It was recommended for nearly every nature literary class, including the National Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award, and it in fact won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1988.

几乎所有的自然文学类奖项都有它的提名，包括国家图书奖和国家图书评论圈奖，事实上它还获得了1988年的普利策小说奖。