Killing Mister Watson | Peter Matthiessen | Review of "Killing Mister Watson"

Killing Mister Watson | Peter Matthiessen | Et tu, Brute

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Killing Mister Watson

	Killing Mister Watson Peter Matthiessen Vintage, 1991 - 384 pages average customer review:based on 26 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Drawn from fragments of historical fact, Matthiessen's masterpiece brilliantly depicts the fortunes and misfortunes of Edgar J. Watson, a real-life entrepreneur and outlaw who appeared in the lawless Florida Everglades around the turn of the century.

Review of "Killing Mister Watson"

Killing Mr. Watson is a historical fiction based on the 1910 vigilante murder of Edgar Watson in the Everglades of southwest Florida. Mr. Watson is a shadowy character who appears in the south Florida town of Chokoloskee at the turn of the century, when south Florida was one the last unsettled frontiers. Mr. Watson is a hardworking plantation owner who considered by the local residents to be both generous and dangerous because of his proficiency with firearms and a hair-trigger temper. The combination of Mr. Watson's mysterious past, his proclivity for violence, and the strange disappearance or murder of laborers on his plantation lead his neighbors to gun him down following a major hurricane. The story of Mr. Watson is retold from the first person accounts of his family and neighbors, with newspaper articles from the period interspaced between chapters to act as a narrative.

Peter Matthiessen is an award winning author who meticulously recreates the drama surrounding Mr. Watson's life using a cast of diverse characters that are true to pioneer life in Florida.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, reading most of it over a two day period. As someone who considers Florida his home state, I also appreciated Mr. Matthiessen's attention to historical detail when recreating South Florida at the turn of the century. I would recommend this book to anyone and it certainly fits into the category of modern classic.

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Et tu, Brute

Peter Matthiessen describes his character. "First time you seen the man, you wanted him to like you---he was that kind."
Similar praises were most likely sung for the likes of Napoleon, Lincoln, JFK, Julius Caesar, Malcolm X, St. Joan, Socrates and even Il Duce. Seems like we always want to place a charismatic leader especially high on the pedestal so he has all the farther to fall. So, it is with Mr. Watson. He is smart, sexy, charming, and hard working. He is also very tough, can handle a knife and gun. He can shoot the mustache off a sheriff at 100 yards. No, you don't want to get this guy mad at you. Mister Watson. Whether you fear him or love him---- woman have been know to take one look at him and drop their drawers ----as long as that power provides some benefit to you and yours, you want him around. When he drinks too much, earns too much, roughs up too much, you look the other way. But when he loses his power, you shoot him full of lead. You use handguns, rifles, and buck shot. Even get the "youngins" into the act. You slay the mighty Goliath and then you string him up by the toes and drag his body through the muddy swamps. Tear his pretty face off his head. Bury him in a shallow grave with a noose tied to the tree of liberty so that it may be refreshed by this natural piece of manure.
Mister Watson. We're not sure of what you are guilty, but we know you must be guilty of something.
Bang.

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Fascinating, horrifying vision of Florida

A wonderfully detailed picture of the old Florida--a violent, swampy land that attracts criminals and real-estate shysters.... sound familiar? Yes, it's the old Florida and a prediction of new Florida too, but with a terrifying gothic chaos, and a sadness about the environmental destruction to come.

Ultimately, the book left me a little bit cold. I suppose that's sort of the point, but it tickled my brain more than my heart. Still highly recommended.

Pros and Cons of Killing Mr. Watson

Pros: delightful narrative written in authentic dialect; interesting characters and plot promote further reading/research about Florida history.

Cons: characters' perspectives on events leading up to Mr. Watson's death become tedious and repetitious, especially during the last half of the novel. This book could have been condensed without losing any content.

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Story told in heavy Southern dialect

'T ahll balls down t' this: if readin' fo' hunnert pages of thick cracker drawl don't rasp yo' nerves worser 'n a skeeter whine, y'all will love this here book.

reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

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