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Summary
Summary
Bringing to life the fabulous, colorful panorama of New Orleans in the first flush of the jazz era, this book tells the story of Buddy Bolden, the first of the great trumpet players--some say the originator of jazz--who was, in any case, the genius, the guiding spirit, and the king of that time and place.
In this fictionalized meditation, Bolden, an unrecorded father of Jazz, remains throughout a tantalizingly ungraspable phantom, the central mysteries of his life, his art, and his madness remaining felt but never quite pinned down. Ondaatje's prose is at times startlingly lyrical, and as he chases Bolden through documents and scenes, the novel partakes of the very best sort of modern detective novel--one where the enigma is never resolved, but allowed to manifest in its fullness. Though more 'experimental' in form than either The English Patient or In the Skin of a Lion , it is a fitting addition to the renowned Ondaatje oeuvre .
Author Notes
Michael Ondaatje was born in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) on September 12, 1943. He moved to Canada in 1962 and became a Canadian citizen. He received a B.A. from the University of Toronto and a M.A. from Queen's University, Kingston, and taught English at York University. He has written several volumes of poetry, novels, and other works including There's a Trick with a Knife I'm Learning to Do, The Dainty Monsters, Rat Jelly, Coming through Slaughter, Running in the Family, In the Skin of a Lion, Anil's Ghost, and The Cat's Table. His title, Warlight, made the bestseller list in 2018.
Ondaatje has won numerous awards including the Canadian Governor General's Award in 1971 for The Collected Works of Billy the Kid and the Booker Prize in Fiction for The English Patient, which was adapted into a film in 1996.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (1)
Kirkus Review
Edward and Elizabeth's sequential illnesses allow for some wryer recognition than the Brandenbergs' doll-eyed pussycats usually inspire. First, Edward gets so much attention when he's sick that Elizabeth, predictably, resents having to go to school, do her usual homework and chores, etc. Then, just as predictably, she gets sick-but instead of Edward getting jealous, he visits her good-naturedly with news of his day and a pouting Elizabeth then calls him lucky for doing all the things she had earlier complained about doing herself. Human families with their own Edwards and Elizabeths will enjoy the characterization--though only reading-aloud parents will pick up on the titles of this intellectual cat family's reading matter. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.