Raditzer [Paperback]

Peter Matthiessen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 12, 1987

". . . one of the finest novels to come along since the advent of John Updike . . . brilliantly realized and written with an economy and sureness of control that are magnificent."--San Francisco Examiner.

Product Details

• Paperback: 152 pages
• Publisher: Vintage; 1 edition (November 12, 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0394753437
• ISBN-13: 978-0394753430
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.1 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,659,535 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars dark but good, December 16, 2005

By 

brendan frost "sam" (baltimore, md) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Raditzer (Hardcover)

This was a very thought-provoking novel. The end was just over-the-top enough to place you in that zone of willing suspension of disbelief. Not too hard to understand what he was trying to represent about the general human condition, but on the other hand not hitting you too hard with overt symbols. Gaugin plays a major role, and personally I doubt he was the paragon of freedom/excellence that he is portrayed as.

My review is a little off the cuff, but that is unlike this book, which is very artfully written. I only wish there was a "redeeming" message in there somewhere! I also wish I had read this book in high school (I am 35). There is some stuff that might give pause to some overprotective parents, but it reveals the dark side of winning World War II, the totalitarian aspect of the military, and the role of scapegoats, both Christ-like and Satanic.

As I am lately wont to do in my reviews, I wish to finish by quoting the Ice-T lyric this made me think most of, but I can't really think of one. This art stands on its own.