What do you think?
Rate this book
The Leatherstocking Tales #4
The Pioneers
MEET NATTY BUMPPO
The first volume in the famous Leatherstocking Tales, The Pioneers introduces Natty Bumppo, the quintessential American hunter and frontiersman who struggles to defend his cherished freedom.
447 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1823
282 people are currently reading
5653 people want to read
About the author
James Fenimore Cooper
4,446 books1,137 followersJames Fenimore Cooper was a popular and prolific American writer. He is best known for his historical novel The Last of the Mohicans, one of the Leatherstocking Tales stories, and he also wrote political fiction, maritime fiction, travelogues, and essays on the American politics of the time. His daughter Susan Fenimore Cooper was also a writer.
Series:
* The Leatherstocking Tales
* The Littlepage Manuscripts
* Afloat and Ashore
* Homeward Bound
Series:
* The Leatherstocking Tales
* The Littlepage Manuscripts
* Afloat and Ashore
* Homeward Bound
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 215 reviews
May 13, 2021
If set in chronological order, The Pioneers is the fourth of James Fenimore Cooper’s Leatherstocking Tales, but it is the first of the series that he wrote. All may be considered standalones.
The story circles around pioneers settled in a small town of central New York, near Lake Otsego. The lake does exist. We follow the settlers / pioneers from the Christmas celebrations of 1793 to October of the following year. The setting is thus after the colonists’ fight for independence and the passage of time through four seasons of one year.
Natty Bumppo, aka Leatherstocking, is the eponymous pioneer, a pathfinder and a friend of Native Americans. The character is said to have been inspired by Daniel Boone, or perhaps the lesser known David Shipman. Two other characters, an elderly Judge and his daughter, are based on the author’s father and his sister. The fictitious town in which the tale is set is based on Cooperstown, New York, founded by the author’s father. Even the buildings in the story are fashioned on buildings existing in Cooperstown.
This, a book of historical fiction, replicates a time and a place that did exist. It is a treasure trove for those seeking accurate details of American life at the end of the 18th century. For example, we see how sugar and molasses are made. How men at a gathering toast one another is shown too. We meet settlers from several different European countries. Their dialogue is an expertly drawn feature of the settlers’ daily life. Flora and fauna, as well as the abundance of nature, are descriptively drawn.
A central and the most important theme of the tale is the conflict that exists between nature and civilization. Cooper was way ahead of his time. He speaks out against the wastefulness of man. He speaks out against our egotism. He warns against indiscriminate usage of natural resources. Writing in the early 1800s, he understood even then the importance of conservation.
The characters are well drawn. One gets a clear sense of who they are. This is cleverly done, particularly through dialogue.
There is humor in the telling. This I wasn’t expecting! I couldn’t help but think that Cooper wanted us to smile at the antics of some of the characters. There is an architect--the houses he builds have pillars and floors that don’t quite meet. There is a sailor living in the town. All that he says is expressed in nautical terms. This becomes quite amusing. Moreover, this seaman has never learned to swim!
Now I must explain what gave me trouble, and why I gave the book no more than three stars. The prose is dated. There are sentences where you must guess at what is meant. There are words and phrases of which I was not familiar. You understand enough to figure out what is happening, but at every instant one’s full attention is required. At times, one feels drained, worn out. Secondly, as one nears the end, stupendous events follow one after another. Too much is heaped on all at once. The tale becomes one of adventure and action. Others might like this, but not me.
Jim Killavey narrates the audiobook. The production is poor—the voice speaking is sometimes close and other times distant. The words are distinctly spoken. The narration I have given three stars. It is not Killavey’s fault that the production is faulty!
In choosing this book, you are not going to get a story about the slaughter of Native Americans. This I appreciated. That the fate of red-skinned people was doomed is presciently made clear, but not in a gruesome manner. You are going to get a story that supports the conservation of natural resources, and it details American pioneer life and ways. I am glad I started with this book by the author.
*****************************
* Blood and Treasure: Daniel Boone and the Fight for America's First Frontier (3 stars) by Bob Drury
The story circles around pioneers settled in a small town of central New York, near Lake Otsego. The lake does exist. We follow the settlers / pioneers from the Christmas celebrations of 1793 to October of the following year. The setting is thus after the colonists’ fight for independence and the passage of time through four seasons of one year.
Natty Bumppo, aka Leatherstocking, is the eponymous pioneer, a pathfinder and a friend of Native Americans. The character is said to have been inspired by Daniel Boone, or perhaps the lesser known David Shipman. Two other characters, an elderly Judge and his daughter, are based on the author’s father and his sister. The fictitious town in which the tale is set is based on Cooperstown, New York, founded by the author’s father. Even the buildings in the story are fashioned on buildings existing in Cooperstown.
This, a book of historical fiction, replicates a time and a place that did exist. It is a treasure trove for those seeking accurate details of American life at the end of the 18th century. For example, we see how sugar and molasses are made. How men at a gathering toast one another is shown too. We meet settlers from several different European countries. Their dialogue is an expertly drawn feature of the settlers’ daily life. Flora and fauna, as well as the abundance of nature, are descriptively drawn.
A central and the most important theme of the tale is the conflict that exists between nature and civilization. Cooper was way ahead of his time. He speaks out against the wastefulness of man. He speaks out against our egotism. He warns against indiscriminate usage of natural resources. Writing in the early 1800s, he understood even then the importance of conservation.
The characters are well drawn. One gets a clear sense of who they are. This is cleverly done, particularly through dialogue.
There is humor in the telling. This I wasn’t expecting! I couldn’t help but think that Cooper wanted us to smile at the antics of some of the characters. There is an architect--the houses he builds have pillars and floors that don’t quite meet. There is a sailor living in the town. All that he says is expressed in nautical terms. This becomes quite amusing. Moreover, this seaman has never learned to swim!
Now I must explain what gave me trouble, and why I gave the book no more than three stars. The prose is dated. There are sentences where you must guess at what is meant. There are words and phrases of which I was not familiar. You understand enough to figure out what is happening, but at every instant one’s full attention is required. At times, one feels drained, worn out. Secondly, as one nears the end, stupendous events follow one after another. Too much is heaped on all at once. The tale becomes one of adventure and action. Others might like this, but not me.
Jim Killavey narrates the audiobook. The production is poor—the voice speaking is sometimes close and other times distant. The words are distinctly spoken. The narration I have given three stars. It is not Killavey’s fault that the production is faulty!
In choosing this book, you are not going to get a story about the slaughter of Native Americans. This I appreciated. That the fate of red-skinned people was doomed is presciently made clear, but not in a gruesome manner. You are going to get a story that supports the conservation of natural resources, and it details American pioneer life and ways. I am glad I started with this book by the author.
*****************************
* Blood and Treasure: Daniel Boone and the Fight for America's First Frontier (3 stars) by Bob Drury
December 7, 2013
The best books by James Fenimore Cooper to read are old ones. Naturally, there will never be any new Cooper books so I mean the best editions to read are those from your local public library: specifically the ones no one has touched in 30 years. According to the circulation card in the back of the copy which I read, it was last due February 28, 1980.
The world has changed radically since then, as evidenced by the bar code sticker on the inside back cover of the 1958 Dodd, Mead & Company Great Illustrated Classics edition. Interestingly, this stands in stark contrast to the sticker on the inside front cover of this same volume on which is printed the rules of the Winthrop Public Library, and also on which, in the upper right hand corner is printed by hand the date it entered the library's collection: September, 1958.
However, in 1823 Cooper introduced a radical idea in The Pioneers which did not change. Rather it blossomed and is more relevent today than ever. That idea was environmentalism. Cooper was a visionary. In the heady days of the New Republic when he was writing a story that took place immediately after the American Revolution, he warned against wasting natural resources and endangering wildlife. He did so not only through the words of his beloved character Natty Bumppo, who railed against the "wasty ways" of the new settlers but also in the attitude of Marmaduke Temple, the lord of those settlers and of thousands of acres. Temple was continually at odds with his rapacious cousin Dickon Jones who exhorted the settlers to hunt, fish, timber and mine with abandon. (Jones obviously inspired Sarah Palin.) Temple was even concerned about burning too much maple in the fireplace on Christmas Eve.
I am always a little timid when I begin to read a Cooper novel, especially since he identified The Pioneers as a "Descriptive Tale". Even without that appellation, it is understatement to say that everything thing Cooper writes is descriptive. However, he managed to balance imagery as beautiful as any penned by Melville with action, adventure and humor. For example, as Oliver Edwards, Elizabeth Temple and John Mohegan are trapped on a precipice in a forest fire, they witness:
" There was beauty as well as terror in the sight, and Edwards and Elizabeth stood viewing the progress of the desolation with a strange mixture of horror and interest."
Cooper's dialog is always deliciously melodramatic: "We must die, Edwards; we must die-let us do so as Christians." People just don't talk like that any more.
Meanwhile, John Mohegan refuses to budge from the log on which he sits, which has also caught fire!
In my humble opinion, it would be no fun to read Cooper other than from a clothbound book which people from a bygone era have held in their hands. Like the ancient stories passed down by John Mohegan and Natty Bumppo, a Cooper tale should pass from one hand to another as the centuries pass by.
The world has changed radically since then, as evidenced by the bar code sticker on the inside back cover of the 1958 Dodd, Mead & Company Great Illustrated Classics edition. Interestingly, this stands in stark contrast to the sticker on the inside front cover of this same volume on which is printed the rules of the Winthrop Public Library, and also on which, in the upper right hand corner is printed by hand the date it entered the library's collection: September, 1958.
However, in 1823 Cooper introduced a radical idea in The Pioneers which did not change. Rather it blossomed and is more relevent today than ever. That idea was environmentalism. Cooper was a visionary. In the heady days of the New Republic when he was writing a story that took place immediately after the American Revolution, he warned against wasting natural resources and endangering wildlife. He did so not only through the words of his beloved character Natty Bumppo, who railed against the "wasty ways" of the new settlers but also in the attitude of Marmaduke Temple, the lord of those settlers and of thousands of acres. Temple was continually at odds with his rapacious cousin Dickon Jones who exhorted the settlers to hunt, fish, timber and mine with abandon. (Jones obviously inspired Sarah Palin.) Temple was even concerned about burning too much maple in the fireplace on Christmas Eve.
I am always a little timid when I begin to read a Cooper novel, especially since he identified The Pioneers as a "Descriptive Tale". Even without that appellation, it is understatement to say that everything thing Cooper writes is descriptive. However, he managed to balance imagery as beautiful as any penned by Melville with action, adventure and humor. For example, as Oliver Edwards, Elizabeth Temple and John Mohegan are trapped on a precipice in a forest fire, they witness:
" There was beauty as well as terror in the sight, and Edwards and Elizabeth stood viewing the progress of the desolation with a strange mixture of horror and interest."
Cooper's dialog is always deliciously melodramatic: "We must die, Edwards; we must die-let us do so as Christians." People just don't talk like that any more.
Meanwhile, John Mohegan refuses to budge from the log on which he sits, which has also caught fire!
In my humble opinion, it would be no fun to read Cooper other than from a clothbound book which people from a bygone era have held in their hands. Like the ancient stories passed down by John Mohegan and Natty Bumppo, a Cooper tale should pass from one hand to another as the centuries pass by.
February 23, 2024
Natty Bumppo, Leatherstocking or Hawkeye is one of the key characters in this the fourth in the Leatherstocking series. Set in the 1790s in New York state and based on Cooperstown it tells the story of progress versus the past. On one side is Judge Marmaduke Temper representing progress and capitalism versus Bumppo the individual who takes only what he needs from the environment.
The first half of the novel is very descriptive of the town of Templetion, the characters and surrounding forest. We read of turkey shoots, the taking of maple syrup sugar from trees, the massacre of passenger pigeons and the overfishing of Bass. This is led by Richard Jones a relative of the judge.
Interestingly Cooper was prophetic in his description of the destruction and unthinking use of nature. This novel one of the first to decry the environmental destruction. The laws of man replaced the laws of nature. This is a story of human values, change and a colorful representation of the frontier story during the 1790s.
The mystery of Edward and his relationship with Bumppo is secondary. The last third of the book is more exciting and flowing with a mountain Lion attack, prison break, and at times comical battle and the mystery revealed allowing Elizabeth and Edward to marry. I enjoyed the detailed descriptions of the frontier life and the attitudes of people. In over 200 years things have changed but not before the passenger pigeon went extinct and the individual way of life of Bumppo disappeared.
The first half of the novel is very descriptive of the town of Templetion, the characters and surrounding forest. We read of turkey shoots, the taking of maple syrup sugar from trees, the massacre of passenger pigeons and the overfishing of Bass. This is led by Richard Jones a relative of the judge.
Interestingly Cooper was prophetic in his description of the destruction and unthinking use of nature. This novel one of the first to decry the environmental destruction. The laws of man replaced the laws of nature. This is a story of human values, change and a colorful representation of the frontier story during the 1790s.
The mystery of Edward and his relationship with Bumppo is secondary. The last third of the book is more exciting and flowing with a mountain Lion attack, prison break, and at times comical battle and the mystery revealed allowing Elizabeth and Edward to marry. I enjoyed the detailed descriptions of the frontier life and the attitudes of people. In over 200 years things have changed but not before the passenger pigeon went extinct and the individual way of life of Bumppo disappeared.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
auf-pause
November 30, 2018
In den letzten Tagen musste ich immer an diese Lutschpastillen und den dazugehörigen Slogan denken.
Die als gemeinsames Leseprojekt geplante Lektüre der ANSIEDLER ist leider schon nach einem knappen Sechstel des Romans für mich zu einem vorzeitigen Ende gekommen. Cooper kann schreiben, gar keine Frage, und er zeichnet ein gesellschaftliches Bild der amerikanischen Siedlungsphase, das seinesgleichen sucht. Exakt, hintergründig, und (sehr) gelegentlich auch unterhaltsam. Vor allem aber: Sehr, sehr ausführlich. Keine Figur wird eingeführt, keine Landschaft geschildert, ohne dass eine umfangreiche Betrachtung der Vorgeschichte erfolgte.
Das ist nun überhaupt nicht uninteressant, aber ich war als Leser einfach nicht in der richtigen Stimmung und Ungeduld beim Lesen ist so gar nicht kompatibel mit den ANSIEDLERN.
November 16, 2016
My favourite part of the book is the beginning, which describes Christmas Eve and Christmas day in Templeton. The descriptions of the activities of the settlers gives us a good idea what life was like there. I liked the descriptions of the town and forest in winter as well.
On the negative side, the novel has its share of racism against non-whites, which is ironic since the settlement was founded on land that formerly belonged to the Native Americans.
On the positive side, Judge Temple is appalled by the waste of the natural resources by the settlers- the unnecessary slaughter of animals for food, overfishing, wasting trees. This shows that the author was aware of the environment and his concern for the future.
The story itself is enjoyable to read, with a mixture of likeable and not-so-likeable characters.
On the negative side, the novel has its share of racism against non-whites, which is ironic since the settlement was founded on land that formerly belonged to the Native Americans.
On the positive side, Judge Temple is appalled by the waste of the natural resources by the settlers- the unnecessary slaughter of animals for food, overfishing, wasting trees. This shows that the author was aware of the environment and his concern for the future.
The story itself is enjoyable to read, with a mixture of likeable and not-so-likeable characters.
September 22, 2022
Несподівано для себе вирішив перечитати класику і улюблений цикл підліткових часів. Але цього разу не в хронологічному порядку ("Звіробій", "Останній з могікан", "Слідопит", "Піонери", "Прерія"), а в порядку написання ("Піонери", "Останній з могікан", "Прерія", "Слідопит", "Звіробій"). І одразу скажу, що останній спосіб годиться, коли ви вже знайомі з циклом. Інакше все буде дуже... специфічно. Чи й погано.
Але спершу про сам роман. У мене відчуття: якби Купер хотів його видати сьогодні, то його б просто засміяли. Бо "Піонери" не є романом ні структурно, ні сюжетно. Сюжетно все погано, бо сюжету тут немає. Тобто наче є натяк на любовний трикутник (Олівер - Елізабет - Луїза), але ніхто у почуттях так і не зізнається, а сама дилема вирішиться на останніх сторінках цілком спокійно і мирно. Наче й загадковий Олівер, який відчуває антипатію до судді Темпла, але... Ця антипатія згадується, згадується, а потім - гоп! - ми дізнаємося, яка за цим страшна таємниця, її вирішуємо - і всі живуть довго і щасливо. І всі ці "страсті" - на 20-30 сторінках. До того історія Олівера ніяк на сюжет не впливає.
Фактично, ми маємо серію епізодів, історій, які обертаються довкола головних та другорядни�� героїв, але ніякого цілісного сюжету нема. І до цього ще й додаються структурні проблеми. Роман цілком розбалансований: добряча його половина - це події, що відбуваються протягом Святвечора 1793 року. Тобто понад півтори сотні сторінок ми спостерігаємо за різними персонажами - і все це протягом одного вечора. А далі твір йде підстрибцем - і завершується дія майже через рік, тобто в жовтні 1794 року. Як Купер дозволив собі таку диспропорцію?!
І тим не менше... Роман захоплює. В мене відчуття, що Купер - насправді! - не хотів писати типовий роман, а всі ці любовні недотрикутники та історію "помсти" додав як данину моді того часу. Бо хто буде читати роман, де нема любові і страшної таємниці?! Але насправді він хотів описати історію невеличкого містечка в недавньому минулому (за 30 років до виходу роману). І тому тут ціла галерея цікавих і колоритних персонажів, причому другорядні цікавіші за головних, бо вони живі, "неправильні", з різними вадами та хибами характеру, але цікаві. Ясно, що роман про персонажів (типажі фронтиру) ніхто читати не буде, тому... "Нехай буде вам і любов, і помста!" - вигукнув Купер і написав "Піонерів".
Одна з тем, яка дуже сучасна, - екологія! Так, в 1823 році герої Купера переживають за ощадливе використання природніх ресурсів! Але тут є і питання колонізації, а саме: те, що білі відібрали землі в корінних народів Америки, зовсім несправедливо.
Саме цими темами та персонажами роман і бере за живе.
Щодо зв'язку з рештою романів пенталогії про Шкіряну панчоху... Що ж, з цього роману не варто починати читати. Він не є романом про Натті Бампо, бо той лише другордяний персонаж. От коли ви вже знайомі з Натті та Чингачгуком, тоді так, цей роман зворушить. Але починати... По-перше, Натті тут не має того яскравого характеру, який проявиться в інших романах циклу. Таке враження, що Купер ще не придумав, яким буде Натті. По-друге, він не є тим влучним стрільцем, що й в інших романах. Тут Купер вже більш визначився, але це не є видатною рисою, за яку Натті знають і поважають.
Але з цього роману і варто почати! Адже дія відбувається на озері Отсего. І на тому ж озері, але 40-50 років тому відбувається дія роману "Звіробій"! І саме це буде... дратувати, якщо читати романи в хронологічному порядку. Адже - після "Звіробоя" - ми знаємо, скільки важливих подій трапилося на цьому озері! І перша війна Натті, і знайомство Чингачгука зі своєю дружиною... Але в "Піонерах" про це ні слова. Ясно, чому: на 1823 рік Купер ще не знав, що напише 1841 року. Але якщо читати в хронологічному порядку, то це збиває з пантелику і дратує: наче обоє головних героїв страждають на амнезію!
По-друге, Натті тут... вірний слуга. Цей образ аж ніяк не узгоджується з Натті перших трьох романів циклу, де він вільний і гордий слідопит. Навпаки, його "господар" в тих романах не фігурує. І раптом - в "Піонерах" - Натті виявляється вірним слугою, який у всіх війнах колоніального періоду був при своєму господареві... Та не було такого! Навіть виховання Натті отримав інше (якщо я правильно пам'ятаю його біографію із "Звіробоя")! Якщо читати романи в хронологічному порядку, то це видається дуже дивним. Але в порядку написання все логічно: Купер лише конструює біографію Натті. І тут це прислужування важливе, щоб додати хоча б подоби сюжету. Далі Натті буде гордим і вільним чоловіком.
Тому радісно кажу: класика пройшла випробування часом! Через чверть століття "Піонери" не видаються нудним чи дитячим романом. Це захоплююча історія про повсякдення американського вже-не-фронтиру кінця XVIII ст. І за це знімаю капелюха перед Купером! Майстерно та оригінально - в умовах романтизму! - так підсунути читачам зовсім інший твір, ніж вони очікували. І - що ще більше вражає! - написати такий твір. Майстерно і оригінально - саме так!
П.С. Але найбільше мене вразив саме образ Джона Могіканина, тобто Чингачгука. Він настільки... промовистий, і водночас запам'ятовується. Так, тут є нестиковки з іншими творами (в Чингачгука в "Піонерах" було декілька синів та декілька дочок, а от в "Останньому з могікан" - лише один син, якщо я добре пам'ятаю). Але всі сцени з ним... Вони є неприкритим осудом білих колоністів та колонізаторів.
Але спершу про сам роман. У мене відчуття: якби Купер хотів його видати сьогодні, то його б просто засміяли. Бо "Піонери" не є романом ні структурно, ні сюжетно. Сюжетно все погано, бо сюжету тут немає. Тобто наче є натяк на любовний трикутник (Олівер - Елізабет - Луїза), але ніхто у почуттях так і не зізнається, а сама дилема вирішиться на останніх сторінках цілком спокійно і мирно. Наче й загадковий Олівер, який відчуває антипатію до судді Темпла, але... Ця антипатія згадується, згадується, а потім - гоп! - ми дізнаємося, яка за цим страшна таємниця, її вирішуємо - і всі живуть довго і щасливо. І всі ці "страсті" - на 20-30 сторінках. До того історія Олівера ніяк на сюжет не впливає.
Фактично, ми маємо серію епізодів, історій, які обертаються довкола головних та другорядни�� героїв, але ніякого цілісного сюжету нема. І до цього ще й додаються структурні проблеми. Роман цілком розбалансований: добряча його половина - це події, що відбуваються протягом Святвечора 1793 року. Тобто понад півтори сотні сторінок ми спостерігаємо за різними персонажами - і все це протягом одного вечора. А далі твір йде підстрибцем - і завершується дія майже через рік, тобто в жовтні 1794 року. Як Купер дозволив собі таку диспропорцію?!
І тим не менше... Роман захоплює. В мене відчуття, що Купер - насправді! - не хотів писати типовий роман, а всі ці любовні недотрикутники та історію "помсти" додав як данину моді того часу. Бо хто буде читати роман, де нема любові і страшної таємниці?! Але насправді він хотів описати історію невеличкого містечка в недавньому минулому (за 30 років до виходу роману). І тому тут ціла галерея цікавих і колоритних персонажів, причому другорядні цікавіші за головних, бо вони живі, "неправильні", з різними вадами та хибами характеру, але цікаві. Ясно, що роман про персонажів (типажі фронтиру) ніхто читати не буде, тому... "Нехай буде вам і любов, і помста!" - вигукнув Купер і написав "Піонерів".
Одна з тем, яка дуже сучасна, - екологія! Так, в 1823 році герої Купера переживають за ощадливе використання природніх ресурсів! Але тут є і питання колонізації, а саме: те, що білі відібрали землі в корінних народів Америки, зовсім несправедливо.
Саме цими темами та персонажами роман і бере за живе.
Щодо зв'язку з рештою романів пенталогії про Шкіряну панчоху... Що ж, з цього роману не варто починати читати. Він не є романом про Натті Бампо, бо той лише другордяний персонаж. От коли ви вже знайомі з Натті та Чингачгуком, тоді так, цей роман зворушить. Але починати... По-перше, Натті тут не має того яскравого характеру, який проявиться в інших романах циклу. Таке враження, що Купер ще не придумав, яким буде Натті. По-друге, він не є тим влучним стрільцем, що й в інших романах. Тут Купер вже більш визначився, але це не є видатною рисою, за яку Натті знають і поважають.
Але з цього роману і варто почати! Адже дія відбувається на озері Отсего. І на тому ж озері, але 40-50 років тому відбувається дія роману "Звіробій"! І саме це буде... дратувати, якщо читати романи в хронологічному порядку. Адже - після "Звіробоя" - ми знаємо, скільки важливих подій трапилося на цьому озері! І перша війна Натті, і знайомство Чингачгука зі своєю дружиною... Але в "Піонерах" про це ні слова. Ясно, чому: на 1823 рік Купер ще не знав, що напише 1841 року. Але якщо читати в хронологічному порядку, то це збиває з пантелику і дратує: наче обоє головних героїв страждають на амнезію!
По-друге, Натті тут... вірний слуга. Цей образ аж ніяк не узгоджується з Натті перших трьох романів циклу, де він вільний і гордий слідопит. Навпаки, його "господар" в тих романах не фігурує. І раптом - в "Піонерах" - Натті виявляється вірним слугою, який у всіх війнах колоніального періоду був при своєму господареві... Та не було такого! Навіть виховання Натті отримав інше (якщо я правильно пам'ятаю його біографію із "Звіробоя")! Якщо читати романи в хронологічному порядку, то це видається дуже дивним. Але в порядку написання все логічно: Купер лише конструює біографію Натті. І тут це прислужування важливе, щоб додати хоча б подоби сюжету. Далі Натті буде гордим і вільним чоловіком.
Тому радісно кажу: класика пройшла випробування часом! Через чверть століття "Піонери" не видаються нудним чи дитячим романом. Це захоплююча історія про повсякдення американського вже-не-фронтиру кінця XVIII ст. І за це знімаю капелюха перед Купером! Майстерно та оригінально - в умовах романтизму! - так підсунути читачам зовсім інший твір, ніж вони очікували. І - що ще більше вражає! - написати такий твір. Майстерно і оригінально - саме так!
П.С. Але найбільше мене вразив саме образ Джона Могіканина, тобто Чингачгука. Він настільки... промовистий, і водночас запам'ятовується. Так, тут є нестиковки з іншими творами (в Чингачгука в "Піонерах" було декілька синів та декілька дочок, а от в "Останньому з могікан" - лише один син, якщо я добре пам'ятаю). Але всі сцени з ним... Вони є неприкритим осудом білих колоністів та колонізаторів.
August 24, 2013
Lately, I've been seeing much honor being given to a recently deceased author whose famous "10 Rules of Writing" stress the importance of fast, non-descriptive, skip-the-boring parts narrative. It warms me to know this late author would have hated James Fenimore Cooper's "The Pioneers", as would his adherents. I realize there are fewer and fewer readers out there who have the capacity or desire to appreciate this type of slow, highly descriptive, thoughtful work of fiction. Even Mark Twain railed against Cooper's lack of action, and roundabout way of speaking. Personally, I revel in it.
It is fitting that this book tells the story of the (then) wilderness of New York as it was being invaded by the hand (and axe) of man. Trees were being felled, clearings replaced tangled forests, and the heartless laws of men were replacing the common-sense laws of the forest. Natty Bumppo, known as Leatherstocking, is at the far end of his 70 years of life. His life of freedom and love of nature are in jeopardy. The world he once knew is no more. He is beset by such laws as hunting out of season as well as the greed of those who believe he is hiding a fortune in silver. Modernity is not a friend to Bumppo.
The same is true for books such as these. We're too busy to take the time to read slow books like "The Pioneers". Someone sold us a bill of goods, years ago, and said we needed to read books that can be finished in just a few days. We need to hurry up and get to the next book. Perhaps this was just a marketing scheme to get us to spend more at the bookstore. I never understand why people don't think it is a bonus to get a book that sells for the same price as a quick-read throwaway pulp fiction which is three times the length and written in such a way that you must slow down and pay attention. It certainly saves the reader money. One need buy far fewer books when they are written in this manner.
But time, or the lack thereof, is not the real problem. It is that little phrase "pay attention". We're too distracted now to sit with a book in a silent room and concentrate on the text. We hear music and television anywhere we go. Stuck in the waiting room of the doctor's office? You'll have to work hard to read a book that requires your attention, since there is music playing, and other patients surfing on their phones while telling their neighbor about the latest stupid video clip they watched. Reading at home? Nine times out of ten someone will have the massive flat-screen TV turned on, blaring noise from surround-sound speakers that shake the house. How about reading on the train, or while waiting for your car's oil to be changed? More flat-screen TVs tuned to mindless daytime talk-shows.
Even as I write this, my laptop has beeped, to let me know someone has posted something on Facebook that I might need to see. Switch over! See if it is a funny picture or a sad news item. Maybe a friend posted a picture of their entree that just arrived on their table at the best restaurant in town. (Which now make me wonder what I'm going to do for lunch...perhaps the local diner, or maybe just stay in and reheat some leftovers...hmmmm.)
So anyway, about this...what was I writing about? Oh yes, "The Pioneers". So modernity is no friend to these classic novels of yore. (Yore? Is that right? Now I'm off track again, checking on Google to see if "yore" is the right word. When I type "yore", Google suggests that I meant "yorehab" which turns out to be a site dedicated to the obsession of playing Yoville, a game where people pretend to have a house and pretend to buy pretend items for that house. "Yorehab" actually helps you find the very best pretend prices for your most wished-for pretend couches and lava-lamps and...oh, okay, I see that "yore" is the right word. As defined by by Google, "yore" is "of long ago or former times (used in nostalgic or mock-nostalgic recollection".) To put it plainly, people today have trouble reading books that were written a long time ago.
So if our modern lifestyle has made it impossible for you to read The Pioneers, you'll miss out on the following:
The opening scene involves a shooting of a deer and an argument over who deserves the credit for the kill. The argument is easily won by the revelation that one of the shooters could not have hit the deer because he hit one of the men in the argument, who dramatically reveals he is hit to win the argument.
A courtroom drama that highlights the fact that men were already losing their personal freedoms in the late 1700's to the overreach of local government.
A contest of shooting acumen in which a turkey is placed so that only his head is visible to the contestants.
Fights, jail-breaks, forest fires, and emotional death scenes.
A panther attack which ends in a noble warrior's bloody death.
The chance to find out about Leatherstocking's companion, a character named "The Slut".
A story filled with conservationist propaganda and a condemnation of the terrible genocide that the whites perpetrated on the Native American populations.
A wonderful, warm, historical, and exciting look at the early lives of those who tamed the wilderness of New York State.
But don't worry. No one will make you read this long, slow, dull, dusty tome. You'll have plenty of time to read the latest spine-tingling-can't-put-it-down-page-turner so that you can quickly buy the next one. Just keep in mind that "The Pioneers" was seen in the same light two hundred years ago, when the population had more time on their hands and their comprehension skills were obviously more highly developed.
It is fitting that this book tells the story of the (then) wilderness of New York as it was being invaded by the hand (and axe) of man. Trees were being felled, clearings replaced tangled forests, and the heartless laws of men were replacing the common-sense laws of the forest. Natty Bumppo, known as Leatherstocking, is at the far end of his 70 years of life. His life of freedom and love of nature are in jeopardy. The world he once knew is no more. He is beset by such laws as hunting out of season as well as the greed of those who believe he is hiding a fortune in silver. Modernity is not a friend to Bumppo.
The same is true for books such as these. We're too busy to take the time to read slow books like "The Pioneers". Someone sold us a bill of goods, years ago, and said we needed to read books that can be finished in just a few days. We need to hurry up and get to the next book. Perhaps this was just a marketing scheme to get us to spend more at the bookstore. I never understand why people don't think it is a bonus to get a book that sells for the same price as a quick-read throwaway pulp fiction which is three times the length and written in such a way that you must slow down and pay attention. It certainly saves the reader money. One need buy far fewer books when they are written in this manner.
But time, or the lack thereof, is not the real problem. It is that little phrase "pay attention". We're too distracted now to sit with a book in a silent room and concentrate on the text. We hear music and television anywhere we go. Stuck in the waiting room of the doctor's office? You'll have to work hard to read a book that requires your attention, since there is music playing, and other patients surfing on their phones while telling their neighbor about the latest stupid video clip they watched. Reading at home? Nine times out of ten someone will have the massive flat-screen TV turned on, blaring noise from surround-sound speakers that shake the house. How about reading on the train, or while waiting for your car's oil to be changed? More flat-screen TVs tuned to mindless daytime talk-shows.
Even as I write this, my laptop has beeped, to let me know someone has posted something on Facebook that I might need to see. Switch over! See if it is a funny picture or a sad news item. Maybe a friend posted a picture of their entree that just arrived on their table at the best restaurant in town. (Which now make me wonder what I'm going to do for lunch...perhaps the local diner, or maybe just stay in and reheat some leftovers...hmmmm.)
So anyway, about this...what was I writing about? Oh yes, "The Pioneers". So modernity is no friend to these classic novels of yore. (Yore? Is that right? Now I'm off track again, checking on Google to see if "yore" is the right word. When I type "yore", Google suggests that I meant "yorehab" which turns out to be a site dedicated to the obsession of playing Yoville, a game where people pretend to have a house and pretend to buy pretend items for that house. "Yorehab" actually helps you find the very best pretend prices for your most wished-for pretend couches and lava-lamps and...oh, okay, I see that "yore" is the right word. As defined by by Google, "yore" is "of long ago or former times (used in nostalgic or mock-nostalgic recollection".) To put it plainly, people today have trouble reading books that were written a long time ago.
So if our modern lifestyle has made it impossible for you to read The Pioneers, you'll miss out on the following:
The opening scene involves a shooting of a deer and an argument over who deserves the credit for the kill. The argument is easily won by the revelation that one of the shooters could not have hit the deer because he hit one of the men in the argument, who dramatically reveals he is hit to win the argument.
A courtroom drama that highlights the fact that men were already losing their personal freedoms in the late 1700's to the overreach of local government.
A contest of shooting acumen in which a turkey is placed so that only his head is visible to the contestants.
Fights, jail-breaks, forest fires, and emotional death scenes.
A panther attack which ends in a noble warrior's bloody death.
The chance to find out about Leatherstocking's companion, a character named "The Slut".
A story filled with conservationist propaganda and a condemnation of the terrible genocide that the whites perpetrated on the Native American populations.
A wonderful, warm, historical, and exciting look at the early lives of those who tamed the wilderness of New York State.
But don't worry. No one will make you read this long, slow, dull, dusty tome. You'll have plenty of time to read the latest spine-tingling-can't-put-it-down-page-turner so that you can quickly buy the next one. Just keep in mind that "The Pioneers" was seen in the same light two hundred years ago, when the population had more time on their hands and their comprehension skills were obviously more highly developed.
November 17, 2011
The way I progressed through James Fenimore Cooper's The Pioneers was unique. It took a lot of effort and various strategies for me to get this book finished, but I did finish it. Long ago, I stole the entire Leatherstocking Tales (five paperback copies by varying publishers) from my parents' attic. I originally tried reading The Pioneers about two years ago. After 200 pages, I flat-out gave up. A full year and a half later, I felt bad about quitting it because I wanted to at least get through one-fifth of the series. I ended up finishing it pretty quickly after that.
The funny thing about The Pioneers is that the first half is like the literary equivalent of a series of Norman Rockwell illustrations. But not one of those great Norman Rockwell illustrations that makes you want to go back in time and hug your parents when they were five years old: more like one of those hokey, totally phoney ones that makes you despise an entire decade. This book is like a 1790's version of that feeling. There's a chapter covering each of the following, and more: sleigh rides, taverns, church, and turkey shoots. If that turkey shoot chapter doesn’t make you hate American village life in the 1790's, I don't know what could.
The backbone of the entire Leatherstocking Tales (so I’ve read) is Natty Bumppo, who appears in The Pioneers as a militantly hermetic grumpy old man. He’s a real character. The more we get to know Natty Bumppo, the more interesting the book becomes. There is virtually no conflict in the first half of this book (which is probably why I put it down), and not a lot of Natty either, but there are little hints as to what sort of conflict is brewing: Bumppo is hosting a mysterious young man in his shack; in the first chapter or so, this mysterious young Romeo is shot accidentally by our hero, the Judge, and despite all of the Judge’s attempts to reconcile, the young man seems to resent him. The real main character in the book is actually the Judge’s daughter, who let’s just say is about the same age as the young stranger.
After that shooting, as I’ve said, the book pretty much goes nowhere for the next few hundred pages as the above-mentioned Norman Rockwell illustrations take place. Cooper wanted to write a book that showed what his childhood was like, but he really blew it (no offense). I hate to give up on a book halfway through, but after countless boring chapters about how quaint upstate New York is, with hardly any plot development, I picked up something else.
But before this review ends on a tragic note, let me tell you why I feel so lucky that I picked The Pioneers back up and finished it!
If I remember right, the first chapter I read on my revival of this book was the one in which a tree almost falls on our heroes during a sleigh ride. It’s by far my favorite chapter of the book, and also by far the stupidest. It provided me with one of my favorite quotes I’ve read all year, spoken very solemnly by the Judge: “The sudden falling of trees ... are the most dangerous accidents in the forest, for they are not to be foreseen, being impelled by no winds, nor any extraneous or visible cause, against which we can guard.”
It’s soon after the falling tree chapter that the book actually becomes genuinely interesting instead of just stupidly funny. Basically what happens is that Natty Bumppo takes things over. The fact that Cooper wrote four more books with this character seems to back up my opinion that the first half (in which Bumppo is a secondary character) is crap, and the second half (in which Natty Bumppo suddenly becomes the main character) is awesome.
The second half of The Pioneers does tend towards some of the same problems as the first half—silly nostalgic depictions of pioneer life and narrow escapes from danger—but it presents an epic conflict between man and wild. It’s established early in the book that the Judge represents society (both literally and figuratively), while Natty Bumppo is sort of like a representative of the great outdoors. He lives in a shack; he only eats what he catches himself; and he likes to build things. I don’t want to give too much away, so I’ll just say that a very thoughtful, well-written clash between these two forces plays out in the latter half of this book. It goes from being as hokey as anything I’ve ever read, to genuinely moving. Except for the quote about falling trees, my favorite passage—a passage which Cooper was clearly conscious of how good it was, as it becomes quite caught up in itself—is when Natty Bumppo tells the young stranger of the most beautiful place he knows of.
Bumppo represents freedom, nature, and independence. To the reader, the Judge is a protagonist; but to Bumppo, he is a villain; he represents the lazy interdependence of society, the ignorant customs of townsfolk, and the destruction of nature. The Judge does not evoke these characteristics himself, and in fact he greatly admires Bumppo and everything he stands for. Since the Judge can’t be our antagonist, Cooper thoughtfully invents a couple of lawyers about three-quarters of the way through the book. The Judge’s ignorant brother, Richard, is opposed to Bumppo throughout, but Cooper clearly doesn’t want to go so far as to make him the villain, and gives his personality various niceties.
The Judge’s daughter, Elizabeth, is technically the main character of this book; but really, she just serves as a foil to Bumppo’s heroics, and as an open-minded neutral party to the book’s central conflict. Sadly, Elizabeth never has much of an impact on the events of the book; nor on the opinions of her foolhardy elders. She is perhaps more clear-headed than anyone else in the book, but she seems to be meant to represent innocence (i.e., getting into dangerous situations).
The Pioneers is VERY far from achieving what I would call “greatness”. However, it’s not nearly as bad as some of the other Goodreads users seem to think. Some of the characters are thin, and much of the book is a lot like those pictures of little kids skating and going to church that they put on jigsaw puzzles. However, I not only enjoyed the second half of this book, but I think it has significant literary and historical importance. It’s among the few American novels to have survived its era; and as boring as parts of it are, and whether you care or not, those parts do serve as a portrait of what living in an American village in the late 18th century was like; and having grown up in that environment, Cooper is obviously a trustworthy source. Furthermore, The Pioneers shows us that some form of environmentalism existed back in the day. Natty Bumppo may kill more animals in a month than most modern hunters could kill in a lifetime, but he wants to protect the environment from wasteful, clumsy townspeople. He wants to do this so there’ll be enough animals for him to kill… But, still, he’s a good guy.
I still have four books left to read in the Leatherstocking Tales, but I’m greatly looking forward to the rest, because I already sense that Natty Bumppo is one of the great characters in literature.
The funny thing about The Pioneers is that the first half is like the literary equivalent of a series of Norman Rockwell illustrations. But not one of those great Norman Rockwell illustrations that makes you want to go back in time and hug your parents when they were five years old: more like one of those hokey, totally phoney ones that makes you despise an entire decade. This book is like a 1790's version of that feeling. There's a chapter covering each of the following, and more: sleigh rides, taverns, church, and turkey shoots. If that turkey shoot chapter doesn’t make you hate American village life in the 1790's, I don't know what could.
The backbone of the entire Leatherstocking Tales (so I’ve read) is Natty Bumppo, who appears in The Pioneers as a militantly hermetic grumpy old man. He’s a real character. The more we get to know Natty Bumppo, the more interesting the book becomes. There is virtually no conflict in the first half of this book (which is probably why I put it down), and not a lot of Natty either, but there are little hints as to what sort of conflict is brewing: Bumppo is hosting a mysterious young man in his shack; in the first chapter or so, this mysterious young Romeo is shot accidentally by our hero, the Judge, and despite all of the Judge’s attempts to reconcile, the young man seems to resent him. The real main character in the book is actually the Judge’s daughter, who let’s just say is about the same age as the young stranger.
After that shooting, as I’ve said, the book pretty much goes nowhere for the next few hundred pages as the above-mentioned Norman Rockwell illustrations take place. Cooper wanted to write a book that showed what his childhood was like, but he really blew it (no offense). I hate to give up on a book halfway through, but after countless boring chapters about how quaint upstate New York is, with hardly any plot development, I picked up something else.
But before this review ends on a tragic note, let me tell you why I feel so lucky that I picked The Pioneers back up and finished it!
If I remember right, the first chapter I read on my revival of this book was the one in which a tree almost falls on our heroes during a sleigh ride. It’s by far my favorite chapter of the book, and also by far the stupidest. It provided me with one of my favorite quotes I’ve read all year, spoken very solemnly by the Judge: “The sudden falling of trees ... are the most dangerous accidents in the forest, for they are not to be foreseen, being impelled by no winds, nor any extraneous or visible cause, against which we can guard.”
It’s soon after the falling tree chapter that the book actually becomes genuinely interesting instead of just stupidly funny. Basically what happens is that Natty Bumppo takes things over. The fact that Cooper wrote four more books with this character seems to back up my opinion that the first half (in which Bumppo is a secondary character) is crap, and the second half (in which Natty Bumppo suddenly becomes the main character) is awesome.
The second half of The Pioneers does tend towards some of the same problems as the first half—silly nostalgic depictions of pioneer life and narrow escapes from danger—but it presents an epic conflict between man and wild. It’s established early in the book that the Judge represents society (both literally and figuratively), while Natty Bumppo is sort of like a representative of the great outdoors. He lives in a shack; he only eats what he catches himself; and he likes to build things. I don’t want to give too much away, so I’ll just say that a very thoughtful, well-written clash between these two forces plays out in the latter half of this book. It goes from being as hokey as anything I’ve ever read, to genuinely moving. Except for the quote about falling trees, my favorite passage—a passage which Cooper was clearly conscious of how good it was, as it becomes quite caught up in itself—is when Natty Bumppo tells the young stranger of the most beautiful place he knows of.
Bumppo represents freedom, nature, and independence. To the reader, the Judge is a protagonist; but to Bumppo, he is a villain; he represents the lazy interdependence of society, the ignorant customs of townsfolk, and the destruction of nature. The Judge does not evoke these characteristics himself, and in fact he greatly admires Bumppo and everything he stands for. Since the Judge can’t be our antagonist, Cooper thoughtfully invents a couple of lawyers about three-quarters of the way through the book. The Judge’s ignorant brother, Richard, is opposed to Bumppo throughout, but Cooper clearly doesn’t want to go so far as to make him the villain, and gives his personality various niceties.
The Judge’s daughter, Elizabeth, is technically the main character of this book; but really, she just serves as a foil to Bumppo’s heroics, and as an open-minded neutral party to the book’s central conflict. Sadly, Elizabeth never has much of an impact on the events of the book; nor on the opinions of her foolhardy elders. She is perhaps more clear-headed than anyone else in the book, but she seems to be meant to represent innocence (i.e., getting into dangerous situations).
The Pioneers is VERY far from achieving what I would call “greatness”. However, it’s not nearly as bad as some of the other Goodreads users seem to think. Some of the characters are thin, and much of the book is a lot like those pictures of little kids skating and going to church that they put on jigsaw puzzles. However, I not only enjoyed the second half of this book, but I think it has significant literary and historical importance. It’s among the few American novels to have survived its era; and as boring as parts of it are, and whether you care or not, those parts do serve as a portrait of what living in an American village in the late 18th century was like; and having grown up in that environment, Cooper is obviously a trustworthy source. Furthermore, The Pioneers shows us that some form of environmentalism existed back in the day. Natty Bumppo may kill more animals in a month than most modern hunters could kill in a lifetime, but he wants to protect the environment from wasteful, clumsy townspeople. He wants to do this so there’ll be enough animals for him to kill… But, still, he’s a good guy.
I still have four books left to read in the Leatherstocking Tales, but I’m greatly looking forward to the rest, because I already sense that Natty Bumppo is one of the great characters in literature.
Read
April 10, 2015the long version is here; otherwise, read on.
I'm of two minds about this novel and my ambiguity has to do with Cooper's writing style. First, let me say that I'm no stranger to older works with long, drawn-out phrasing or archaic writing styles -- I figure it's a given that these are books from the past and they certainly weren't designed with our more modern, streamlined reading styles in mind. That's not the issue here. Instead, it's more like the main threads of the narratives in this book are sort of buried under a barrage of description that tends to go on and on and on before you get back to the storylines that you're reading the book for in the first place.
On the other hand, The Pioneers is very much worth reading as a novel strongly concerned with (among other things) environmental stewardship; it is also a book that Cooper wrote, in my opinion, to offer his readers a look at the American wilderness as people began to settle there, much as in his own life, his father had played a major role in the settlement of Cooperstown. The novel also touches on the issue of the creation, application and enforcement of law as civilization encroaches into the wilderness -- Natty Bumppo, "the Leatherstocking" has lived in the forests and in nature for most of his life before civilization had even arrived there, and he has his own ideas about the value/application of laws. And for those readers who are entertained by plot and aren't really into the messages/history woven into novels, there's also a storyline complete with love interest that centers around a mysterious young man who is accidentally shot by Judge Marmaduke Temple in his efforts to shoot a deer.
The bottom line for me is that it was a tough novel to read because, speaking in our 21st-century parlance, the writing itself tends to be all over the map with long interludes of description that seem to take forever before the author returns to the narrative, but when all is said and done, the environmental issues that are brought up in this book are more than relevant to modern concerns. So back to being of two minds -- if you can make it through the laborious writing style, there's a really good story or two or three hidden in this novel. I'm happy I read it, although now I'm thinking that maybe I'll pass on the others for the moment.
I'm of two minds about this novel and my ambiguity has to do with Cooper's writing style. First, let me say that I'm no stranger to older works with long, drawn-out phrasing or archaic writing styles -- I figure it's a given that these are books from the past and they certainly weren't designed with our more modern, streamlined reading styles in mind. That's not the issue here. Instead, it's more like the main threads of the narratives in this book are sort of buried under a barrage of description that tends to go on and on and on before you get back to the storylines that you're reading the book for in the first place.
On the other hand, The Pioneers is very much worth reading as a novel strongly concerned with (among other things) environmental stewardship; it is also a book that Cooper wrote, in my opinion, to offer his readers a look at the American wilderness as people began to settle there, much as in his own life, his father had played a major role in the settlement of Cooperstown. The novel also touches on the issue of the creation, application and enforcement of law as civilization encroaches into the wilderness -- Natty Bumppo, "the Leatherstocking" has lived in the forests and in nature for most of his life before civilization had even arrived there, and he has his own ideas about the value/application of laws. And for those readers who are entertained by plot and aren't really into the messages/history woven into novels, there's also a storyline complete with love interest that centers around a mysterious young man who is accidentally shot by Judge Marmaduke Temple in his efforts to shoot a deer.
The bottom line for me is that it was a tough novel to read because, speaking in our 21st-century parlance, the writing itself tends to be all over the map with long interludes of description that seem to take forever before the author returns to the narrative, but when all is said and done, the environmental issues that are brought up in this book are more than relevant to modern concerns. So back to being of two minds -- if you can make it through the laborious writing style, there's a really good story or two or three hidden in this novel. I'm happy I read it, although now I'm thinking that maybe I'll pass on the others for the moment.
September 24, 2021
Interesting characters and site. There isn't much plot, though.
January 3, 2020
I'm going to assert with some confidence that this is the earliest novel to take conservationism as its theme, and considering it is 200 years old, that is quite an accomplishment (while his contemporaries were only just awakening to the destructive side of the Industrial Revolution, Cooper already seems to sense it here, even though the setting is far from the factory life that was producing the destruction). The first Leatherstocking Tale to be written but not the earliest in the chronology of the protagonist's life, it misses a few reiterations of the following tales: the names Deerslayer is missing, Hawk-Eye's jauntiness is faded, and the romance of the younger protagonists is somewhat muted. Nonetheless, Cooper takes a good stab at the formula that serve him well with The Last of the Mohicans.
Without spoilers, Cooper surveys a vanishing way of life, the intimate connection of the people with their natural world, and does so while looking at the very pioneers who were exploring that wilderness, simultaneously employing its resources while the younger generation was starting to misuse those same resources for greed or even momentary enjoyment. Our protagonist is a full 70 years old and clearly is guiding the characters - and we the reader - into respecting that wilderness and not abusing its bounty. Several characters do the opposite. Add the fact that it is set 30 years prior to its composition, and we have a significant case that Cooper was ringing the alarm bell on overexploitation of his beloved rural upstate New York (what were his thoughts on the Erie Canal being built at that moment?). This one is easy to underrate but its vivid descriptions of winter life on the frontier as well as a pulse pounding and emotional ending establishes that Cooper found his feet with this one, and that the triumph of Last of the Mohicans the following year started here.
Without spoilers, Cooper surveys a vanishing way of life, the intimate connection of the people with their natural world, and does so while looking at the very pioneers who were exploring that wilderness, simultaneously employing its resources while the younger generation was starting to misuse those same resources for greed or even momentary enjoyment. Our protagonist is a full 70 years old and clearly is guiding the characters - and we the reader - into respecting that wilderness and not abusing its bounty. Several characters do the opposite. Add the fact that it is set 30 years prior to its composition, and we have a significant case that Cooper was ringing the alarm bell on overexploitation of his beloved rural upstate New York (what were his thoughts on the Erie Canal being built at that moment?). This one is easy to underrate but its vivid descriptions of winter life on the frontier as well as a pulse pounding and emotional ending establishes that Cooper found his feet with this one, and that the triumph of Last of the Mohicans the following year started here.
June 7, 2014
I actually liked this! While reading the reviews that others had written, I was a bit concerned that perhaps I would not, but I think, since I read it out of order (this one first), I did not expect the great adventures the others seem to have. I enjoyed being able to see our country's youth through the author's eyes and I was thoroughly wrapped up in the struggle between the various characters.
I admit it did bog down in a few places, and I don't think you can consider it a fun or light book, but most certainly it is an eye-opening book!
I admit it did bog down in a few places, and I don't think you can consider it a fun or light book, but most certainly it is an eye-opening book!
April 4, 2010
Sorry James, but this sucks !
August 23, 2021
James Fennimore Cooper’s book “The Pioneers” (1823)
with Natty Bumppo is driving me to drink!
The first 25 chapters are so difficult to get through…
…character descriptions in excruciating detail, history, religion.
But just when you want to toss the book….it gets better!
Romance blooms, intrigue, secrets, concealed identity
…so don’t give up on this book!
Chapters 26-41 were action packed!
with Natty Bumppo is driving me to drink!
The first 25 chapters are so difficult to get through…
…character descriptions in excruciating detail, history, religion.
But just when you want to toss the book….it gets better!
Romance blooms, intrigue, secrets, concealed identity
…so don’t give up on this book!
Chapters 26-41 were action packed!
February 14, 2020
*1.5 stars*
The ONLY reason I am giving this the half star above one is because of Natty Bumppo's contribution of being against overconsumption and trophy hunting. Besides that, this is the most boring book I have ever read and is a work of historical amnesia that pretends that Chingachgook's death was the end of the Native American race as a whole? It's such a mess just don't bother
The ONLY reason I am giving this the half star above one is because of Natty Bumppo's contribution of being against overconsumption and trophy hunting. Besides that, this is the most boring book I have ever read and is a work of historical amnesia that pretends that Chingachgook's death was the end of the Native American race as a whole? It's such a mess just don't bother
October 20, 2020
I avoided books like this one like the plague (!) when I was a kid, no matter how many adults had recommended them to me and in spite of dad's dying wish and countless gifts under the form of Karl May's books. But well, now I did read one book like that and yep, I'm fairly glad I didn't inflict this pain upon myself as a kid.
Also, white people are, quite easily put, self-serving monsters.
Also, white people are, quite easily put, self-serving monsters.
April 25, 2025
Not a great work of art, by any means, but one of major historical importance in American literature. It addresses concepts regarding the land, the law, and the individual that still bedevil us. The chapter on the mass "hunt" of the passenger pigeon anticipates the bird's extinction. That chapter, along with others of a similar theme, represent our nation's earliest environmentalist writing.
August 15, 2016
This book was slow at first but then again most 18th/19th century fiction is slow at first. It was a trend for writers to give lengthy prose dedicated to descriptions of scenery. This would especially be the case if a writer's setting is the American Frontier.
A lot of people giving this book a low rating are probably people who wanted to read a nice little adventure story that doesn't require much thinking. After all the movie with Daniel Day Lewis was pretty good. However, you are very much mistaken if you think 'The Pioneers' is meant to be a inconsequential adventure story.
'The Pioneers' is concerned with issues that were relevant to Cooper 's own time. Cooper was alive during the time when white settlers were starting to move into the American West. A territory heavily populated by Native Americans. It is needless to say that there were racial tensions between the two groups. I see 'The Pioneers' as being very much a novel about race and the place of Native Americans in a new white America.
The racial ambiguity of Oliver Edwards is always at the forefront of the novel. Edwards is still treated like an outside because he may be a 'half-breed.' It is for this reason why that Cooper does not make the romance between Edwards and Elizabeth more overt. Even though Native Americans were held in higher regard than black Americans, a lot of them were still regarded as savages. It was only deemed acceptable for white people to marry Native Americans that were from The Five Civilised Nations.
However, Edwards may not be from these nations so it is not acceptable for Edwards to be romantic with Elizabeth. The romance is shoehorned in at the end when Edwards is confirmed to only have white blood in him. Only then is it acceptable for Elizabeth to marry Edwards.
Let us not forget about Natty 'Leatherstocking' Bumppo either. Natty is a white man and yet he acts more like a Native American than anything else. His best friend is a N. American, John Mohegan. The white settlers treat Natty like a N. American and yet Cooper throws in constant reminders that Natty is still a white man. For instance the scene at the end where Mohegan is dying, Mohegan states that he will be going to a separate heaven to Natty. Natty will be going to the 'white man's heaven' Mohegan says. Cooper seems to have created a paradox. Natty is constantly treated like a N. American because of his behaviour and ideals but Natty and others still identify him as a white man.
What Cooper has created here is what he sees as the ideal white American settler. The ideal settler is like the Indian. He is not wasteful of the land and respects nature. He takes what he needs and no more. He is not greedy. However, he lacks the savage behaviour of the Indian. He believes in Christianity, fairness and is white. For Cooper Natty is the settler Americans should be. Wasteful settlers like Richard Jones is what Americans really are. Cooper is clearly decrying against the big businesses that were emerging.
I don't think this book deserves the low ratings it is getting. There are a lot of important themes prevalent in this book. Books are not just about having a interesting adventure plot. When you think about it the literary greats like Tolstoy and Dickens did not have a riveting plot in their books. It was all about what they were concerned with.
If you want to read an adventure book then don't go to 19th century fiction. Read a Dan Brown book and you'll get your adventure story.
A lot of people giving this book a low rating are probably people who wanted to read a nice little adventure story that doesn't require much thinking. After all the movie with Daniel Day Lewis was pretty good. However, you are very much mistaken if you think 'The Pioneers' is meant to be a inconsequential adventure story.
'The Pioneers' is concerned with issues that were relevant to Cooper 's own time. Cooper was alive during the time when white settlers were starting to move into the American West. A territory heavily populated by Native Americans. It is needless to say that there were racial tensions between the two groups. I see 'The Pioneers' as being very much a novel about race and the place of Native Americans in a new white America.
The racial ambiguity of Oliver Edwards is always at the forefront of the novel. Edwards is still treated like an outside because he may be a 'half-breed.' It is for this reason why that Cooper does not make the romance between Edwards and Elizabeth more overt. Even though Native Americans were held in higher regard than black Americans, a lot of them were still regarded as savages. It was only deemed acceptable for white people to marry Native Americans that were from The Five Civilised Nations.
However, Edwards may not be from these nations so it is not acceptable for Edwards to be romantic with Elizabeth. The romance is shoehorned in at the end when Edwards is confirmed to only have white blood in him. Only then is it acceptable for Elizabeth to marry Edwards.
Let us not forget about Natty 'Leatherstocking' Bumppo either. Natty is a white man and yet he acts more like a Native American than anything else. His best friend is a N. American, John Mohegan. The white settlers treat Natty like a N. American and yet Cooper throws in constant reminders that Natty is still a white man. For instance the scene at the end where Mohegan is dying, Mohegan states that he will be going to a separate heaven to Natty. Natty will be going to the 'white man's heaven' Mohegan says. Cooper seems to have created a paradox. Natty is constantly treated like a N. American because of his behaviour and ideals but Natty and others still identify him as a white man.
What Cooper has created here is what he sees as the ideal white American settler. The ideal settler is like the Indian. He is not wasteful of the land and respects nature. He takes what he needs and no more. He is not greedy. However, he lacks the savage behaviour of the Indian. He believes in Christianity, fairness and is white. For Cooper Natty is the settler Americans should be. Wasteful settlers like Richard Jones is what Americans really are. Cooper is clearly decrying against the big businesses that were emerging.
I don't think this book deserves the low ratings it is getting. There are a lot of important themes prevalent in this book. Books are not just about having a interesting adventure plot. When you think about it the literary greats like Tolstoy and Dickens did not have a riveting plot in their books. It was all about what they were concerned with.
If you want to read an adventure book then don't go to 19th century fiction. Read a Dan Brown book and you'll get your adventure story.
December 14, 2019
This is my second reading of this novel. One reason I chose it now is because the story begins on Christmas Eve 1793 in a settlement named Templeton begun by a Judge named Marmaduke Temple (based on James Fenimore Cooper's father William Cooper, a Judge who started the Central New York Settlement of Cooperstown-the same location as the Baseball Hall of Fame). It is located on the Otsego Lake, one of the sources of the Susquehanna River and is the same location as his novel "The Deerslayer", chronologically the first in this series when Natty and Chingachgook are in there early twenties.
It begins with a sleigh ride returning Judge Temple and his daughter Bess to their home when the judge sees a buck darting nearby and decides to try to kill it. He misses and instead inadvertently wounds a fellow hunter, Oliver Edwards, a young newcomer to Templeton who is friends with Natty Bumppo, or Leatherstocking as he is known in this story (Hawkeye of "The Last of the Mohicans" fame). Oliver kills the buck and the judge becomes indebted to him as compensation for this wound. This begins the theme of the novel which is the encroachment of civilization versus nature.
Although it is the fourth in the five "Leatherstocking Tales" chronologically, it was the first one written. As the story is also titled as a descriptive story and the theme involves the friction between the rapid growth of civilization and law on the border of the frontier and the last vestiges of the life of those who lived prior to this time who lived off the land (Nature) and in the wild such as Hawkeye. There is less action and romance in this tale than there are in the future tales of Natty (The Last of the Mohicans, Deerslayer, and Pathfinder in which our protagonist is in the prime of life. In this story he is about 70 years old and is a rather crabby old man who resents the encroachment of civilization.
One thing I always remembered about my first reading was the Christmas Eve meal at the Judge's mansion which featured a Roast Turkey, a boiled turkey, a chine (backbone) of a bear, and a fricassee made of grey squirrels...yum! The author wrote this in 1823. At the time of this story he would have been about 4-5 years old living in Cooperstown.
Also, the way the author builds the tension during the turkey shoot on Christmas Day between Hawkeye and Billy Kirby.
The characters are based on people the author knew or were a composite of them......
Judge Templeton (parallels the life of his father William Cooper)
Elizabeth (Bess) Templeton - his sister, Hannah Cooper, and possible love interest of Oliver Edwards.
Richard Jones, the Judge's cousin and sheriff. (for him the ends justify the means and a character who never finds fault with himself).
Ben Pump (the old seaman and major domo of the Judge)
Billy Kirby, the woodcutter and second best shot in the patent.
Hiram Doolittle, the Architect and Magistrate (a snarky and conniving weasel)
Natty Bumpo who is based on at least a couple of hunters/trappers that were still around during these times
Chingachgook or John Mohegan, the Delaware Indian Sachem (the Indians by this time had pretty much been uprooted by the settlers and headed west).
and more very colorful characters.
It begins with a sleigh ride returning Judge Temple and his daughter Bess to their home when the judge sees a buck darting nearby and decides to try to kill it. He misses and instead inadvertently wounds a fellow hunter, Oliver Edwards, a young newcomer to Templeton who is friends with Natty Bumppo, or Leatherstocking as he is known in this story (Hawkeye of "The Last of the Mohicans" fame). Oliver kills the buck and the judge becomes indebted to him as compensation for this wound. This begins the theme of the novel which is the encroachment of civilization versus nature.
Although it is the fourth in the five "Leatherstocking Tales" chronologically, it was the first one written. As the story is also titled as a descriptive story and the theme involves the friction between the rapid growth of civilization and law on the border of the frontier and the last vestiges of the life of those who lived prior to this time who lived off the land (Nature) and in the wild such as Hawkeye. There is less action and romance in this tale than there are in the future tales of Natty (The Last of the Mohicans, Deerslayer, and Pathfinder in which our protagonist is in the prime of life. In this story he is about 70 years old and is a rather crabby old man who resents the encroachment of civilization.
One thing I always remembered about my first reading was the Christmas Eve meal at the Judge's mansion which featured a Roast Turkey, a boiled turkey, a chine (backbone) of a bear, and a fricassee made of grey squirrels...yum! The author wrote this in 1823. At the time of this story he would have been about 4-5 years old living in Cooperstown.
Also, the way the author builds the tension during the turkey shoot on Christmas Day between Hawkeye and Billy Kirby.
The characters are based on people the author knew or were a composite of them......
Judge Templeton (parallels the life of his father William Cooper)
Elizabeth (Bess) Templeton - his sister, Hannah Cooper, and possible love interest of Oliver Edwards.
Richard Jones, the Judge's cousin and sheriff. (for him the ends justify the means and a character who never finds fault with himself).
Ben Pump (the old seaman and major domo of the Judge)
Billy Kirby, the woodcutter and second best shot in the patent.
Hiram Doolittle, the Architect and Magistrate (a snarky and conniving weasel)
Natty Bumpo who is based on at least a couple of hunters/trappers that were still around during these times
Chingachgook or John Mohegan, the Delaware Indian Sachem (the Indians by this time had pretty much been uprooted by the settlers and headed west).
and more very colorful characters.
September 29, 2019
The Pioneers was a pleasant surprise to me after seeing all the negative reviews it had received. Cooper is not in most respects a master writer, but much criticism of him is unwarranted - driven by modern readers whose impatience and captivity to more modern, sensational forms blinds them to his real qualities and insight. True, his prose hangs heavily, like tree branches after an ice storm. But also true, like those branches it has vivid beauties of its own. His plots are rarely engrossing. However, he imbues their classic simplicity iwith themes that were new to literature. The Pioneers exemplifies this. Not packed with action, it is nonetheless.a solidly told story with a clear theme, and several memorable depictions of frontier life. The tragic conflict between Natty and civilization is well drawn and at times moving. Well worth a read, especially for readers of the other Leatherstocking stories.
June 28, 2010
Having read "The Last of the Mohicans" and "The Deerslayer" long ago in my youth and recently learning that there are more books in the series called "The Leather Stocking Tales", I ventured upon this work.
You see the one star rating, but I have to emphasize that this is too generous, This is an excruciatingly boring story with no redeeming features. I recall that the quality of prose in the two works cited above was not good, but the story lines were interesting making the books worth reading.
Here in "The Pioneers" we have the same low quality prose coupled with no story. I had to give up after a few hundred pages.
I guess this explains why I had never heard of this book before. Even Cooper's mother couldn't get through the book.
I notice that the average GR rating for this book is 3.1 which means "terrible."
You see the one star rating, but I have to emphasize that this is too generous, This is an excruciatingly boring story with no redeeming features. I recall that the quality of prose in the two works cited above was not good, but the story lines were interesting making the books worth reading.
Here in "The Pioneers" we have the same low quality prose coupled with no story. I had to give up after a few hundred pages.
I guess this explains why I had never heard of this book before. Even Cooper's mother couldn't get through the book.
I notice that the average GR rating for this book is 3.1 which means "terrible."
November 25, 2013
It's impossible to imagine books like this being produced in this nation ever again. One wonders if the Americans of that day would recognize us as their countrymen. Cooper himself seems to recognize this transformation, as Natty and Mohegan are nearly as unrecognizable to the newcomers as we would be. As with Cooper's other books, it is impossible not to sympathize with Natty.
September 27, 2015
Long old fashioned descriptions, but a good story. Characters based on real people, including the founder of Cooperstown NY, the author's father.
June 3, 2019
Didn't like this book at first, but it grew on me as I continued reading. It started really slow especially compared to the other Leather-stocking Tales, which were nearly non-stop action right from the word go. The first 1/4 of the book consisted of little-to-no action, very little Natty Bumppo and really long paragraphs consisting of really long sentences.
Natty is 70 years old in this tale and his Mohegan companion (now christened John) is even older. They're disappointed by the expansion and settlement that has taken place in the previous 40 years around them and is threatening to push them out and change their way of life by enforcing laws on property and game. It's an interesting tale and does pick up some steam around 2/3 through. You can't help but feel for Natty, who manages, as always, to maintain his dignity, never compromise his principles, and still out-shoot any proud up-start despite his advanced years.
This quote from Natty sums up the heart of the story:
“What would ye with an old and helpless man?” he said, “You’ve driven God’s creatur’s from the wilder ness, where His providence had put them for His own pleasure; and you’ve brought in the troubles and diviltries of the law, where no man was ever known to disturb another. You have driven me, that have lived forty long years of my appointed time in this very spot, from my home and the shelter of my head, lest you should put your wicked feet and wasty ways in my cabin. You’ve driven me to burn these logs, under which I’ve eaten and drunk—the first of Heaven’s gifts, and the other of the pure springs—for the half of a hundred years; and to mourn the ashes under my feet, as a man would weep and mourn for the children of his body. You’ve rankled the heart of an old man, that has never harmed you or your’n, with bitter feelings toward his kind, at a time when his thoughts should be on a better world; and you’ve driven him to wish that the beasts of the forest, who never feast on the blood of their own families, was his kindred and race; and now, when he has come to see the last brand of his hut, before it is incited into ashes, you follow him up, at midnight, like hungry hounds on the track of a worn-out and dying deer. What more would ye have? for I am here—one too many. I come to mourn, not to fight; and, if it is God’s pleasure, work your will on me.”
Natty is 70 years old in this tale and his Mohegan companion (now christened John) is even older. They're disappointed by the expansion and settlement that has taken place in the previous 40 years around them and is threatening to push them out and change their way of life by enforcing laws on property and game. It's an interesting tale and does pick up some steam around 2/3 through. You can't help but feel for Natty, who manages, as always, to maintain his dignity, never compromise his principles, and still out-shoot any proud up-start despite his advanced years.
This quote from Natty sums up the heart of the story:
“What would ye with an old and helpless man?” he said, “You’ve driven God’s creatur’s from the wilder ness, where His providence had put them for His own pleasure; and you’ve brought in the troubles and diviltries of the law, where no man was ever known to disturb another. You have driven me, that have lived forty long years of my appointed time in this very spot, from my home and the shelter of my head, lest you should put your wicked feet and wasty ways in my cabin. You’ve driven me to burn these logs, under which I’ve eaten and drunk—the first of Heaven’s gifts, and the other of the pure springs—for the half of a hundred years; and to mourn the ashes under my feet, as a man would weep and mourn for the children of his body. You’ve rankled the heart of an old man, that has never harmed you or your’n, with bitter feelings toward his kind, at a time when his thoughts should be on a better world; and you’ve driven him to wish that the beasts of the forest, who never feast on the blood of their own families, was his kindred and race; and now, when he has come to see the last brand of his hut, before it is incited into ashes, you follow him up, at midnight, like hungry hounds on the track of a worn-out and dying deer. What more would ye have? for I am here—one too many. I come to mourn, not to fight; and, if it is God’s pleasure, work your will on me.”
February 27, 2023
I was quite surprised by how differently The Pioneers (which is arguably the first major American novel) reads from its vastly more famous successor, The Last of the Mohicans, which is an adventure story with a narrow cast of characters. In this earlier novel, James Fenimore Cooper writes over a dozen characters who dip in and out of cozy, earthy scenes of frontier life. He has a knack for capturing their rambling dialects, particularly with Natty Bumpo and Benjamin, the former sailor, and the main conflict of the book, represented by the chilly ambivalence between Bumpo (admirable but simple and mean frontiersman) and Marmaduke Temple (enterprising, ingratiating, and naive judge-cum-mayor) is convincing.
Pretty charming -- but very many of the other characters (besides maybe Elizabeth Temple, who I think Cooper wrote the most of himself into) are flat caricatures who contribute little, and the narrative is just a spindly string of sketches.
Pretty charming -- but very many of the other characters (besides maybe Elizabeth Temple, who I think Cooper wrote the most of himself into) are flat caricatures who contribute little, and the narrative is just a spindly string of sketches.
March 19, 2018
The 4th novel, in story chronology (not by date of publication) in the "Leatherstocking Tales" 5-vol. set by James Fenimore Cooper is the least-interesting so far, due to the excruciatingly slow pace of the first half of the book, which only barely is justified by the satisfying second half. I suspect anyone who begins their acquaintance with the Leatherstocking tales with this entry will not complete it. Only a reader's implicit faith based in past entertaining efforts by Cooper would provide the willpower to navigate this book. The story, as do all in the series, follows the exploits of frontiersman Natty Bumppo, aka Leatherstocking, aka Pathfinder, etc., and his Mohegan friend Chingachgook. Cooper's work does divulge some interesting tidbits for those who want to know about life in the American wilderness shortly after the Revolutionary War.
April 26, 2022
ძალიან მინდოდა წიგნის დასასრულს მაინც მომხდარიყო ისეთი რამ რომ ოთხი ვარსკვლავი დამეწერა, მაგრამ სამზე მეტს ვერ დავუწერ.
ერთხელ წაკითხვა ნამდვილად ღირს, განსაკუთრებით წიგნის პირველი ნახევრის გამო. დაწყებისას მეგონა უეჭველად ხუთვარსკვლავიანი იქნება მეთქი, მაგრამ მეორე ნახევრიდან უსასრულოდ გაიწელა, რამე განსკუთრებული მიმართულება არ ჰქონია შინაარსის მხრივ, თხრობა კი რაც არ უნდა კარგი იყოს (თარგმანი შესანიშნავია BTW) ისიც მომაბეზრებელი ხდება როცა მხოლოდ განმეორებადი ხასიათის ამბებია აღწერილი. მეორე ნახევრიდან ჩვეულებრივი, არაფრით გამორჩეული ამბავია, თუმცა წიგნის პირველი ნახევარი შესანიშნავია, მხოლოდ მის გამო არ ვნანობ რომ წავიკითხე.
პალიტრა L ამ სერიის(''ჩემი რჩეული მსოფლიო'') წიგნების ქართულ გამოცემებს რატომ არ ამატებს არ ვიცი.
ვინაიდან ჩემი პირველი რივიუა, ჩემ რევიუებში ეს წიგნი პიონერია :P
ერთხელ წაკითხვა ნამდვილად ღირს, განსაკუთრებით წიგნის პირველი ნახევრის გამო. დაწყებისას მეგონა უეჭველად ხუთვარსკვლავიანი იქნება მეთქი, მაგრამ მეორე ნახევრიდან უსასრულოდ გაიწელა, რამე განსკუთრებული მიმართულება არ ჰქონია შინაარსის მხრივ, თხრობა კი რაც არ უნდა კარგი იყოს (თარგმანი შესანიშნავია BTW) ისიც მომაბეზრებელი ხდება როცა მხოლოდ განმეორებადი ხასიათის ამბებია აღწერილი. მეორე ნახევრიდან ჩვეულებრივი, არაფრით გამორჩეული ამბავია, თუმცა წიგნის პირველი ნახევარი შესანიშნავია, მხოლოდ მის გამო არ ვნანობ რომ წავიკითხე.
პალიტრა L ამ სერიის(''ჩემი რჩეული მსოფლიო'') წიგნების ქართულ გამოცემებს რატომ არ ამატებს არ ვიცი.
ვინაიდან ჩემი პირველი რივიუა, ჩემ რევიუებში ეს წიგნი პიონერია :P
December 4, 2021
I finally remembered that I have to update my Goodreads account (or most I made time for that).
This book was hard to read due to the writer's style, but an awesome reading. It didn't help that I had short for it, but I enjoyed it as much as I could. Constructing a history of characters that are going to play a role in other works as well as retelling the history of country (more or less idealized) is truly a tedious mission.
It is also heartwarming to see how much attention was paid to the description of scenery. I mean, it's not wonder it inspired tons of pictures, which later inspired American films. Truly a book that shaped identities.
I'll definitely reread it and continue with the other parts!
This book was hard to read due to the writer's style, but an awesome reading. It didn't help that I had short for it, but I enjoyed it as much as I could. Constructing a history of characters that are going to play a role in other works as well as retelling the history of country (more or less idealized) is truly a tedious mission.
It is also heartwarming to see how much attention was paid to the description of scenery. I mean, it's not wonder it inspired tons of pictures, which later inspired American films. Truly a book that shaped identities.
I'll definitely reread it and continue with the other parts!
March 2, 2020
Chronologically in the life of Natty Bumpo, or Leatherstocking, this book is the second-to-last book. At the time of this book Natty is 70 years old. In terms of when it was written, this is the first book of the Leatherstocking Tales to be written. The plot takes 3/4 of the book to get going. Certainly not much to be said for the relationships either. I am an avid fan of the previous books(previous as to the life of Natty Bumpo)...The Deerslayer, The Last of the Mohicans, and the Pathfinder. It seems that Cooper hasn't quite gotten established in his mind who he wants Natty to be. It was difficult, sad really, to see Natty as an old man after so many adventures with him in the wild frontier of the other books. Chingachkook too; An old man. Being that I am 70 years old myself it simply made me want to cry. I do love Cooper's imagery; the sights, sounds and feel of the primeval forest. The Leatherstocking Tales are favorites. As a whole they get 5 ******
Displaying 1 - 30 of 215 reviews