At play in the fields of the Lord

Set in a malarial outpost of the South American jungle, Matthiessen's electrifying moral thriller follows the clash between two misplaced gringos: Martin Quarrier, who has come to convert the local Indians to Christianity, and Lewis Moon, a half-Indian mercenary who has been hired to kill them. "Extraordinary . . . beautifully written". New York Times. Now the basis for a major motion picture starring John Lithgow, Tom Berenger, and Daryl Hannah.