BONNIE AND CLYDE The Lives Behind the Legend

Bonnie Parker wrote her own legend in poetry as she and lover Clyde Barrow eluded authorities throughout their robbery and murder spree during the Great Depression. Her poems are just one of the entry points to this story for author Paul Schneider and narrator Patrick Lawlor. From time to time, Lawlor shifts into a portrayal of their thoughts, including their consciences, complete with the drawls of their native Texas. He also delivers the “rat-a-tat” gunfire that is so much a part of their lives. More conventional devices—news reports, police logs, and the words of friends and witnesses—are also used to convey the escalation of their crimes. Some might be put off by the story’s shifting point of view, but the technique draws listeners in. J.A.S. © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine [Published: AUGUST 2009]