Ron Hansen is the author of ten novels--including The Kid, Mariette in Ecstasy, Desperadoes, and A Wild Surge of Guilty Passion--and two short story collections, among them She Loves Me Not. His novel The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford was a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award. He graduated from Creighton University in Omaha and went on to the University of Iowa Writer's Workshop where he studied with John Irving. He is now Gerard Manley Hopkins, S.J., Professor in Arts and Humanities at Santa Clara University in northern California.
Praise for The Kid:
"A rich tapestry [and] evenhanded literary portrait."
--Library Journal
"An engrossing read. [The Kid] comes alive thanks to a blend of
history, remembrances and the author's knack for imagined
conversations."
--Albuquerque Journal
"Billy has been portrayed as a scapegoat for corrupt politicians, a
maniacal killer and varying combinations of those extremes. As
Hansen says at the end of his book, the Kid has become 'to a great
degree each person's wild invention.' This is Hansen's version -- a
wisecracking daredevil."
--Seattle Times
"Hansen has written a haunting biographical novel about Billy the
Kid and the people responsible for creating the myth."
--Shelf Awareness
"Hansen's fictional treatment of Billy the Kid, the Old West
killer, is entertaining and lively, a portrayal of swift and deadly
frontier justice in the early 1880s of New Mexico. . . .Hansen's
colorful description of the New Mexico Territory as a lawless land
of lying politicians and thieving businessmen is historically
accurate, resulting in an excellent, transportive read."
--Publishers Weekly, starred review
"How Hansen wades into the historical record and comes back dressed
in his subjects' mannerisms, speech, and sensibilities is a mystery
for which we as readers can only be thankful. Hansen's is a truly
wondrous talent, and The Kid is a truly wondrous book."
--Tom McNeal, author of To Be Sung Underwater
"Once again Ron Hansen has narrated a powerful historical novel,
getting hundreds of small hard facts lined up to tell a story set
in the American West in the tradition of The Iliad. A stunning book
which--as Hansen has done again and again--creates a time and a
place and a young man, half killer, half kid, who even in his
lifetime earned the status of a myth. Mesmerizing."
--Paul Mariani, author of The Whole Harmonium: The Life of Wallace
Stevens
"Ron Hansen has once again saddled up for a journey down the
desperado trail, and readers will be delighted to go along on the
ride...a marvelous journey into both history and imagination... A
perfectly compelling and fast-paced story. ... The Kid died, but
left behind a towering legend that Hansen brings vividly to life in
this fast-paced, elegant novel."
--San Francisco Chronicle
"Ron Hansen's new treatment of William Bonney [is] so impressive.
The author, seemingly effortlessly, breathes new life into the
legend and reality....a joy to read."
--Bookreporter
"The Kid's story has been told many times. But not like this....The
real achievement of this novel is its pesky style. Like the Kid,
Hansen revels in the lingo of tabloid and tale, of dime novel and
detective story."
--The New York Times Book Review
"This is the West, and as the famous line from 'The Man Who Shot
Liberty Valance' has it, 'when the legend becomes fact, print the
legend.' Which is what Mr. Hansen has done, very enjoyably."
--The Wall Street Journal
"Throughout The Kid, the author's depth of research and love of the
genre shine through. This eventful novel builds on the
extraordinary achievement of his first two westerns and Hansen can
rightfully claim this lawless territory as his own....Fans of [his]
work won't want to leave."
--Highbrow Magazine
|
Ask a Question About this Product More... |
|
