The sinister and depraved figure of Popeye dominates as extraordinary a novel as our contemporary national literature can boast. Sanctuary is a story-teller’s tour de force, a tense and impassioned narration of a horrific aspect of life that only the vigorous and the healthy-minded can bear without wincing. It is a virile, challenging novel that cannot be ignored or set aside. Sanctuary arouses the most extreme enthusiasm or revulsion; it holds spellbound its most ardent admirers and bitterest foes from first sentence to last.