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Garram the Hunter: A Boy of the Hill Tribes
Garram, son of the chief of the Hillmen tribe, is forced to flee his home when it is revealed to him that a planned usurping of his father's position as chief will take place soon unless Garram goes into hiding. The journey that Garram subsequently embarks upon helps prepare him for the inevitable confrontation with his father's political enemies that is sure to occur when he eventually returns home.
332 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1930
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September 18, 2019
Chosen as a Newbery Honor Book in 1931 - other titles to be so distinguished that year include
Floating Island
,
The Dark Star Of Itza
,
Queer Person
,
Mountains Are Free
,
Spice and the Devil's Cave
,
Meggy MacIntosh: A Highland Girl in the Carolina Colony
, and
Ood-Le-Uk the Wanderer
- Herbert Best's Garram the Hunter follows its eponymous young hero as, concerned for his father's welfare, he goes into a self-imposed exile, far from his home in the hills. The son of Warok, the chief of the tough, independent Hillmen, Garram is a boy in age, but a man in habits, silently hunting on his own, rather than having anything to do with the other youths, who follow the false braggart, Menud. When Menud and his wealthy father, Sura, bring a false accusation of theft and goat-rustling against Garram, in order to discredit his father, the young hunter easily disproves the allegations, but discovers that his enemies continue to work against him. Advised by his tribe's priest, the Rainmaker, that he should remove himself for a time, in order to protect Warok - the theory being that, without an heir presumptive, the chief will be safe from Sura and Menud's plotting - Garram leaves the village of Kwallak behind, and, finding himself on the western plain, makes his way to the great walled city of Yelwa. Here, surrounded by the Fulani people, he makes both friends and enemies, eventually finding a place for himself in the court of the Emir. But when the time comes, he knows he must return once again to the Hills, to free his father and aid his own people...
It is an unfortunate reality that many of these early Newbery titles (like vintage children's fiction in general) have some pretty sharply anachronistic social content, and often depict non-European or European-descended peoples in egregiously racist ways. Books like The Great Quest , with its "accidental" slave voyage to Africa, or Queer Person , with its counter-to-fact depiction of the Crow Nation practicing human sacrifice, in their Sun Dance observances, are particularly noteworthy in this respect. Of course, there are also a few older Newberies, from The Dark Star Of Itza: The Story Of A Pagan Princess , with its epic tale of inter-city warfare, in medieval Meso-America, to Pran Of Albania , with its story of a proud and independent mountain people fending off those who would invade and conquer them, that treat non-Europeans (or, in the case of "Pran," non-western Europeans) with respect. I wasn't sure, going in, which category Garram the Hunter: A Boy of the Hill Tribes would fall into, but given the setting in Africa, I suspected it would be the former.
Happily, this was not the case, and I can report that, save for one odd comment, approximately eighty pages in, about the "cruel nature" of Africans (one of the few narratological interruptions in a story told almost exclusively from Garram's perspective), Garram the Hunter is free of condescension and racist over-(or under)tones. Its hero is an engaging, if somewhat over-idealized character, and the events depicted are fascinating, giving an insight into a time and place not often depicted in American children's fiction. What is that time and place? Best doesn't specify, but given the mention of conflicts between the Fulani and the Hillmen, involving slave raids conducted by the former, I suspect that it is early nineteenth-century Nigeria, in the mountainous northeastern region now dominated by Gashaka-Gumti National Park. The contrasting of the pagan Hill people, and the Muslim Fulani here was quite interesting, particularly as it demonstrated the diversity of belief and culture, in just this one small corner of Africa - something that is often lost on authors of the time (as well as today), who erroneously assume a sort of uniformity amongst all Africans.
All in all, a surprisingly engaging read, one I would recommend to young readers of today, if they enjoy adventure stories, and/or historical fiction!
It is an unfortunate reality that many of these early Newbery titles (like vintage children's fiction in general) have some pretty sharply anachronistic social content, and often depict non-European or European-descended peoples in egregiously racist ways. Books like The Great Quest , with its "accidental" slave voyage to Africa, or Queer Person , with its counter-to-fact depiction of the Crow Nation practicing human sacrifice, in their Sun Dance observances, are particularly noteworthy in this respect. Of course, there are also a few older Newberies, from The Dark Star Of Itza: The Story Of A Pagan Princess , with its epic tale of inter-city warfare, in medieval Meso-America, to Pran Of Albania , with its story of a proud and independent mountain people fending off those who would invade and conquer them, that treat non-Europeans (or, in the case of "Pran," non-western Europeans) with respect. I wasn't sure, going in, which category Garram the Hunter: A Boy of the Hill Tribes would fall into, but given the setting in Africa, I suspected it would be the former.
Happily, this was not the case, and I can report that, save for one odd comment, approximately eighty pages in, about the "cruel nature" of Africans (one of the few narratological interruptions in a story told almost exclusively from Garram's perspective), Garram the Hunter is free of condescension and racist over-(or under)tones. Its hero is an engaging, if somewhat over-idealized character, and the events depicted are fascinating, giving an insight into a time and place not often depicted in American children's fiction. What is that time and place? Best doesn't specify, but given the mention of conflicts between the Fulani and the Hillmen, involving slave raids conducted by the former, I suspect that it is early nineteenth-century Nigeria, in the mountainous northeastern region now dominated by Gashaka-Gumti National Park. The contrasting of the pagan Hill people, and the Muslim Fulani here was quite interesting, particularly as it demonstrated the diversity of belief and culture, in just this one small corner of Africa - something that is often lost on authors of the time (as well as today), who erroneously assume a sort of uniformity amongst all Africans.
All in all, a surprisingly engaging read, one I would recommend to young readers of today, if they enjoy adventure stories, and/or historical fiction!
November 3, 2011
"We all know that after many years of peace people will say, 'There will be no more war in our days... Why should we train ourselves to defend our families? Why should we do aught save gather wealth or eat and drink?' Yet we, who bear scars of many ancient battles... know that when they think to find us unprepared they will come again."
—Chief Warok, Garram the Hunter, PP. 252-253
And so it seems to go for every people, and every civilization. Disciplined training and an ambitious eye for accomplishment both grow soft as the appearance of imminent danger fades, and the common man softens in his resolve to stay vigilant, his strengths slowly ebbing into weaknesses until one day a new people just as ambitious as the old guard once was takes over, and begins the cycle anew. This is also true on a smaller scale for individuals; we all are capable of achieving incredible things out of nothing but our own stubborn resolve, but we tend to sit back and rest on our laurels after first tasting the success we had craved so deeply. I believe that the wise man, though, understands that we as human beings must always keep moving forward, or we quickly fade into irrelevancy. To keep on getting better and achieving new goals is to fight a continuous battle with our own creeping complacency.
The Hill Tribes, of which Garram the Hunter's father is the venerated chief, are in the midst of their own gradual shift toward subversive laziness. A threat to the security of Chief Warok has emerged not from an outside invader, but from the crafty discontentedness of a few of the chief's most loyal advisers, who publicly pledge their loyalty to the man in charge while at the same time spreading inflammatory half-truths and outright lies behind his back to those among the people who seem willing to listen. Warok is a wise chieftain and knows very well what's going on in his tribe's leadership hierarchy, but carrying out punitive action against parties that are only suspected of disloyalty to the chief would cause an outpouring of common support for the manipulative renegade advisers. The only thing he can do is to bide his time.
Garram, son of the chief, is a strong, clever boy, a highly skilled hunter who can take on the fiercest African predatory animals in mortal combat and always emerge victorious. He's also the perfect pawn for the usurpers to his father's rule to use against their leader. As leverage to keep the heads of the revolt from moving against his father, Garram goes on the lam, reasoning that the evil men will hesitate to kill the chief if his resourceful, able-bodied son is out there somewhere, likely to one day return with nothing but vengeance on his mind. So Garram scurries from the scene (taking his hunting dog, Kon, with him) and sets up an independent life for himself, all the while knowing that one day he'll return to his homeland to confront the challengers to his father's rule.
I ended up liking Garram the Hunter more than I had expected. Many of these early Newbery Honor books are out of print now and have to be determinedly sought out through used-book stores; not all of them are necessarily worth the extra effort and expense, but this book is the real deal, as captivating (or more so) than most juvenile novels being produced today. The writing is smooth, textured, beautifully evocative of the action it describes; the events of the story are genuinely humorous, dramatic and suspenseful in turns, showing a great deal of imagination and versatility on the part of author Herbert Best; the wisdom behind the narrative is timeless and offers germane life lessons for us all about the fickleness of people's favor, how patient, intelligent thinking can dig a person out of most bleak situations, and the natural rewards that come from being a person of honor and treating others with the respect and deference that they deserve.
Should Garram the Hunter have been given a Newbery Honor citation for 1931? Well, I'm not directly familiar with all of the main candidates, but I have to say I feel fairly certain that it must have been a deserving recipient of the honor. I haven't read The Cat Who Went to Heaven by Elizabeth Coatsworth, the book that actually took the Newbery Medal that year; however, I'll bet that Garram the Hunter at least offers it some pretty stiff competition. But wait, the 1931 Newbery Honor that this book received isn't its only connection to the Newbery awards. The illustrations that pop up occasionally in Garram the Hunter were drawn by Erick Berry (aka Allena Best), a Newbery Honoree herself in 1934 for The Winged Girl of Knossos. The last name shared by the author and illustrator makes me wonder if they were related, though I don't yet know anything for sure about that.
Every once in a while I read an out-of-print book that makes me really wish some enterprising company would bring it back into publication for the enjoyment and enrichment of kids who weren't even born before the last new copy was printed, and Garram the Hunter is absolutely one of those books that made me feel that way. Truly speaking, it is a credit to the Newbery awards, and I am proud to personally own a copy of it.
—Chief Warok, Garram the Hunter, PP. 252-253
And so it seems to go for every people, and every civilization. Disciplined training and an ambitious eye for accomplishment both grow soft as the appearance of imminent danger fades, and the common man softens in his resolve to stay vigilant, his strengths slowly ebbing into weaknesses until one day a new people just as ambitious as the old guard once was takes over, and begins the cycle anew. This is also true on a smaller scale for individuals; we all are capable of achieving incredible things out of nothing but our own stubborn resolve, but we tend to sit back and rest on our laurels after first tasting the success we had craved so deeply. I believe that the wise man, though, understands that we as human beings must always keep moving forward, or we quickly fade into irrelevancy. To keep on getting better and achieving new goals is to fight a continuous battle with our own creeping complacency.
The Hill Tribes, of which Garram the Hunter's father is the venerated chief, are in the midst of their own gradual shift toward subversive laziness. A threat to the security of Chief Warok has emerged not from an outside invader, but from the crafty discontentedness of a few of the chief's most loyal advisers, who publicly pledge their loyalty to the man in charge while at the same time spreading inflammatory half-truths and outright lies behind his back to those among the people who seem willing to listen. Warok is a wise chieftain and knows very well what's going on in his tribe's leadership hierarchy, but carrying out punitive action against parties that are only suspected of disloyalty to the chief would cause an outpouring of common support for the manipulative renegade advisers. The only thing he can do is to bide his time.
Garram, son of the chief, is a strong, clever boy, a highly skilled hunter who can take on the fiercest African predatory animals in mortal combat and always emerge victorious. He's also the perfect pawn for the usurpers to his father's rule to use against their leader. As leverage to keep the heads of the revolt from moving against his father, Garram goes on the lam, reasoning that the evil men will hesitate to kill the chief if his resourceful, able-bodied son is out there somewhere, likely to one day return with nothing but vengeance on his mind. So Garram scurries from the scene (taking his hunting dog, Kon, with him) and sets up an independent life for himself, all the while knowing that one day he'll return to his homeland to confront the challengers to his father's rule.
I ended up liking Garram the Hunter more than I had expected. Many of these early Newbery Honor books are out of print now and have to be determinedly sought out through used-book stores; not all of them are necessarily worth the extra effort and expense, but this book is the real deal, as captivating (or more so) than most juvenile novels being produced today. The writing is smooth, textured, beautifully evocative of the action it describes; the events of the story are genuinely humorous, dramatic and suspenseful in turns, showing a great deal of imagination and versatility on the part of author Herbert Best; the wisdom behind the narrative is timeless and offers germane life lessons for us all about the fickleness of people's favor, how patient, intelligent thinking can dig a person out of most bleak situations, and the natural rewards that come from being a person of honor and treating others with the respect and deference that they deserve.
Should Garram the Hunter have been given a Newbery Honor citation for 1931? Well, I'm not directly familiar with all of the main candidates, but I have to say I feel fairly certain that it must have been a deserving recipient of the honor. I haven't read The Cat Who Went to Heaven by Elizabeth Coatsworth, the book that actually took the Newbery Medal that year; however, I'll bet that Garram the Hunter at least offers it some pretty stiff competition. But wait, the 1931 Newbery Honor that this book received isn't its only connection to the Newbery awards. The illustrations that pop up occasionally in Garram the Hunter were drawn by Erick Berry (aka Allena Best), a Newbery Honoree herself in 1934 for The Winged Girl of Knossos. The last name shared by the author and illustrator makes me wonder if they were related, though I don't yet know anything for sure about that.
Every once in a while I read an out-of-print book that makes me really wish some enterprising company would bring it back into publication for the enjoyment and enrichment of kids who weren't even born before the last new copy was printed, and Garram the Hunter is absolutely one of those books that made me feel that way. Truly speaking, it is a credit to the Newbery awards, and I am proud to personally own a copy of it.
April 18, 2018
3.5-4 stars. Another story from 1030 by a white man about non-white characters - with that caveat, this is actually pretty good. The author, Herbert Best, was British born and spent time in Nigeria in the area where this was set (based on the Fulani), so he at least had some familiarity with the peoples involved. His hero, Garram, as noted, is of the hill-tribes (there are over 40 ethno-linguistic groups) located as best I can figure on the Jos plateau - which is the only place to find the klipspringer gazelle in this part of Africa. Garram's people at the time of the novel are pagan hunter/farmers and seem more primitive (flint) than their Fulani neighbors (metal use) to the east (horsemen slavers) and west (Muslim city dwellers). I got a distinct "Gods Must Be Crazy" vibe while Garram was in the Fulani city of Yelwa; he was the clever primitive out to solve the problems of the civilized emir via miscellaneous, mostly unintended, hijinks (just as the San bushman did in the movie). For the most part I found the book not obviously racist or paternalistic. There were a few places where the plot and its drivers didn't make a whole lot of sense (i.e. why was it necessary for Garram to leave his people to save his father's life since the plot proceeded in his absence). I read this for my 2018 Reading Challenge and my Newbery Challenge.
January 20, 2023
Well, this is a good adventure book - featuring an ingenious boy, the son of a tribal chief, who excels at quickly conceiving plans to hunt, foil enemies, and reveal criminals. I would have loved this as a youth.
Best's writing holds up to time - published in 1931, this book is a breath of fresh air coming from an era that abounds with highly racist writing. Best tells the tale of an African Hillsman's struggles and socio-political strife both within the tribe and with its neighbors without belittling anyone or using gross words or judging cultures. So here is a vintage Newbery Honor Book that holds no modern shame.
Best's writing holds up to time - published in 1931, this book is a breath of fresh air coming from an era that abounds with highly racist writing. Best tells the tale of an African Hillsman's struggles and socio-political strife both within the tribe and with its neighbors without belittling anyone or using gross words or judging cultures. So here is a vintage Newbery Honor Book that holds no modern shame.
September 25, 2023
I struggled through this one, despite Garram's adventures and close calls. The action nor the characters piqued my interest and I was eager just to arrive at the last page. Garram, as a young boy, was able to accomplish several incredible feats, with the aide of his faithful dog. He saved prominent lives, befriended the Emir, and fought a good fight.
May 19, 2017
A young African hunter and his clever dog have various adventures, including saving the life on an Emir and a chieftain (the latter being his own father).
I liked this one much more than I expected to, honestly. Funny and engaging, and the young Garram is extremely likable.
I liked this one much more than I expected to, honestly. Funny and engaging, and the young Garram is extremely likable.
June 9, 2023
3 stars for being a book written in 1930 and set in Africa and only occasionally making paternalistic comments or sweeping generalizations. There were some engaging parts of the narrative and others where the battle scenes dragged for me.
Want to Read
June 12, 20251931 Newbery honor book
November 22, 2022
In the beginning of the story, Garram hunts a kob with his dog, Kon. He sells the meat in the market and then discovers Menud, the antagonist, has robbed his cave. Menud and his father, Sura, tell the village Garram is a thief, but Garram comes to the tribe with a dead leopard and proves Menud and Sura are lying, and then he faints from the wounds the leopard gave him.
The Rainmaker tells Garram that Sura is plotting to kill the chieftain Warok, his father, and he advises Garram that the only way to save his father's life and his own life is to flee. Garram decides to go to Yelwa. He cuts a trader's pants strings, and the Emir takes him to his palace to feed him. While the Emir is sentencing a prisoner, his cousin Ibrahim tries to assassinate him, but Kon stops him. The Emir disguises himself to go hunting with Garram, and Garram tells him there are men plotting to kill him and his son. Kon smells the conspirators after the Emir gives the Waziri a special coat, and Ibrahim is set free.
The Liman accuses Garram of being an unbeliever, and Garram and Ibrahim get caught in a rockslide caused by Menud. Garram captures Menud and dyes him indigo as a punishment. The Liman continues to plot against Garram, and Garram scares him with a piglet. Garram feels he must go back to his tribe.
Garram finds out his father is trapped, and he frees him by wearing a leopard skin and scaring his guards away. Menud and Sura are proven to be liars, and the tribe fights the Fulani and wins.
I thought this book was okay. A lot of the beginning was interesting and humorous, but towards the end I wasn't as interested.
The Rainmaker tells Garram that Sura is plotting to kill the chieftain Warok, his father, and he advises Garram that the only way to save his father's life and his own life is to flee. Garram decides to go to Yelwa. He cuts a trader's pants strings, and the Emir takes him to his palace to feed him. While the Emir is sentencing a prisoner, his cousin Ibrahim tries to assassinate him, but Kon stops him. The Emir disguises himself to go hunting with Garram, and Garram tells him there are men plotting to kill him and his son. Kon smells the conspirators after the Emir gives the Waziri a special coat, and Ibrahim is set free.
The Liman accuses Garram of being an unbeliever, and Garram and Ibrahim get caught in a rockslide caused by Menud. Garram captures Menud and dyes him indigo as a punishment. The Liman continues to plot against Garram, and Garram scares him with a piglet. Garram feels he must go back to his tribe.
Garram finds out his father is trapped, and he frees him by wearing a leopard skin and scaring his guards away. Menud and Sura are proven to be liars, and the tribe fights the Fulani and wins.
I thought this book was okay. A lot of the beginning was interesting and humorous, but towards the end I wasn't as interested.
April 1, 2012
Garram is an extremely well written book. The topic was interesting and one that I have never read from that point of view. I can see why the Newbury committee chose it as an Honor book and honestly of the ones I've read of that year it was probably the best written and more enjoyable story then the others chosen.
That said this topic is not one that I would have purposely chosen to read but as it was part of the Newbury project I can honestly say I enjoyed it...even if it wasn't a page turner. The only thing I had problems with was the jumpiness of the chapters. They took a few minutes to get into and still I had to go back and make sure I hadn't missed a few pages.
The themes and topics were very strong and would probably be a good read for a 12 year old young man. The relationship between Garram and his loyal dog, Kon was amazing but one that I feel is very relate-able. All in all a strong choice for 1931 (and it even has the away from home theme without the historical significance of the other 1931 choices).
That said this topic is not one that I would have purposely chosen to read but as it was part of the Newbury project I can honestly say I enjoyed it...even if it wasn't a page turner. The only thing I had problems with was the jumpiness of the chapters. They took a few minutes to get into and still I had to go back and make sure I hadn't missed a few pages.
The themes and topics were very strong and would probably be a good read for a 12 year old young man. The relationship between Garram and his loyal dog, Kon was amazing but one that I feel is very relate-able. All in all a strong choice for 1931 (and it even has the away from home theme without the historical significance of the other 1931 choices).
October 16, 2014
I thought that this was a pretty good book. A boy, Garram, of a hill tribe in Western Africa (that's where the Fulani are most prevalent) is the hero of the story. He helps settle very difficult internal problems within his tribe as well as those within a larger, more developed tribe which culturally is very different than his, meaning cities and Islam instead of huts and tribal worship. Then at the end there is unrest from yet a different tribe (culturally similar to the first 'other' tribe I mentioned), which is on a Slave raid and is burning down villages. Yikes! Though Garram and his dog are perfect, and with help from Garram's father and from the Rainman, all ends well. :-)
This book could have been more fascinating, and I think a lot of people will like it. Upper-end 3 stars, but not quite 4.
This book could have been more fascinating, and I think a lot of people will like it. Upper-end 3 stars, but not quite 4.
August 14, 2016
I enjoyed this. I didn't know what I was getting for a story and was surprised at how well it's done from a perspective I wasn't familiar with. It's got a even blend of humor and drama that continues to offer life lessons.
August 11, 2017
Read the full review here: http://newberyandbeyond.com/1930s-new...
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