Coming Through Slaughter is the story of Buddy Bolden, an early 1900s jazz musician and barber who suffers from mental illness. The novel's structure parallels Bolden's growing schizophrenia, as well as the jazz music that he plays; its unusual rhythms and language are a representation of free-form jazz and the emotional turbulence taking over Bolden's mind. This novel explores Bolden's struggles as a musician and emphasizes the themes of raw emotion, identity, life, and death.
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