tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3458341.post3444283874396459792..comments2024-01-06T10:36:04.084-05:00Comments on A Commonplace Blog: Matthiessen wins National Book AwardD. G. Myershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10659136455045567825noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3458341.post-3706264544845060012009-03-23T00:35:00.000-04:002009-03-23T00:35:00.000-04:00Far Tortuga should have won the best fiction award...Far Tortuga should have won the best fiction award the year it was published, but it was overlooked and has been ever since. Few, if any, finer novels were written by an American in the twentieth century. Some complain that it's not clear who's speaking. With one exception when the voice is simply "crew" talking, there are always ways for the attentive reader to identify the speaker. And identification is important; there's never been a more fascinating cast of characters than one finds on this turtle boat. But this unique engagement of the serious, interested reader in the creative process is but one of its many, many strengths.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18287692604952510427noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3458341.post-11852454123893647242008-11-21T22:30:00.000-05:002008-11-21T22:30:00.000-05:00The only fiction I've read by Matthiessen is Far T...The only fiction I've read by Matthiessen is Far Tortuga, which I found quite powerful. But when I tried his other books -- At Play In the Fields of Etcetera and the first volume of the trilogy (I forget the title) -- I couldn't get past the opening pages. Maybe Tortuga was a one-off?Edmond Caldwellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02651618912907453630noreply@blogger.com