At Play in the Fields of the Lord

This is the first of Peter Matthiessen's fiction books I have read, having read a couple of his non-fiction books and enjoyed them.
I wasn't sure whether I would like this - but Matthiessen's characters, so flawed and so realistic, in the setting of the jungles of the Amazon amongst savage native Indians - fantastic stuff.

The infantile feuding between Protestant and Catholic missionaries, all either corrupt, fooling themselves, blinded to their own ambition, or miserable in themselves. A couple of mercenaries, trapped in the town with their passports confiscated. Mind altering ayahuasca, the native hallucinogenic drug. The local el comandante, wielding power over whoever he can, and an array of Indians - from the wild to the tame.

The writing is vivid, the scenery is atmospheric, and the native way of life comes across as accurate and realistic.

Four stars.