SOURCE: "Books of the Times: Deconstructionist Turns to Building," in New York Times, August 26, 1994.

In the following review of Pretty Boy Floyd, Kakutani argues that McMurtry and Diana Ossana embellish the myth of the character, but fail to make readers care about his fate.

The book, written in conjunction with a screenplay on the same subject, tells the story of the famous 1930's outlaw, Charles Arthur (Pretty Boy) Floyd, an Oklahoma bank robber who became such a folk hero that 20,000 people supposedly went to his funeral in 1934. As depicted by Mr. McMurtry and Ms. Ossana, Charley emerges as a charming bandit who more or less stumbles into a life of crime. He's portrayed as handsome, well mannered and boyishly sweet. He never shoots anyone unless his own life is in danger, and he's always polite to the bank tellers he robs. He's the sort of guy who says...