Deerslayer

The Leatherstocking Tales #1

by James Fenimore Cooper, Raymond Todd

The violence and rugged beauty of the American frontier come alive in this opening to Coopers great wilderness saga. A fine combination of romance, adventure, and morality, this is the unforgettable introduction to the famous character said to embody the conscience of America: the noble woodsman Deerslayer.

Genres: Fiction, Classics, Historical Fiction, Adventure

Audiobook

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

James 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

Reviews

[Daniel Joshua · Rating 4 out of 5]

Can't believe this has such low ratings. True the writing isn't that good, the story is generic, the characters are boring, and....oh I see...
Well it's a favorite from growing up. I loved it as a kid. Very exciting. Tremendous. Very cool. Thank you Kanye.

[Mayda · Rating 1 out of 5]

This novel has the honor of being the first dnf book I have ever listed on Goodreads. After suffering through 2 hours and 55 minutes of a 22 hour audio book, I have given up. Glaciers move faster than the plot of this novel. I will end this review with a quote by Mark Twain from his essay, “Fenimore Cooper’s Literary Offenses.” Twain says it far better than I ever could.
“A work of art? It has no invention; it has no order, system, sequence, or result; it has no lifelikeness, no thrill, no stir, no seeming of reality; its characters are confusedly drawn, and by their acts and words they prove that they are not the sort of people the author claims that they are; its humor is pathetic; its pathos is funny; its conversations are — oh! indescribable; its love-scenes odious; its English a crime against the language. I may be mistaken, but it does seem to me that "Deerslayer" is not a work of art in any sense; it does seem to me that it is destitute of every detail that goes to the making of a work of art; in truth, it seems to me that "Deerslayer" is just simply a literary delirium tremens.”

[Lana · Rating 3 out of 5]

This contains action, romance, history, and everything necessary for a great read, but the writing is so stilted that it is hard to maintain focus. I have both read and listened to this book and neither method made it any more accessible. I keep telling myself that writing was so much different when this was published yet The Scarlet Letter and other classics were published around the same time and they kept me engaged. History and historical fiction, especially the American frontier, are my favorite reads and I want to get through the entire series, but I don't know if I have the stamina and willpower.

[Clemy-chan · Rating 3 out of 5]

OMG I am finally done with this!
This is one of the most unnecessarily drawn out adventures that I have ever read... And the narrator gave this book the final blow, narrating it as if it were the most boring non-fiction book around...
Although I started this book hoping to love it as much as I loved The Last of the Mohicans, this story left me underwhelmed. It was in fact so mind-numbingly repetitive and drawn out that it almost put me straight into a slump. Be that as it may, the story and characters were solid enough for 3 full stars, though not for more.

[Nick Campbell · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a hard one for me to work through. It never really captured my focus.

[Manal Farag · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this novel. However, I find it somehow too wordy, over descriptive and slow. Judith Hutter is a beautiful, strong-welled character who possesses several admirable traits, like intelligence, bravery and a loving devotion to her sister. On the other hand, In Natty Bumppo, represents the American hero: selfless, dependable, restrained, tolerant, and moral, but he had an outstanding flaw; his inability to deal successfully with women, which I consider as a major flaw. Cooper is over the top with the virtuous Natty Bumppo, which by the way I find endearing, but I think most of the new generations who are raised on anti-heroes will have a bit of a problem with the morality of Bumppo. Judith’s love for Natty is obvious throughout the story, but somehow he doesn't quite get it! In the end, the girl had to swallow her pride and make an explicit marriage proposal; something I consider unthinkable and appalling. I find Deerslayer's attitude toward Judith throughout the novel very frustrating, but the contrast between Deerslayer and Chingachgook, the romance between Chingachgook and Wah-ta-Wah, and the love triangle between Judith, Hurry Harry and Deerslayer, all contribute to the success of this classic American litrature.

[Philip Mcclarty · Rating 3 out of 5]

Anyone remember the movie speed with Keeianna Reeves ( otherwise known for his award wining role in bill and teds big adventure), how you kept thinking the movie was over, but it wasn't. That was deer slayer for me. Actually I thought it would make a good movie, especially since I did enjoy Last of the Mohicans (the movie) so much. Not a lot of depth, just adventure, but often entertaining.

[Jenny Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book. This is the book written before Last of the Mohicans. I really enjoyed listening to the book tape. It was written in 1841 so the language and expressions are unique and add greatly to the experience of reading such a text.

[Don · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an oldie but a goodie. There is not much to be said about that hasn't already been said many times over this book's very long life. Modern readers may find it's writing to be old fashioned and wordy. Chat's because it is. If anyone hasn't read it yet, might want to think about it.

[Rob Chamberlain · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story and series (same series as The Last of Mohicans).

[Stacy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing! What an adventure, and beautiful description of Upstate NY!

[Mona · Rating 5 out of 5]

Phenomenal writing.

[Mie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5⭐️ Very exciting - and quite bloody! I hope there won’t be any more live scalping in the rest of the series 😳