"Inventive and extremely well-written. . . . Incredibly moving. . . . A remarkable performance." –San Francisco Chronicle
"Matthiessen has produced, in expertly crafted and sometimes deeply affecting prose, an entertainment full of glittering color, nose-to-nose conflict and heroic gestures." –The Washington Post Book World
"A work approaching the highest art, of the most serious purpose." –St. Louis Post-Dispatch
"A haunting novel. . . . A sardonic wit and a huge fund of compassion illuminate its pages." –Newsday
"A brutal yet compassionate narrative . . . that will remain long in the reader's mind." –Minneapolis Star Tribune