Exciting!
James Fennimore Cooper's five books known as "The Leatherstocking Tales" ( the Deerslayer is the first in the series) are some of the most exciting books I've ever read. I highly recommend
The Leatherstocking Tales: The Deerslayer
The last book James Fenimore Cooper wrote about Nathaniel 'Natty' Bumppo (Hawkeye) and the Mohican chief Chingachgook is the first from a chronological standpoint. 'The Deerslayer' is a fontier adventure set in New York state in the decades before the Revolutionary War.
Overall it is a good read, though Cooper's dialogue can get very repetitive. I often found this frustrating but, on the other hand, I could certainly believe these young, rustic characters would converse the way Cooper presents.
Cooper is a good enough writer to comfortably show his characters limitations. For example, in one scene Hawkeye worries that an ornate chesspiece is an idol and runs on about the evils of idolatry while a more sophisticated character is amused at his simplicity. Elsewhere, one of the female characters lectures Chingachgook about his wife in a way that is pretty condescending. Such well-intended misfires were probably common on the frontier, and I found them to be good characterization even though these scenes weren't really relevant to the plot.
Charm or no charm, it's impossible to read Cooper without noting that his plots are often glacial in their pacing. Frankly, this will be a deal-killer for many modern readers. However, I prefer to accept the slower pacing in this book. This was frontier America in the 1700s, not downtown New York City in 2008. Things and people would have moved at a slower pace. For me, the pacing is an element of the setting and characters. It's certainly true that when the action does kick in Cooper's writing becomes surprisingly tight. Inconsistent pacing or integrity of vision? You be the judge.
Cooper's main flaw that cannot be debated about or excused is his habit of painting 'tableaux' scenes that make you want to toss your lunch. He has a dreadful tendency to insert sour notes of Victorian sentamentality, which are as dissonant in his rustic tale as as a loud fart during a violin solo.
Bottom line, I enjoyed 'The Deerslayer' although, admittedly, I adapted myself to Cooper's pacing and intentions. I also believe that, if you read the novels in their actual written order, 'The Deerslayer' will be a very touching coda because it provides some interesting back story: the origin of Killdeer, Uncas' mother, and there's even a tantalizing hint about how Natty came to be among the Delawares. Cooper does a fantastic job of 'ending with the beginning.'
At the end of the day, the Leatherstocking Tales stand alone in their depiction of frontier life. Though Cooper wrote decades after the foundation of America, he gives me the feel of the colonial frontier and our American heritage like no other author I can think of. For this reason, his works are an American treasure.
A wonderful saga
Kent Rasmussen's editorial review is best left to the literists who cannot publish or write themselves. This was a wonderful tale full of adventure and is highly recommended to be read with the complete 5-book set of the Leatherstocking Tales. Enjoy.
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