William Henry Mc Carty was born in New York City in 1859, the son of a striving mother and an ill-fated father who died at Chickamauga. He was killed on July 14, 1881, in Fort Sumner, N.M., by his friend-turned-nemesis Pat Garrett. Now comes Hansen, one of our most supple novelists, to tell the Kid’s splendid and tangled story in an agile and inventive way. In Hansen’s reconsideration, the Kid is a mostly good wild child who seeks a stable family.
Key Takeaways:
- Ron Hansen has a thing for outlaws. He has written about the Dalton and James gangs.
- Hansen has an abiding interest in the tension between a historical figure’s publicized persona and the private, unadorned self.
- Hansen’s Kid is “ever smiling, witty, and genial when not riled by an injustice.” He can be a “hot-tempered boy” but is memorable for his genteel manners.
“Hansen has an abiding interest in the tension between a historical figure’s publicized persona and the private, unadorned self.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/20/books/review/billy-the-kid-ron-hansen.html?_r=0
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