The Collected Works of Billy the Kid

There are slivers of the truth in Ondaatje's Billy the Kid, all the surrounding players and characters. The settings, the New Mexican snows and sands. The poetry of it all, at least now, in our modern world, looking back and reflecting on what it was, or what it wasn't.Essentially this is historical fiction as poetry. Even the prose is poetry. He can't help it. It flows naturally and gives a voice, a sorrow, a reality to the antihero Billy the Kid.I love the many vignettes, the intertwined poetic ruminations by Billy, then the story told a little more clearly, via multiple perspective and experimental forms (photographs, notes, newspaper articles, interviews, other characters' voices, chiasma, etc.). The backstories of Tom O'Folliard and Livingstone the mad-dog man are some of my favorites. Ondaatje paints Pat Garrett as cold and logical, driven, the perfect assassin.Billy is romantic:--- ---she is crossing the sunsits on her legs heresweeping off the peelstraces the thin bones of meturns toppling slow back to the pillowBonney Bonney (21)--- ---And he is characterized with a shrewd, watchful eye. Ever observant and capable. Not quite man, but not boy (just Kid, maybe):--- ---A river you could get lost inand the sun a flashy hawkon the edge of ita mile away you see the white pathof an animal moving through wateryou can turn a hundred yard circleand the horse bends dribbles his faceyou step off and lie in it propping your headtill dusk and cold and the horse shift youand you look up and moon a frozen bird's eye(26 -- this is one of my favorites)--- ---Brilliant book. Fantastic read. It evokes past memories--we explored through Lincoln County and Billy the Kid historical grounds in October 2010. It also evokes memories of the past--many not even mine. Shared west memories of novel indoor baths with warm water, ferrotype photographs, dimestore novels, drafty barns, slow distances over sunburnt land on horseback, the red dirt still, STILL!, and friends who band together. And avenge each other. Highly recommended.

While prose, his writing in this book borders on the poetic, and while much of it is formatted 'normally', some pages haveis an e.e. cummings-like attention to layout. A truly beautiful book, and a joy to read.My sole complaint is it isn't much longer.

Told in snippets (poems, personal narratives, etc) and through different points-of-view, the novel can be confusing. However, if you power through the many different genres of writing and points-of-view, they really paint a complete picture of Billy the Kid as an outlaw, lover, friend, enemy, and legend.This is the novel that inspired Multi-genre writing in classrooms, so there is some educational relevance to read it to gain a groundfloor insight in MGPs.

Interesting read. I expected something more like the Cat's Cradle. This was full of poetry that I did not enjoy. However, I did enjoy the short stories.

Another imaginative exploration into the prose/poetry of this author. This time he has taken the reader up and into excerpts, narratives, poems, and voices of all those who shared the short, tense life of this hero/villain of the 1880s.There no sequential framework but rather, points of view, emotions, intentions of Billy’s friends-gang and Garrett’s friends-posse-gang; as well as various women Billy knew. There are descriptions of horses and dogs. And of course, Billy himself. There is an interview, newspaper articles, a play, songs, reminiscences after his death. This book pushes and pulls the reader into the compelling, short life of the romantic hero/vicious killer, William Bonney.The imagination, the freedom of writing styles, the magical use of language of Michael Ondaatje is amazing.

While I think the writing within the book is wonderful, I can't help but point out the romanticization of a historical figure who killed over nine people, most of whom unjustly. Poems can be written about murderers, but why do we have to romanticize them? He killed five lawmen, the majority of them at the time were doing their job in keeping him away from the public.Even if Billy's first murders were justified in the Lincoln County War, his others were not. After leaving Lincoln he could've stayed out of trouble's way but instead began stealing cattle. Billy The Kid was not a romantic, but this twisted personification of him is.I appreciate the literature, not the topic.

Not since Conrad has there been such a master of the novel. This one is more of a novella or an homage to the American West but he never misses.

A mongrel work, as Ondaatje calls it and that is the perfect form with which to resuscitate the simplistic vision of the American west and to bring it alive with all its heat, it's drunkenness, it's rawness and it's madness.

Arrived quickly , as described and will be purchaisng from this seller in future.Audio perfect.Diana

The Collected Works of Billy the Kid Is a verse novel providing a reimagined account of Billy the Kid. A wonderful book

I'm fascinated by the legend of the Kid...these poems, written as if by the Kid, were very thought provoking

むかし図書館で借りて読み、もの凄く触発されて舞台での演出に使いましたもう手に入れることは出来ないのかと諦めていましたが、古本で入手でき、非常に嬉しいです

The book came late but it was in very good condition. I had emailed betterworldbooks about the whereabouts and they were quick to respond, although they could not tell me where it was. The book was not marked in or highlighted. Satisfied with my purchase.