SOURCE: Nazareth, Peter. “Heading Them off at the Pass: The Fiction of Ishmael Reed.” Review of Contemporary Fiction 4, no. 2 (summer 1984): 208-26.

In the following essay, Nazareth provides a thematic and stylistic analysis of Reed's fiction, beginning with Yellow Back Radio Broke-Down.

The Western stagecoach is being chased by a posse of cowboys. No, the pursuers are wolves. The driver's assistant and some of the passengers throw out bones of various sizes and shapes. The real loot is hidden. The leading wolves see these bones and stop to eat them, giving up the chase. Several wolves trip over these leaders. The dog in them leads others to fight for the bones. Not one Wolf, however; he sidesteps the bones and the mess. He decides to run off in an oblique direction and head the stagecoach off at the pass.

Just watch the Loop Garoo Kid in Yellow Back Radio...