A few basic facts to begin with about this national book award 2008 winning novel. It, shadow country, won the national book award for fiction in 2008. National book awards 2008 national book foundation. A few basic facts to begin with about this national book. Shadow country traverses strange landscapes and frontier hinterlands inhabited by americans of every provenance and color, including the black and indian inheritors of the archaic racism that, as watsons wife observed, still casts its shadow over the nation. Shadow country by peter matthiessen won the national book award for fiction in 2008. A condensation of the watson trilogy, giving three different renderings of the life and death of edgar j. It is matthiessens masterpiece, and i have no qualms saying it is among the top novels in all of american literature, a book i would stack against moby dick, gatsby, the sun also rises, gravitys rainbow, white noise. Shadow country a new rendering of the watson legend book. The book was published in multiple languages including english, consists of 892 pages and is available in hardcover format.
Richard ford shadow country, matthiessens distillation of the earlier watson saga, represents his original vision. April 6, 2014 matthiessen was a spy, a naturalist, a wellregarded activist and a threetime winner of the national book award for both fiction and nonfiction. Among the nominees for this years national book award in fiction is a book that some have complained is not exactly new. Shadow country, book by peter matthiessen paperback. Enormous in scope as well as page count, it is really three books in one. Shadow country book hennepin county library bibliocommons. Winner of the national book award for fiction inspired by a nearmythic event of the wild florida frontier at the turn of the twentieth century, shadow country reimagines the legend of the inspired everglades sugar planter and notorious outlaw e. National book award goes to peter matthiessen for shadow. Vividly capturing the american hinterlands at the turn of the twentieth century, it traces the story of watson through eyewitness perspectives as he drives himself relentlessly toward his own violent end at the hands of. Shadow country is an epic of american rise and descentpoetic, mythic, devastating. Free download or read online shadow country pdf epub book. Shadow country is peter matthiessens reimagining of the legend of e. Shadow country book johnson county library bibliocommons.
Watson, the everglades sugarcane planter and notorious outlaw of the wild florida frontier. His parallel career as a naturalist and environmental activist has produced numerous acclaimed works of nonfiction, most of them serialized in the new yorker. The fiction of peter matthiessen is the reason a lot of people in my generation decided to be writers. Vividly capturing the american hinterlands at the turn of the twentieth century, it traces the story of watson through eyewitness perspectives as he drives himself relentlessly toward his own violent end at the hands of neighbors. More about this book fiction winner national book awards 2008. Shadow country a new rendering of the watson legend. Peter matthiessens shadow country vies for a national. In paradise 2014 details the reflections of a holocaust scholar on a meditative retreat at auschwitz. A national book award winner in 1979 for his nonfiction work the snow leopard, peter matthiessen exclaimed, im back. Peter matthiessen has written eight novels, including at play in the fields of the lord nominated for the national book award and far tortuga, and also a book of short stories, on the river styx. Book one is told variously by the people who knew him and ultimately killed him. If youve read matthiessens fiction or nonfiction then you are familiar with his propensity to write two sentences when one might possibly suffice.
Watson 1990, lost mans river 1997, and bone by bone 1999. Shadow country kindle edition by matthiessen, peter. Shadow country trilogy audiobooks listen to the full series. National book award, fiction, 2008 inspired by a nearmythic event on the wild florida frontier at the turn of the 20th century, shadow country reimagines the legend of the inspired everglades sugar planter and notorious outlaw e. Click to read more about shadow country by peter matthiessen. In this bold new rendering, matthiessen has cut nearly a third of the overall text and collapsed the time frame while. Seattle times shadow country is an ambitious, lasting, and meaningful work of literature that will not soon fade away. Inspired by a nearmythic event on the wild florida frontier at the turn of the 20th century, shadow country reimagines the legend of the inspired everglades sugar planter and notorious outlaw e. List of winners of the national book award wikipedia. The three parts of this book correspond to the three original novels. Peter matthiessens shadow country is an extraordinary literary achievement by one of this country s best authors of recent times.
In every way, shadow country is a bravura performance, at once history. The first translation award ran from 19681983 and was for fiction only, the translated author could be living or dead eg. The national book award for translated literature was inaugurated in 2018 for fiction or nonfiction, where both author and translator were alive at the beginning of the awards cycle. Shadow country public library of cincinnati and hamilton. Nov 25, 2008 a national book award winner in 1979 for his nonfiction work the snow leopard, peter matthiessen exclaimed, im back. Peter matthiessens shadow country is an extraordinary literary achievement by one of this countrys best authors of recent times. Matthiesens original intention was to produce a single long novel, but his publisher. Shadow country trilogy audiobooks listen to the full. To me, it is one of the great american novels, as it encompasses the violence, hardships, and beauty of the time in a wise and incredibly poetic prose particular to matthiessen. Shadow country by peter matthiessen overdrive rakuten. From his everglades trilogy peter matthiessen has coaxed a masterpiece, a wrenching story of familial, racial and environmental degradation stretching from the civil war to the great depression. Watson, a planter, and notorious alleged murderer, of the ten thousand islands area of southwest florida. Shadow country is a reworked, reedited, and retitled singlevolume version of a trilogy published in the 1990s. The main characters of this fiction, historical story are.
Watson, who drives himself relentlessly toward his own violent end at the hands of neighbors who mostly admired him, in a killing that obsessed his. To find the market value for this book, click on the prefilled ebay, abebooks, or biblio links to the right and look for comparable listings that have all of these first edition points. The book has been awarded with national book award for. Watson, who drives himself relentlessly toward his own violent end at the hands of neighbors who mostly admired him, in a killing that obsessed. Shadow country, his distillation of the earlier watson saga, represents his original vision. First edition points to identify shadow country by peter. Apr 08, 2008 winner of the national book award for fiction inspired by a nearmythic event of the wild florida frontier at the turn of the twentieth century, shadow country reimagines the legend of the inspired everglades sugar planter and notorious outlaw e.
Shadow country lives up to anyones highest expectations for great writing. Watson, who drives himself relentlessly toward his own violent end at the hands of neighbors who mostly admired him, in a killing that obsessed his favorite son. Matthiessen is meticulous in creating characters, lyrical in describing landscapes, and resolute in dissecting the values and costs that accompanied the development of this nation. Dont get me wrong he can write some descriptive and interesting prose. Judges for the national book award honored a comeback wednesday night, giving the fiction award to peter matthiessens shadow country, a thorough revision of a trilogy of novels from the 1990s. Pdf shadow country book by peter matthiessen free download. Peter matthiessens shadow country vies for a national book. Three very small spots on top of the front page edges, otherwise. The first edition of the novel was published in 2008, and was written by peter matthiessen. Watson, who drives himself relentlessly toward his own violent end at the hands of neighbors who mostly admired. The late peter matthiessen was a brilliantly gifted and ambitious writer.
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