The Revenant in Around the World in 80 Books

Mar 04, 2017 Jim rated it liked it

Shelves: western, fiction

I never had any real interest in reading this book, being already familiar with the story of Hugh Glass. On top of that, I had already seen the horrid yawner of a movie which involved a pathetic DiCaprio wandering shivering over the Canadian countryside (and later describing a Chinook as evidence of our impending doom from global warming). Unfortunately, a co-worker reasoned that, since he had once seen me reading a book, it would necessarily follow that I would want to read anything that had pa I never had any real interest in reading this book, being already familiar with the story of Hugh Glass. On top of that, I had already seen the horrid yawner of a movie which involved a pathetic DiCaprio wandering shivering over the Canadian countryside (and later describing a Chinook as evidence of our impending doom from global warming). Unfortunately, a co-worker reasoned that, since he had once seen me reading a book, it would necessarily follow that I would want to read anything that had paper sandwiched between two covers. I could tell that he thought he was doing me a great favour, and since I am not one who likes to be untruthful I couldn't just give it back a week later and tell him it was OK. I reluctantly read the darn thing.

Surprisingly, I didn't hate the book. Happily, some screenwriter had obviously taken liberties and totally messed up the movie version, but that's the case for almost every translation of book to film. Punke isn't a bad storyteller, although he tends to lay it on a bit thick with the woodcraft. Tell me that Glass built a bullboat...I don't need to be told how he built it! That can slow the story down quite a bit, although this book didn't suffer terribly as a result. Some actions assigned to Glass were hard to swallow, such as a badly mauled man barely having the use of one of his arms suddenly having the capacity to start a fire with bow and drill, an activity requiring the vigorous use of both arms. And lets not forget the 200 gr charge of powder in the rifle...about twice as much as he would actually be using. Adding more powder doesn't give more range, it just gives you more unburned powder being shoved out of the barrel.

So I didn't hate it. Didn't learn anything from it, but I can give the book back to my co-worker and thank him for loaning it to me. I can tell him it wasn't bad with a clear conscience. And it is much better than the movie, a point I have to emphasize because I could see people dodging the book if they had seen the movie first.

...more

44 likes · Like · see review

May 17, 2016 Kathleen Valentine rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I have not seen the movie so wanted to read this before seeing it and I am very glad that I did. What an exciting story! I can only imagine what Hugh Glass's life was like. The story was well told with flashbacks to his early life that were just as compelling as his later adventures.

It is always hard to know how to review a story that is part fiction and part non-fiction. We'll probably never know how much the character of Glass was like the historical Glass but given his background with Jean La ...more

3 likes · Like · see review

Dec 29, 2015 Tony rated it it was amazing

Shelves: adapted-for-film, novels, setting-us, old-west

The fictional account of real-life American frontiersman Hugh Glass is an excellent example of history fiction that is simple, but effective. Glass's story has been told many times before, including in books such as The Saga of Hugh Glass, and the 1971 film Man in the Wilderness, and will be again later this year in a feature based on this book starring Leonardo DiCaprio. Anyone who picks this up will understand why.

The story is an old-fashioned adventure taking place across six months in 1823-2 ...more

Like · see review