Rating: 
Summary: Amazing book
Review: A tense and violent story of the relations between an American missionary family and Amazonian Indians in Peru. A classical tale of colonialism, the story is riveting, even though a few of the characters (especially the missionaries seem prescribed. The reader turns and twists throughout the book and is continually surprised, yet the story progression remains clear.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing book
Review: A tense and violent story of the relations between an American missionary family and Amazonian Indians in Peru. A classical tale of colonialism, the story is riveting, even though a few of the characters (especially the missionaries seem prescribed. The reader turns and twists throughout the book and is continually surprised, yet the story progression remains clear.
Rating:
Summary: Magnificent
Review: I disagree with the above reviews, and I guess I'll say why. First this is not a book only about "male behavior"--Hazel and Andy are equally important, and their behavior turns the whole narrative around. I also don't find Moon to be an anti-hero who represents truth or is sympathetic in any way. He joins the Indians out of the sadly egotistic feeling that he can fool them into thinking he is a God. That's not respect, brother. Of course, he can't do it for long. Mostly, this is a book about getting in way over your head: that's the one trait every character shares (even the Indians). They are all being drawn into a situation out of their control, out of their element. One question: why the gender-reversal in the names of Leslie and Andy? (I realize Leslie is a male name in England, but Huben is AMerican, and 'Andy' isn't a female name anywhere with that spelling). I'd be interested to know, Peter, if you're reading. Mostly, this is the kind of novel that creates a wolrd so removed from our own, that it ends up BEING our own. I liken it to Robert Stone's 'A Flag for Sunrise' and Naispul's 'A Bend in the River' (about English-speaking foreigners in Central America and Africa respectively) Why doesn't the director who filmed 'The English Patient' film this?
Rating:
Summary: ¡Madre de Dios!
Review: I've always been a bit of an escapist, so this book was perfect for me. Peter Mattiessen is actually a travel writer, well qualified to describe the South American rain forest setting. What surprises is how well he conveys the brutal reality of what might befall us, should we find ourselves sitting at a rickety wooden table at La Concepción Taverna at the end of a mud street in the jungle.You will find yourself in the strangest company. It's hard to tell the savages from the decent white folk. The Missionary's wife appears to be losing her mind. The natives are restless. The mercenaries passing through town. You are about to meet Lewis Moon and, for some reason, you will not be able to look away. This is a disturbing book, no-one is spared, not even the reader.
Rating:
Summary: ¡Madre de Dios!
Review: I've always been a bit of an escapist, so this book was perfect for me. Peter Mattiessen is actually a travel writer, well qualified to describe the South American rain forest setting. What surprises is how well he conveys the brutal reality of what might befall us, should we find ourselves sitting at a rickety wooden table at La Concepción Taverna at the end of a mud street in the jungle. You will find yourself in the strangest company. It's hard to tell the savages from the decent white folk. The Missionary's wife appears to be losing her mind. The natives are restless. The mercenaries passing through town. You are about to meet Lewis Moon and, for some reason, you will not be able to look away. This is a disturbing book, no-one is spared, not even the reader.
Rating:
Summary: Mesmerizing
Review: In Matthiessen's At Play in the Fields of the Lord, Lewis Moon, the mysterious and elusive mercenary with a good heart, steals every scene in which he appears. The story, in a nutshell, concerns the clash between 4 forces in a remote South American jungle reason: misguided Christian missionaries, corrupt local politicians, the near Stone Age jungle natives, and Lewis Moon. Beautiful progress of a story in which it's hard at any moment to know who to root for, a story in which no one really comes out a winner, and therein lies the moral.
Rating:
Summary: Prepare A Place of Honor On Your Bookself!
Review: Not since the reading of Huxley's "Brave New World" have I read such a powerful and ironic novel as that of "At Play In The Fields of The Lord". This book is a first rate masterpiece! Its subtle irony and dramatic content are the creation of literary genius. Rarely have I ever found an author whose work so moves me to not merely observe the characters, but instead BECOME the characters. Indeed, as the book's storyline progresses, the reader is drawn into a web of spiritual doubt and political corruption which leads the reader to question his own faith, morals, and even deeds. After all, at least once in our lives we shall become Lewis Moons for at least a brief moment. Whether this fleeting instance destroys an Amazonian culture or simply estranges your inlaws depends upon that person's individual circumstances. In the end, the reader *becomes* each of the novel's characters as we struggle to discover our purpose & self identity. In the end, it is the reader who is left asking, "Why?"
Rating:
Summary: Prepare A Place of Honor On Your Bookself!
Review: Not since the reading of Huxley's "Brave New World" have I read such a powerful and ironic novel as that of "At Play In The Fields of The Lord". This book is a first rate masterpiece! Its subtle irony and dramatic content are the creation of literary genius. Rarely have I ever found an author whose work so moves me to not merely observe the characters, but instead BECOME the characters. Indeed, as the book's storyline progresses, the reader is drawn into a web of spiritual doubt and political corruption which leads the reader to question his own faith, morals, and even deeds. After all, at least once in our lives we shall become Lewis Moons for at least a brief moment. Whether this fleeting instance destroys an Amazonian culture or simply estranges your inlaws depends upon that person's individual circumstances. In the end, the reader *becomes* each of the novel's characters as we struggle to discover our purpose & self identity. In the end, it is the reader who is left asking, "Why?"
Rating:
Summary: An Exploration Into the Meaning of Identity
Review: One theme I found to be particularly compelling in this book which has not been directly explored in the reviews currently posted is the search for identity which seemingly each character in this novel is engaged. Lewis Moon, a man who existes on the fringe of the dominant culture of the US, longs for validation in the culture of his ancestors, a culture which is tragically unavailable. The missionaries, Protestant and Catholic alike, seek identity and validation in the people they seek to convert, including the endless "conversion" of their own families. The other characters have their own identity issues. The most compelling of these searches, to my mind, was that of Lewis Moon who, without any feeling of loyalty to any culture available to him, seeks identity in an indiginous culture not yet eradicated by the dominant Chilean culture of European origin. (Perhaps he thinks he can help them avoid the fate of the culture of his ancestors.) The novel explores each character's basis for self-perception and what they do when their basic assumptions about their role in the world are challenged. What does it mean to be an American? What does it mean to be an American who has had his citizenship revoked? What does it mean to have faith? What if the dogma of your denomination appears to produce results that seem "un-Christlike?" What does it mean to indentify as a member of an indigineous people? What does that mean when you are among members of another indiginous people? All these questions (and there are many more) posed in the book have lead me to a better perception of who I am and why I think so. One of the best books I've had the pleasure to have read.
Rating:
Summary: Stunning
Review: The author excels on all levels. His description is not only accurate but lyrical; his characters are finely drawn; the plot is intricate and complex. The intent is clear: the missionaries are portrayed as being self-righteous and hypocritical. Only the child can make the true connection with the natives, and he becomes a sacrificial lamb. Moon emerges as an Adam figure, seeking his destiny and finding it at last by losing himself in the universe. What a magnificent book!
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