Michael Ondaatje’s “Coming Through Slaughter” is a real jigsaw puzzle of a book, the narrative split into fragmented passages, different third and first person voices, a blend of fiction and fact. Often you are never really sure exactly where the boundaries lay between the two.
Look-up Buddy Bolden on the internet and you will find that the subject of the book is real enough, as are the elements presented to us as fact. But Ondaatje has woven his imaginings – of conversations and encounters – in amongst the indisputable. Because of the structure of the work, it feels a seamless marriage.
I really like the way the book makes you piece the story together yourself. It is one which is raw, brutal, romantic and tragic by turns – but then what would you expect from the author of “The English Patient”? A little gem.
Ian Gouge - Writer 