A Peter Matthiessen Primer
From the Amazon and the Caribbean to the Himalayas and Florida, these five works—fiction and nonfiction—show Matthiessen at his fiercest and most humane.
Peter Matthiessen’s first novel, Race Rock, was released in 1954. Over the next 60 years, he published more than 30 works of fiction and nonfiction, winning three National Book Awards. Here are five essential reads by the author.
This primer appears in Issue 33 of Alta Journal. SUBSCRIBE
AT PLAY IN THE FIELDS OF THE LORD (1965)
In this adventure novel that evokes comparisons to Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, missionaries and mercenaries travel deep into the Amazon rainforest seeking contact with an elusive tribe of Indigenous people in order to “save” and kill them, respectively. The book was adapted for a 1991 film with an all-star cast including Tom Berenger and John Lithgow.
FAR TORTUGA (1975)
Written in stripped-down, minimalist prose, this novel about a doomed turtle-fishing voyage in the Caribbean was Matthiessen’s personal favorite. His spare writing focuses on the Lillias Eden’s nine crew members as they confront their places in the indifferent yet unified natural world.
THE SNOW LEOPARD (1978)
A two-month journey into the Himalayas with a famed naturalist provides a high-altitude showcase for Matthiessen’s talent. While capturing the majestic beauty of the mountains, Matthiessen also meditates on his relationship with his wife Deborah Love, who had died of cancer the previous year. The title earned two National Book Awards: for Contemporary Thought (1979) and for Nonfiction (1980).
IN THE SPIRIT OF CRAZY HORSE: THE STORY OF LEONARD PELTIER AND THE FBI’S WAR ON THE AMERICAN INDIAN MOVEMENT (1983)
In this moving account of the 1975 gun battle in which two FBI agents and one Native American were killed near Wounded Knee, South Dakota, Matthiessen argues that AIM activist Leonard Peltier, who was convicted of murdering the agents, was framed. The book’s wide release was delayed by unsuccessful libel suits against Matthiessen and his publisher.
SHADOW COUNTRY (2008)
A winner of the National Book Award for Fiction, this 912-page novel was more than 30 years in the making. It’s a shocking tale—told by 12 first-person narrators—of a Florida man who was credited with shooting Oklahoma outlaw Belle Starr in 1889 and later charged with killing several others, only to be murdered by his neighbors in 1910.•
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