At Play in the Fields of the Lord by Peter…

At Play in the Fields of the Lord (original 1965; edition 1991)

by Peter Matthiessen

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918	14	23,061	(3.92)	53
Fiction. Suspense. Thriller. Historical Fiction. HTML:In a malarial outpost in the South American rain forest, two misplaced gringos converge and clash in this novel from the National Book Award-winning author. Martin Quarrier has come to convert the elusive Niaruna Indians to his brand of Christianity. Lewis Moon, a stateless mercenary who is himself part Indian, has come to kill them on the behalf of the local comandante. Out of this struggle Peter Matthiessen creates an electrifying moral thriller�??adapted into a movie starring John Lithgow, Kathy Bates, and Tom Waits. A novel of Conradian richness, At Play in the Fields of the Lord explores both the varieties of spiritual experience and the politics of cultural genoci… (more)

▾Book information

Member:	refashionista
Title:	At Play in the Fields of the Lord
Authors:	Peter Matthiessen
Info:	Vintage (1991), Edition: First Edition., Paperback, 384 pages
Collections:	Your library
Rating:
Tags:	fiction, classic

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At Play in the Fields of the Lord by Peter Matthiessen (1965)

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Showing 1-5 of 14 (next | show all)

The title makes you think it's going to be about Jesus, and it is, in a way. Two missionary couples go to Oriente province in Sao Paulo to rouse souls among different Indian tribes. The Papists are already there, and one of the priests has been murdered; these Indians already have gods. THe jungle changes the missionaries, for the worse.

This story is awesome; written by explorer Mathiesson. (

)

burritapal | Oct 23, 2022 |

In a malarial outpost in the South American rain forest, two misplaced gringos converge and clash in this novel from the National Book Award-winning author.

riselibrary_CSUC | Aug 25, 2021 |

The story is interesting, but is ruined by the stereotypical personalities of the women in the story. The book starts out with an unnecessary scene with a prostituted women, which is annoying, and after that, every time a woman is described, she is some sort of male fantasy, all of them either women to be attracted to or repelled by. This lack of realistic women ruined the story for me. (

)

SonoranDreamer | Nov 23, 2020 |

What an exuberant mess of a book! It galloped forward. So much happened. I mean, there is a sheer overwhelming flood of happenings in his book, assaulting the reader almost, at the pace of The Perils of Pauline, a series of "and-then, and then, and-then's"...

I loved that something so well written and so thoughtful and so philosophically rich could also be jam-packed with action. Ridiculous and great at the same time. (

)

poingu | Feb 22, 2020 |

A mesmerizing read. (

)

DJadamson | Jan 4, 2018 |

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Harvill (14)

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Far Tortuga / At Play in the Fields of the Lord by Peter Matthiessen

▾Awards and Honors

Awards

National Book Award (Longlist – Fiction – 1966)

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Notable Books List (1965)

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At Play in the Fields of the Lord

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Epigraph

The way to innocence, to the uncreated and to God leads on, not back, not back to the wolf or to the child, but ever further into sin, ever deeper into human life. -- Hermann Hesse

Dedication

For Luke and Carey, Rue and Alex

First words

In the jungle, during one night in each month, the moths did not come to lanterns; through the black reaches of the outer night, so it was said, they flew toward the full moon.

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▾Book descriptions

Fiction. Suspense. Thriller. Historical Fiction. HTML:In a malarial outpost in the South American rain forest, two misplaced gringos converge and clash in this novel from the National Book Award-winning author. Martin Quarrier has come to convert the elusive Niaruna Indians to his brand of Christianity. Lewis Moon, a stateless mercenary who is himself part Indian, has come to kill them on the behalf of the local comandante. Out of this struggle Peter Matthiessen creates an electrifying moral thriller�??adapted into a movie starring John Lithgow, Kathy Bates, and Tom Waits. A novel of Conradian richness, At Play in the Fields of the Lord explores both the varieties of spiritual experience and the politics of cultural genoci

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