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The Deerslayer is the last book in Cooper's Leatherstocking Tales pentalogy, but acts as a prequel to the other novels. It begins with the rapid civilizing of New York, in which surrounds the following books take place. It introduces the hero of the Tales, Natty Bumppo, and his philosophy that every living thing should follow its own nature. He is contrasted to other, less conscientious, frontiersmen.
I read this book in preparation for the second in the chronological series, "The Last of the Mohicans." It took a bit of time, but was an easy read that galloped along nicely.
PROS: I loved the action when it finally came, and some of the plot twists and surprises. (The twists that were predictable were also enjoyable.) Some of the nature descriptions were exquisite and reminded me that he was writing in the Romantic Period.
CONS: The prose was quite wordy, which was forgivable since it was published in 1841, back when the human brain was not impatiently racing in computer time. The repetition of "former" and "latter" was annoying as I had to keep re-reading the previous sentence to get the meaning. His sidetracking into religious and philosophical discussions got old, but at least it taught me how to skim.
Overall, I would recommend this book for its adventure and action, and for its historical value as a classic along with "The Last of the Mohicans" (which I have yet to read). I will now watch the 1978 Deerslayer movie which, I assume, will be full of adventure and not drag. ( )
Well I finally finished the book. If I had to listen to Natty Bumpo talk anymore about red gifts and white man gifts and being a white Christian, I think I would have thrown the book across the room. Was it a bad book? Not necessarily. Was it a good book? No. Do I know that I should take in to account the time period when it was written? I do know that. But still! It doesn't mean you can separate your present day thoughts and understanding from the story. If I could take all that out and just focus on the descriptions of the natural setting, the action scenes, and anything else.. it wouldn't be a bad book. It would also be a lot shorter. Read this book with a grain of salt.
The question now, for me as a reader, is do I go on and read The Last of the Mohicans to see if the movie with Daniel Day-Lewis is actually better than the book? That my friends is the question. ( )
I picked up this book because I loved the setting and concept, as a fan of historical fiction broadly, I'm very able to compartmentalize the 18th-century attitudes of the characters as written by a 19th-century white male author that do not align with my own 21st century views, so this was not an issue for me. Ultimately, I didn't like the book that much, however, because, like many others before me, I found it rather slow-paced for an adventure novel, and often too verbiose. I'd often find my eyes glazing over as I read the prose. While the novel did have an overall interesting tale to tell, and some of the prose was quite nice, the pacing and style simply did not work for me. I intend to read "Last of the Mohicans" in any case, as I adore the film, and want to give the book a chance - though I would not recommend the Deerslayer. ( )
Handlingen utspelar sig vid 1700-talets mitt då kolonialkriget rasade mellan England och Frankrike. The Deerslayer tells the story of a young Natty Bumppo, most famously known as `Hawkeye', and his Mohican `brother' Chingachgook, as they attempt to rescue Chingachgook's betrothed, Wah-ta-Wah, from the Hurons. When Bumppo's friends Harry March and Tom Hutter are also captured, Bumppo must go on his first warpath in order to rescue them.Cooper's final addition to his classic Leatherstocking series is one of the earliest novels to be considered truly `American', due in no small part to the novel's protagonist, who embodied the popular American ideals of individualism and liberty.
To mingle with the universe, and feel What I can ne'er express, yet cannot all conceal"
—Childe Harold.
Dedication
First words
On the human imagination events produce the effects of time. Thus, he who has travelled far and seen much is apt to fancy that he has lived long; and the history that most abounds in important incidents soonest assumes the aspect of antiquity. In no other way can we account for the venerable air that is already gathering around American annals. When the mind reverts to the earliest days of colonial history, the period seems remote and obscure, the thousand changes that thicken along the links of recollections, throwing back the origin of the nation to a day so distant as seemingly to reach the mists of time; and yet four lives of ordinary duration would suffice to transmit, from mouth to mouth, in the form of tradition, all that civilized man has achieved within the limits of the republic. Although New York alone possesses a population materially exceeding that of either of the four smallest kingdoms of Europe, or materially exceeding that of the entire Swiss Confederation, it is little more than two centuries since the Dutch commenced their settlement, rescuing the region from the savage state. Thus, what seems venerable by an accumulation of changes is reduced to familiarity when we come seriously to consider it solely in connection with time.
Quotations
Last words
The same fate attended Judith. When Hawkeye reached the garrison on the Mohawk he enquired anxiously after that lovely but misguided creature. None knew her—even her person was no longer remembered. Other officers had, again and again, succeeded the Warleys and Craigs and Grahams, though an old sergeant of the garrison, who had lately come from England, was enabled to tell our hero that Sir Robert Warley lived on his paternal estates, and that there was a lady of rare beauty in the Lodge who had great influence over him, though she did not bear his name. Whether this was Judith relapsed into her early failing, or some other victim of the soldier’s, Hawkeye never knew, nor would it be pleasant or profitable to inquire. We live in a world of transgressions and selfishness, and no pictures that represent us otherwise can be true, though, happily, for human nature, gleamings of that pure spirit in whose likeness man has been fashioned are to be seen, relieving its deformities, and mitigating if not excusing its crimes.
The Deerslayer is the last book in Cooper's Leatherstocking Tales pentalogy, but acts as a prequel to the other novels. It begins with the rapid civilizing of New York, in which surrounds the following books take place. It introduces the hero of the Tales, Natty Bumppo, and his philosophy that every living thing should follow its own nature. He is contrasted to other, less conscientious, frontiersmen.
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Book description
Set near Templeton (analogous to the historical Cooperstown, NY) / Lake Otsego ["Glimmerglass"] in the 1730s. Natty and Chingachgook are young men at age of first courtship and first battles. A teenage Uncas makes a brief appearance in an epilogue to the novel.
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12
PROS: I loved the action when it finally came, and some of the plot twists and surprises. (The twists that were predictable were also enjoyable.) Some of the nature descriptions were exquisite and reminded me that he was writing in the Romantic Period.
CONS: The prose was quite wordy, which was forgivable since it was published in 1841, back when the human brain was not impatiently racing in computer time. The repetition of "former" and "latter" was annoying as I had to keep re-reading the previous sentence to get the meaning. His sidetracking into religious and philosophical discussions got old, but at least it taught me how to skim.
Overall, I would recommend this book for its adventure and action, and for its historical value as a classic along with "The Last of the Mohicans" (which I have yet to read). I will now watch the 1978 Deerslayer movie which, I assume, will be full of adventure and not drag. (