garrett, some of Billy's friends, or his girlfriend. This was a delightful discovery, being both a fan of great writing and of westerns (you don't often encounter both in the same place). Ondaatje's writing here reminded me strongly of ee cummings, which is a very high compliment! Recommended!
Rating:
Summary: A real tour de force--stunning in its effect.
Review: This early (1970) "novel" by Michael Ondaatje is a collage of poetry, narrative, memoir, photography, journalism, and fiction surrounding Billy the Kid. Ondaatje poeticizes Billy's thoughts, giving us "insight" into the inner man, while, at the same time, creating a kind of suspense about the inevitable outcome. By constantly shifting the narrative focus and point of view from Billy to some of his cohorts, the women who loved them, and the "lawmen" who sought them, Ondaatje avoids the need for transitions which would normally challenge the biographer of a legend. And by allowing time to be circuitous, rather than linear, Ondaatje is able to give flesh and bone to the impressions he creates by enlisting the reader's help in "organizing" his material. In short, this is an impressionistic word-painting which gives freshness and vibrancy to an old saga of the Wild West.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent!
Review: This is by-far Ondaatje's greatest work--and ironically one of his first! Check it out to learn about this wonderful writer's roots.
| 
