Michael Ondaatje's breakout novel Coming Through Slaughter is an interesting attempt to fill in the gaps of the life of Buddy Bolden. Inventing events and people to better explain the known details of Bolden's life, Ondaatje challenges some historical perspectives on the musician. He seems concerned with dramatizing Bolden's relationships in order to explain how he drifted into such a dangerous mental state. Based upon true events, Ondaatje's book encourages readers to consider the personhood of historical figures, especially when speaking of art which is often born of great suffering on the artist's part.
The book was widely received well critically, even earning a Books in Canada First Novel Award in 1976. It was published by House of Ansansi that same year. Although largely having drifted into obscurity, Coming Through Slaughter has contributed to the revival of historical fiction in North America in the past several decades.
