This is a haunting and lovely piece of fiction. Here's what the reviewers have said about it:
"An adventure story...worth comparing to the best of Conrad or Stevenson."--The New York Review of Books
"This novel is Matthiessen at his best--a masterfully spun yarn, a little other-worldly, a dreamlike momentum...Like everything of his, it's also a deep declaration of love for the planet."--Thomas Pynchon
"One of the best books of the year."--The New York Times
"A superb feat of story-telling."--The New Yorker
"Beautiful and original...a resonant and symbolical story of nine doomed men who dream of an earthly paradise as the world winds down around them."--Newsweek
"The stuff of which great books are made...Far Tortuga is about the sea and sailors and change; but mostly it is a novel of the human spirit."--James Dickey, The Philadelphia Inquirer
"Unique...original...enormously haunting."--William Styron
"An adventure story...worth comparing to the best of Conrad or Stevenson."--The New York Review of Books
"This novel is Matthiessen at his best--a masterfully spun yarn, a little other-worldly, a dreamlike momentum...Like everything of his, it's also a deep declaration of love for the planet."--Thomas Pynchon
"One of the best books of the year."--The New York Times
"A superb feat of story-telling."--The New Yorker
"Beautiful and original...a resonant and symbolical story of nine doomed men who dream of an earthly paradise as the world winds down around them."--Newsweek
"The stuff of which great books are made...Far Tortuga is about the sea and sailors and change; but mostly it is a novel of the human spirit."--James Dickey, The Philadelphia Inquirer
"Unique...original...enormously haunting."--William Styron