The Last Of The MohicansI am surprised to say that I actually enjoyed this book, despite my initial misgivings. I was expecting a testosterone filled romp through the forests of America, plenty of extraneous detail about battles and lots of fainting from the female characters. Yes, my expectations were confirmed, but there were plenty of moments when reading the book when I actually held my breath to find out what happened to the characters, I really got drawn into the story which was beautifully put together to suspend the tension and keep the reader guessing.
The last page was a long time coming however, as despite the low page count (just 350), the text is dense and full of rich imagery and detail. Skimming a paragraph often meant losing track of the plot, which is fast moving and confusing in places, especially when dealing with the Indian tribes-I couldn’t work out which group were the enemies.
One enemy I did like was Le Renard Subtil, a strange, creeping, coward of a character, given to making long speeches about his own worth and scuttling off into bushes when challenged. I don’t know if he was supposed to be amusing, but to my modern eye he offered some light relief from the scalpings, massacres and the endless fainting of Alice who was continually being scraped off the floor and fussed over, rather than being given a hefty boot up the backside. Perhaps I liked him because he was more developed as a character than the others, who came across as quite one-dimensional, something I can attribute partly to the fact that this isn’t supposed to be a standalone book, but is part of a series about Natty Bumppo.
Overall an exciting adventure story with lots of danger, last minute rescues, blood and gore and a interesting perspective on this period in American history.
Whatever you do, don't judge this book by the Daniel Day Lewis film - that was absolute rubbish and he was almost completely opposite the character in the book. The book itself, although quite dense as the reviewer points out, is like running full-pelt through a forest - this book just keeps coming at you as you duck and weave breathlessly over the forest floor. After the adrenaline rush, you realise the book's poignant message about man's relationship with the land and the brutality of greed.
Posted at 12:45 - 21.08.09 by kittyfondue
This is a cracking adventure story with romance thrown in for free. Because this year's Winter Olympics is being held on tribal land, the spotlight is on the history of North America's native people and this is a fabulous way of learning something about their last years of real independence.
Posted at 13:40 - 06.02.10 by Brownbear101
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Certainly, over the years this book has dated, but even so it still makes a good read. I must admit that I haven't read it for quite some time but if I remember rightly it is the best one in the series, and definitely the most famous.
Posted at 00:34 - 09.12.08 by martin