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Summary: The Deerslayer is good but the English is terrible!
Review: I like what James Fenimore Cooper used in describing the war for independence. The way that he potrayed the characters is very good and he brilliantly described how the Indian war went. He described the Deerslayer as a white intelligent man who always have good explanation for every question. He described his friend Harry or March as a person that always jump into conclusion. I will recommend the book for every college students to read. It's wonderful!
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Summary: DEERSLAYER-ONE COOL CHARACTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Review: Okaay, so I haven't read it all but I just wanted to say Deerslayer is a pretty neat story so far. I love it! And I'm sure it's gonna be great the rest of the way! Oh, I have to comment; one person was real let down about the Engligh. But to me the English was okay, sure it wasn't the greatest way of speaking but that's the way Mr. Cooper wrote it gave to the characters that certain something-know what I mean. So I say read this book!!!!!!! Do not delay!!!!!!!!!!
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Summary: Not The Last of the Mohicans, unfortunately...
Review: Seeking to reprise his earlier success with The Last of the Mohicans, James Fenimore Cooper went on to write several other tales built around his heroic character Natty Bumppo (called "Hawkeye" in Mohicans and "Pathfinder" in the book of THAT name). In this one our hero is known as "Deerslayer" for his facility on the hunt and is shown as the younger incarnation of that paragon of frontier virtue we got to know in the earlier books. In this one, too, we see how he got his most famous appellation: "Hawkeye". But, this time out, our hero comes across as woefully tiresome (perhaps it's because we see too much of him in this book, where he's almost a side character in Mohicans). Yet some of Cooper's writing skills seem sharper here (he no longer avers that Natty is the taciturn type, for instance, while having the fellow forever running off at the mouth). But, while there are some good moments & excitement, this tale really doesn't go all that far...and its rife with cliches already overworked from the earlier books. The worst part is the verbose, simple-minded self-righteousness of our hero, himself, taken to the point of absolute unbelievability. He spurns the love of a beautiful young woman (though he obviously admires her) for the forester's life (as though he couldn't really have both), yet we're expected to believe he's a full-blooded young American male. And he's insufferably "moral", a veritable goody two-shoes of the woodlands. At the same time, the Indians huff & puff a lot on the shore of the lake where Deerslayer finds himself in this tale (in alliance with a settler, his two daughters, a boorish fellow woodsman, and Deerslayer's own erstwhile but loyal Indian companion Chingachgook -- "The Big Sarpent," as Natty translates his name). But the native Americans seem ultimately unable to overwhelm the less numerous settlers who have taken refuge from them in the middle of Lake Glimmerglass (inside a frontier house built of logs and set in the lake bed on stilts). There is much racing around the lake as Deerslayer and the others strive to keep the few canoes in the vicinity from falling into the hands of the tribe of marauding Hurons who have stopped in the nearby woods on their way back up to Canada (fleeing the American colonists and the British at the outbreak of English-French hostilities -- since these Hurons are allied with the French). And there are lots of dramatic encounters, with some deaths, but the Indians seem to take it all with relative equanimity, while trying to find a way to get at the whites who are precariously ensconced out on the lake. (It seems to take them the better part of two days, for instance, to figure out they can build rafts to make up for their lack of canoes -- and why couldn't they just build their own canoes, in any case -- and how is it they don't have any along with them since it's obvious they'll have to cross a number of waterways to successfully make it back to the homeland in Canada?) The settler and the boorish woodsman, for their part, do their stupid best to attack the Indians unnecessarily, getting captured then ransomed in the process, while Deerslayer and Chingachgook contrive to get the loyal Indian's betrothed free from the Hurons (it seems she has been kidnapped by them -- the reason Deerslayer and Chingachgook are in the vicinity in the first place). In the meantime the simple-minded younger daughter of the settler (Cooper seems to like this motif since he used a strong daughter and a simpler sister in Mohicans, as well) wanders in and out of the Indian's encampment without sustaining any hurt on the grounds that the noble red men recognize the "special" nature of this poor afflicted young woman (Cooper used this motif in Mohicans, too). In the end there's lots of sturm und drang but not much of a tale -- at least not one which rings true or touches the right chords for the modern reader. Cooper tried to give us more of Hawkeye in keeping with what he thought his readers wanted but, in this case, more is definately too much. --- Stuart W. Mirsk
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Summary: Deerslayer, the stud himself
Review: The Deerslayer is a great book about Natty Bumpo, a young man who, traveling with his friend Harry(Hurry) March, is forced to go on his first warpath. This book is a must read for classic lovers. I highly suggest this book.
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Summary: The one and only Deerslayer.
Review: The Deerslayer is a great book about the first warpath of the stud, Natty Bumpo. He begins with a hike to a lake with his friend, Harry 'Hurry' March. There awaits the Hutter's, a family that has been living on the lake for most of their lifes. Many other characters are introduced later in the book. The grammar in The Deerslayer is purposely incorrect, it is written in vernacular. This book is a great way to better understand how life was during the French and Indian War. I suggest you buy this book, it'll be a great addittion to your library.(or a great start)
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Summary: Excellent means to visit frontier America
Review: The Deerslayer is so much more than just "the adventures of Natty Bumppo". Cooper (incidentally, a flunky of Yale College!) creates in Deerslayer, or more aptly nick-named, Hawkeye, an idealistic, forthright, honorable man, who although born into a lower station has more "class" than a nobleman. Deerslayer, set in the early 1700's in the area of Lake Mohawk, New York, not only provides a vivid portrait of this beautiful natural area, but philosophizes religion, spirituality, race, women and men, nature and technology, good and evil. Deerslayer even contemplates the subjects of sex and incest. As we approach the millenium and are faced with extremely difficult choices, a visit back to our forefather's ruminations on these timeless issues can only aid us, and it's good action-packed entertainment, as well! (This book is also geographically accurate - it even mentions the Susquehanna River that flows through the valley where I grew up!)
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Summary: A true American wilderness experience.
Review: The story of Natty Bumpo named the "Deerslayer" by his Native American friends/enemies is a classic tale of American independence and self reliance. The Deerslayer deals with racism, hatred, Manifest Destiny, technology/progress, and was the first environmetalist. A must read for anyone looking for accurate descriptions of life in the wooded frontier
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Summary: Classic American Lit
Review: This book definitely must be read in the context of the culture in which it was written. I won't comment on the story line, it has been well reviewed by others. It does contain a good story, but is somewhat verbose, over descriptive, and slow, if viewed from a modern perspective. It is more mythology than history, but offers much insight into America of the 18th and 19th centuries. The characters are well developed, but Cooper can be a bit repetitive in this regard. It also contains a large amount of racial prejudice, but (not to excuse this), it must remembered that this is the way our country was in the mid 1800s. (That's when the book was written, it is set in the mid 1700s and probably accurately reflects the culture of that time, too.) Slightly counter balancing the racial bias, it does raise questions about the behavior of the European Americans also, asking how we could preach "love thy neighbor" while murdering the Native Americans and stealing their lands. On the whole, I found this book to be entertaining and educational, I did get caught up in the story, found the characters to be empathetic and would recommend it.
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Summary: And the the trees are still green....
Review: This is the most overly verbose and wordy novel I have ever read. Cooper is a very poor writer, in that, in reading this book, I felt like I was reading a very rough, stream-of-consciousness type diatribe that was more concerned with the surroundings of the forest rather than the characters and the action. I explicitly remember reading one passgae in which one of the "evil" Indians throws a tomahawk at Deerslayer, and while it's flying at him, Cooper proceeds to fill us in on the trees again and how green they are FOR THREE PAGES. Then, abruptly returning to his narrative, he very point-blank says that Deerslayer catches the tomahawk. I remember readign this and thinking, "Waitaminiute! Where did this come from? What tomahawk? I thought we were talking about the trees?" And, as another reviewer put it, Deerslayer comes off as being very one-dimensional. I don't know about anyone else, but I prefer more 3D characters who are more human, who struggle with internal conflict and interests. With Deerslayer it was very much, this is right, this is wrong, I always do what is right, and I stay away from women because that leads to weakness and the trees will no longer be as green. I remember reading the Cliff's Notes for this and at one point, in the summary section, the author of the Notes says that the trees are "still green." I think this could have been much better if Deerslayer was more human, had some internal conflict and the action and interaction between characters were the focus, rather than the trees being green.
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