This is the book the 2011 movie of the same name was based on.

An ecocentric story, it contemplates the nature of mankind, wild animals and the wilderness. The writer doesn't 'develop' the main character as many stories do, but pulls you into his feelings, and detachment from the human world.

The subsequent movie and the book are very different, with different endings. ( )

I like how the Tasmanian backdrop is authentic without being overpowering. I recognise home in this.
The writing is good. The words flow with the smoothness of a slow, deep river.
The central character however? For a book so concentrated on one person, it gives little insight into his inner workings. Motivations and emotions are so lightly touched on that his actions are merely that. We watch him go about his task, and that's it. I was interested in seeing what would eventuate, but I didn't connect with him. ( )

I picked this up after seeing it mentioned in the context of "what if thylacines weren't extinct," which was a cool concept, and because I wanted to add more non-American writers to my reading list.

Halfway through the book, I turned to my wife and said "the main character kind of sucks, but I think that's the point." If this had been written by a man, I would have chalked the whole thing up to a misogynist creating a mouthpiece in M and putting him through some macho fantasy about killing the last thylacine and expecting us to cheer along with him. Instead, I ended up feeling a sense of loss and disappointment at the end, with the thylacine's death almost parallel to the Armstrong family's accident. (I gather that this is a common book for Australian students to read, so I'll let them analyze it further.)

I really liked the language. The plot had a lot of loose ends, but there was a general sense of resolution, if not a happy one. I keep wavering between 3 and 4 stars, but because it was such an immersive read I think 4 does it justice. ( )

The Hunter, known as M in this book, is on a quest. This is what he does, this is who he is. He is the natural man, the hunter, the predator. Human relationships are meaningless compared to the thrill of tracking an elusive beast. He has been born in the wrong century. By some ill-fated timing, he has been born at a time when the preservation of endangered species has more value than the sport and the skill of a kill.

The hunter is well written and a page turner. There is a modicum of human interaction with others in this short novel, just enough to know what is going on inside of M's head. The story is disturbing and tense, bringing with it a whole host of questions and judgments inside of the reader's head as we see the workings of M's thoughts.

Yes, this novel is depressing. The brevity of it and the wonderful prose enabled me to finish it. I have not seen this movie and am not sure I could see it but I am curious how such a psychological novel could be made into a film. ( )

Every man is an island. It's a dog-eat-dog world. Can you step into the same river twice? If you consider these things and throw in a bit of Bear Grylls then you have the gist of the book. From about mid-way the film and the book part company, if my memory serves me correctly. ( )

26. The Hunter by Julia Leigh (1999, 170 pages, Read Apr 28 – May 3, Paperback)

I picked this up partially because I didn't know anything about it and I kind of needed a book like that, partially because it was sent to me by a user I respect a great deal, because it's short, and because I've started trying to read more books written by women. Anyway, I opened it up blind, not realizing this was about a hunter's efforts to find and kill the last Tasmanian Tiger, believed to have gone extinct in 1936, or that there was a movie made about it.

The word to describe the reading experience is relentless. Although, actually I didn't notice anything special about it until the end. It's comes across a very simple and straight forward, with a few oddities and touches of humanity around and finally within in a machine like and almost inhuman hunter. But the ending - I'll avoid spoilers here - changed the book for me. There is a very sound and difficult logic to it. It left me suddenly uncomfortable and thinking, and bothered by the book in a way I wouldn't not have been if it had been presented another way. That is to say I couldn't have gotten the sense of the book in it's entirely without having experienced the whole book plus the ending. It all fits together as a interdependent experience - at least for this reader. I find something special in that.

2014
https://www.librarything.com/topic/172769#4712650 ( )

It's a beautiful story but it has a lot of vulgar language that isn't appropriate for teens. The movie changes a lot of things. ( )

I wanted to read this book mainly because it was about the thylacine. It is well written and I felt myself on a journey into the Tasmanian forest where I could almost smell, hear and feel my surroundings ..... ; So descriptive were the passages ... one could feel the beauty of the land which at the same time is harsh and dangerous. I had mixed feelings about M, the hunter who comes to this land to harvest the tiger. Parts of this book are quite disturbing. but it was an excellent read and is a book that I will remember, always. ( )

The Hunter is the story of a man, known only to the reader as "M", who is hired to kill and obtain genetic material from what is believed to be the last Tasmanian tiger. His base camp, such that it is, is a rented room from a family who lives on the very outskirts of the jungle. The man of that house, a naturalist, who claimed to a few that he had seen the tiger, never returned from his last excursion and is assumed long dead. "M" uses the name Martin David and claims also to be a naturalist.

The story follows M on his long excursions into the jungle in great detail. We are in this guy's head for nearly all 170 pages. There are some moments where I found myself completely mesmerized in this tale of obsession, survival — of predator-prey — and other times where I felt I was spending way too much time in this guy's head. But still, I kept on reading!

I think this would be a fascinating book club choice, but I suspect most book clubs might not be able to get past the cruder aspects of The Hunter (i.e the skinning of animal — in detail). It's a fascinating character study, and I try to imagine the same story with the hunter as a female. What would be different? See, I love a book that gets me thinking. . . ( )