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Завершальний роман відомої пенталогії класика американської літератури про доброчесного мисливця Натті Бампо.
366 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1827
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About the author
James Fenimore Cooper
4,640 books1,115 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
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 131 reviews
October 28, 2024
Note, Oct. 28, 2024: I've added an update below, to share a changed perspective on one point.
Taking place in the then trackless expanses of the Louisiana Purchase territory, somewhere about 500 miles west of the Mississippi, in 1805, this novel is actually set in Cooper's own lifetime, as was The Pioneers. (In 1805, the author would have been in his teens.) I've classified it, somewhat loosely and inaccurately, as "historical fiction" in order to keep the series together on my shelves. At the opening of the book, series protagonist Natty Bumpo is now 87 years old, frailer and less keen eyed than he used to be, and reduced to trapping rather than hunting. He's still independent and self-reliant, though, and has come out onto the Great Plains, forsaking his beloved forests, to escape the inroads and depredations of dubiously-"civilized" settlement. But his tranquil solitude, which already has to be shared with not-necessarily-friendly Indians, is rudely disturbed at the outset by the arrival in his neighborhood of Ishmael Bush and his redneck clan, driven out of Kentucky for squatting on land to which they had no claim, and looking for more land where they can do the same. Other newcomers follow in their train, setting up a tale that involves kidnapping, murder, Indian warfare, and some chaste romance.
Published in 1827, this novel has more affinity, stylistically and in terms of craftsmanship, with other early Cooper works, especially The Last of the Mohicans, than with the more mature works of the early 1840s, The Deerslayer and The Pathfinder. It's not as polished, and the tendency towards dialogue that's unrealistically ornate and wordy, which is so marked in The Last of the Mohicans, is really noticeable here too. (Though again, as in the latter book, the character with the most ridiculously pompous dialogue is intended as comic relief; would-be naturalist Obed Bat --okay, we'll humor him and say "Dr. Battius," though his doctorate is most likely self-awarded!-- functions here like his predecessor David Gamut.) Likewise, there are plotting problems: the motivation for one key plot contrivance is unclear, and maybe dubious; the logistics of Paul Hover's wild honey trade, in this situation, don't ring true; and Capt. Duncan Uncas Middleton (grandson of Duncan Heyward!) would probably not have been permitted by his superiors to have left his command and taken some men to chase off into the prairies, regardless of his personal incentive. Coincidence is used implausibly in a couple of places; and I felt that some of Ellen Wades' actions were out of character or contradictory. (It's true that many real-life people in this era, unlike today, actually took giving their word or swearing an oath seriously, even if it subsequently proved inconvenient; and there are other 19th-century novels that also extol this --correctly, IMO!-- as a virtue. But I don't think a commitment exacted forcibly has the same moral status, especially if it's against the interests of an innocent.) A few of the characterizations are not particularly sharp (though some of them are, not least Natty's).
That said, though, I still liked the novel. Cooper's literary vision, here and in the other novels of the series, is very much of a piece. The storytelling is vivid, full of incident, and in many places genuinely suspenseful. (Exciting action is one of the author's strengths.) He deserves credit here for a portrayal of Native Americans which is realistic and balanced, not a racist hatchet job; their warlike attitudes and sometimes grisly accompanying behaviors, male chauvinism and use of duplicity as an (in their view) legitimate tactic of war are recognized, but so are the more laudable aspects of their culture, and individuals of the race display the full gamut of moral possibilities, from contemptible to very admirable. (We also have, in the person of Inez, a Roman Catholic character who's sympathetic rather than demonized; and while Cooper is himself clearly a Protestant, he doesn't treat Catholicism invidiously, in the way that many Protestants in the much less ecumenical 1820s undoubtedly would have.) For much of the novel, I was inclined to fault him for having some characters know something they apparently couldn't have; but this is actually not the case, as is explained to good effect near the end. Finally, there are some scenes here that are extremely moving, in one way or another, ranking in emotional power among the author's best.
Oct. 28, 2024 update:
In the review above, commenting on Ellen Wade's faithfulness to an oath, I wrote "It's true that many real-life people in this era, unlike today, actually took giving their word or swearing an oath seriously, even if it subsequently proved inconvenient; and there are other 19th-century novels that also extol this --correctly, IMO!-- as a virtue. But I don't think a commitment exacted forcibly has the same moral status, especially if it's against the interests of an innocent." But my thinking on that subject evolved, and three years later I added a comment sharing my changed perspective. Since most people who read reviews probably don't read the comments, I've decided it makes better sense to copy-and-paste it as an update to the actual review, and to delete the comment.
I've grappled, off and on, with the moral issue posed there ever since I read Treasure Island as a seven-year-old kid; it's posed in other novels as well. My shift of opinion has been a gradual evolution, not a grand epiphany; but I have to say that by now, I've come to feel that a given word/oath does have moral status, regardless of the "duress" issue. We either have a word or we don't; engaging in moral casuistry to carve out exceptions would basically mean that we don't. For all that the older morality of the 18th and 19th centuries and before seems naive and hokey in absolutizing one's given word, I now think they were unto something important.
Nonetheless, rather than delete that part of my original review, I'm going to let it stand as I wrote it, but put this contrasting perspective down as an update. That's because our response to the issues in books we read, and our ongoing reflections about them, are part of a conversational process --sometimes a conversation with ourselves-- and showing the record of our evolving thinking is part of the process. It's a testimony to our continuing engagement with books we read, that doesn't stop when we close a back cover and type up a review.
Taking place in the then trackless expanses of the Louisiana Purchase territory, somewhere about 500 miles west of the Mississippi, in 1805, this novel is actually set in Cooper's own lifetime, as was The Pioneers. (In 1805, the author would have been in his teens.) I've classified it, somewhat loosely and inaccurately, as "historical fiction" in order to keep the series together on my shelves. At the opening of the book, series protagonist Natty Bumpo is now 87 years old, frailer and less keen eyed than he used to be, and reduced to trapping rather than hunting. He's still independent and self-reliant, though, and has come out onto the Great Plains, forsaking his beloved forests, to escape the inroads and depredations of dubiously-"civilized" settlement. But his tranquil solitude, which already has to be shared with not-necessarily-friendly Indians, is rudely disturbed at the outset by the arrival in his neighborhood of Ishmael Bush and his redneck clan, driven out of Kentucky for squatting on land to which they had no claim, and looking for more land where they can do the same. Other newcomers follow in their train, setting up a tale that involves kidnapping, murder, Indian warfare, and some chaste romance.
Published in 1827, this novel has more affinity, stylistically and in terms of craftsmanship, with other early Cooper works, especially The Last of the Mohicans, than with the more mature works of the early 1840s, The Deerslayer and The Pathfinder. It's not as polished, and the tendency towards dialogue that's unrealistically ornate and wordy, which is so marked in The Last of the Mohicans, is really noticeable here too. (Though again, as in the latter book, the character with the most ridiculously pompous dialogue is intended as comic relief; would-be naturalist Obed Bat --okay, we'll humor him and say "Dr. Battius," though his doctorate is most likely self-awarded!-- functions here like his predecessor David Gamut.) Likewise, there are plotting problems: the motivation for one key plot contrivance is unclear, and maybe dubious; the logistics of Paul Hover's wild honey trade, in this situation, don't ring true; and Capt. Duncan Uncas Middleton (grandson of Duncan Heyward!) would probably not have been permitted by his superiors to have left his command and taken some men to chase off into the prairies, regardless of his personal incentive. Coincidence is used implausibly in a couple of places; and I felt that some of Ellen Wades' actions were out of character or contradictory. (It's true that many real-life people in this era, unlike today, actually took giving their word or swearing an oath seriously, even if it subsequently proved inconvenient; and there are other 19th-century novels that also extol this --correctly, IMO!-- as a virtue. But I don't think a commitment exacted forcibly has the same moral status, especially if it's against the interests of an innocent.) A few of the characterizations are not particularly sharp (though some of them are, not least Natty's).
That said, though, I still liked the novel. Cooper's literary vision, here and in the other novels of the series, is very much of a piece. The storytelling is vivid, full of incident, and in many places genuinely suspenseful. (Exciting action is one of the author's strengths.) He deserves credit here for a portrayal of Native Americans which is realistic and balanced, not a racist hatchet job; their warlike attitudes and sometimes grisly accompanying behaviors, male chauvinism and use of duplicity as an (in their view) legitimate tactic of war are recognized, but so are the more laudable aspects of their culture, and individuals of the race display the full gamut of moral possibilities, from contemptible to very admirable. (We also have, in the person of Inez, a Roman Catholic character who's sympathetic rather than demonized; and while Cooper is himself clearly a Protestant, he doesn't treat Catholicism invidiously, in the way that many Protestants in the much less ecumenical 1820s undoubtedly would have.) For much of the novel, I was inclined to fault him for having some characters know something they apparently couldn't have; but this is actually not the case, as is explained to good effect near the end. Finally, there are some scenes here that are extremely moving, in one way or another, ranking in emotional power among the author's best.
Oct. 28, 2024 update:
In the review above, commenting on Ellen Wade's faithfulness to an oath, I wrote "It's true that many real-life people in this era, unlike today, actually took giving their word or swearing an oath seriously, even if it subsequently proved inconvenient; and there are other 19th-century novels that also extol this --correctly, IMO!-- as a virtue. But I don't think a commitment exacted forcibly has the same moral status, especially if it's against the interests of an innocent." But my thinking on that subject evolved, and three years later I added a comment sharing my changed perspective. Since most people who read reviews probably don't read the comments, I've decided it makes better sense to copy-and-paste it as an update to the actual review, and to delete the comment.
I've grappled, off and on, with the moral issue posed there ever since I read Treasure Island as a seven-year-old kid; it's posed in other novels as well. My shift of opinion has been a gradual evolution, not a grand epiphany; but I have to say that by now, I've come to feel that a given word/oath does have moral status, regardless of the "duress" issue. We either have a word or we don't; engaging in moral casuistry to carve out exceptions would basically mean that we don't. For all that the older morality of the 18th and 19th centuries and before seems naive and hokey in absolutizing one's given word, I now think they were unto something important.
Nonetheless, rather than delete that part of my original review, I'm going to let it stand as I wrote it, but put this contrasting perspective down as an update. That's because our response to the issues in books we read, and our ongoing reflections about them, are part of a conversational process --sometimes a conversation with ourselves-- and showing the record of our evolving thinking is part of the process. It's a testimony to our continuing engagement with books we read, that doesn't stop when we close a back cover and type up a review.
November 27, 2018
Analyze the shit outta any of these classics & you're bound to discover the golden nugget that someone somewhere sometime once found and classified as such. Not the case with this, the last of the Leatherstocking tales. It's not for modern readers. At all.
Campfire philosophy is perhaps the least interesting aspect of this tale (the opposite case of, say, the superlative "Lonesome Dove") which is about 200 years old… & by setting all players on leveled, even ground (Shakespeare’s plays are often quoted), insipid insights are often found in the form of stagnant, pedantic, unrealistic dialogue. While the actions of all the characters seem to occur in slow motion, dialogue is also the device used to slow down the pace of the narrative.
The emigrants meet up with the over-the-hill character (Natty Bumppo, alias “the trapper”) from The Last of the Mohicans and they unite to stand against the Tetons. Natty Bumppo then becomes part of the human drama he has so evidently avoided in the past, paralleling his distaste for the sound of ax chopping wood. Does Fenimore Cooper say that woods-people, deer slayers, trappers, hunters, all easily assimilate to newly forming societies? Is it really that easy to speak to your own skin-type, when there’s absolutely nobody else around? There is a pervasive type of hesitation throughout the tale, in the manner the characters expose themselves, in the way the narrative is overabundant with words and extraneously extended descriptions. I loathed having to read it for class, spending time with it was as futile as, gasp, having to spend time with anything by the likes of Ayn Rand. Inviting headaches, it's an infuriating experience. Droll & dull.
Campfire philosophy is perhaps the least interesting aspect of this tale (the opposite case of, say, the superlative "Lonesome Dove") which is about 200 years old… & by setting all players on leveled, even ground (Shakespeare’s plays are often quoted), insipid insights are often found in the form of stagnant, pedantic, unrealistic dialogue. While the actions of all the characters seem to occur in slow motion, dialogue is also the device used to slow down the pace of the narrative.
The emigrants meet up with the over-the-hill character (Natty Bumppo, alias “the trapper”) from The Last of the Mohicans and they unite to stand against the Tetons. Natty Bumppo then becomes part of the human drama he has so evidently avoided in the past, paralleling his distaste for the sound of ax chopping wood. Does Fenimore Cooper say that woods-people, deer slayers, trappers, hunters, all easily assimilate to newly forming societies? Is it really that easy to speak to your own skin-type, when there’s absolutely nobody else around? There is a pervasive type of hesitation throughout the tale, in the manner the characters expose themselves, in the way the narrative is overabundant with words and extraneously extended descriptions. I loathed having to read it for class, spending time with it was as futile as, gasp, having to spend time with anything by the likes of Ayn Rand. Inviting headaches, it's an infuriating experience. Droll & dull.
March 31, 2022
Продовжуючи читати улюблений цикл дитинства, я не мав особливих очікувань щодо цього роману. І чверть століття тому Прерія була нудною до неможливості. Але... Оскільки я перечитую в порядку написання, то в мене жевріла слабка надія, що все не так погано. Врешті-решт, Піонери виявилися сильним і яскравим твором, хоча раніше вони сприймалися як поступове згасання циклу.
Я зрозумів, що помилився в усьому. Я навіть маю сумніви, чи те, що я побачив в попередніх романах Купера, він дійсно мав на увазі... Але давайте поступово.
Квінтесенція жахливого стилю Купера. Якщо в Піонерах та Останньому з могікан Купер не вмів будувати сюжет, то тут він перевершив себе. Врешті-решт, Піонери "виїжджають" на типажах і другорядних персонажах, а Останній з могікан - на постійному нагромадженні подій (так, це не сюжет), а також на дуже сильному антиколоніальному посланні.
В Прерії нема нічого. Тут повністю відсутні другорядні персонажі (слабка риса ще з "Останнього з могікан"), тут відсутній динамічний перебіг подій. Герої по-колу переходять з рук одних "негідників" до інших: то головні герої в полоні сіу, то в полоні скваттерів, то знову сіу, то знову скваттери. Всі ці хаотичні переміщення не супроводжуються жодною інтригою. Спершу нам натякають на таємничий фургон, але вже після третини роману ми знаємо, в чому його таємниця, а сама проблема швидко вирішується. Потім нам "закидають" наживку у формі вбивства одного з синів скваттера, але... Це не детектив. Ця тема з'явиться, потім зникне, і знову "випірне" наприкінці роману. Щонайгірше, попри те, що підозрюваним є Натті, його виправдовують дуже легко. Умовно кажучи, фразою "Та він не винен!", хоча всі докази були проти нього. Присутність пауні взагалі ніяк не пояснюється, як і їхнє втручання в боротьбу між головними героями, сіу та скваттерами, причому на боці головних героїв.
Купер відомий слабкими сюжетами, тому це не мало б бути сюрпризом, але тут він починає копіювати сам себе. Наприклад, протиставлення "хороші делавари - погані гурони / мінги / ірокези" зберігається, тільки тепер "хороші пауні - погані сіу / дакота". Причому в Останньому з могікан цей поділ був в голові Натті Бампо, а не рисою самих племен. Але чому він відтворюється - і як об'єктивний! - в преріях?
Як і в Останньому з могікан, тут бракує другорядних персонажів. А ті, що є, так само клішовані. Пам'ятаєте псалміста? Тут він є, хоч і названий вченим. Але поведінка та ж, як і осел, на якому він їздить. Скваттер ще має хоч якісь риси характеру, як і його дружина. Сини? Просто сім (а їх точно сім?) синів - без обличь. Їх можна переплутати. Але я не плутав, бо не запам'ятовував. Просто "колективний син" - з сімома користувачами / інтерфейсами. Сіу? Вождь більш-менш запам'ятовується, але це він і близько не підійшов до Магуа з Останнього з могікан. Вождь пауні? Ні, просто фігура. Серед сіу запам'ятовується хіба один п'яничка.
Таке враження, що Купер залишив всі слабкі сторони свого стилю, а сильними не скористався.
Жодного притомного послання від Купера. Якщо "Останній з могікан" "витягує" остання частина - похорон Кори та Ункаса, пісня Чингачгука, а також ідеї, які стоять за цими подіями, то тут Купер "стріляє сам собі в ногу". Так, вождь сіу говорить правильні речі вождю пауні про білих, які будуть забирати землі в корінних мешканців Америки. Але це один-два абзаци. І ще один чи два рази Натті нарікає ��а захланність білих (дивовижний прогрес, порівняно з Останнім з могікан). Але цього мало. І це слабко. Не вражає. Купер трохи додає нових ідей. Внук Дункана і Еліс з Останнього з могікан закохує��ься в дівчину, яка є католичкою, дворянкою і іспанського походження. Гучнішого ляпаса ідеї WASP не зробити. Але Купер цю ідею не розвиває.
Є цікаве протиставлення Натті скваттерам. Натті в Піонерах обурювався на закони, бо це придумка міщан, щоб заплутувати простих людей. А от проста і щира людина може жити без законів - в гармонії з природою. Купер раптом починає дискутувати сам із собою. Скваттери в Прерії також зневажають закони, але в гармонії з природою не живуть. Навпаки, вони її нищать: вже на перших сторінках вирубують гайок, який дивом виріс серед прерії. Натті з цього приводу сприкрений, але в ході дискусії з скваттерами розуміє, що формально вони на однакових позиціях "закони - зло, бо ніхто не має права обмежувати свободу людини". Натті розуміє, що його позиція не така вже й абсолютно правильна.
Але ця цікава полеміка із самим собою, як і символічне повернення скваттерів в лоно цивілізації наприкінці твору (через вбивство сина, яке я згадував раніше. Дуже символічно: скваттери визнають, що закони таки потрібні, бо без нема захисту від недобросовісних людей) повністю нівелюються сценою смерті та похорону Натті. Якщо в попередніх романах індіанці зображені максимально суб'єктними, то тут все плем'я схиляє коліна перед білим Натті. Пауні, які до того його не знали взагалі, раптом сприймають його як свого символічного батька. WTF??? Друзі Натті - це також білі, перед якими мають схилятися пауні. Добрі білі в дії... Цим Купер перекреслює всю свою критику колоніалізму - не лише зроблену в Прерії, але й в попередніх романах. І саме через це така низька оцінка. В романі немає нічого, що було б цікавим чи вартим перечитування.
Чи варто читати цей роман третім, а не п'ятим? На мою думку, так. По-перше, доволі сумне враження завершувати цикл саме цим романом. Він слабкий, нудний і колонізаторський. По-друге, стає зрозумілим, чому в цьому романі з'являються внук Дункана та Еліс. В хронологічному порядку виглядає дуже дивно: персонажі з 2-ої книги вигулькують аж в 5-ій книзі. Якщо читати в порядку написання - все йде послідовно та узгоджено.
І тут з'являється фірмова суперечність Купера. В Піонерах Натті 68 років, дія Прерії відбувається через 12 років, але йому... 90 років, хоча мало б бути 80. Навіщо було так плутати з віком? Не знаю, але враження дещо кумедне.
Після цього роману беру паузу з циклом, але Слідопита та Звіробоя дочитаю, бо маю відчуття, що вони зовсім в іншому стилі. Цікавіші. І в них більше Натті та лісів. А саме за ліси я свого часу і полюбив цей цикл.
Я зрозумів, що помилився в усьому. Я навіть маю сумніви, чи те, що я побачив в попередніх романах Купера, він дійсно мав на увазі... Але давайте поступово.
Квінтесенція жахливого стилю Купера. Якщо в Піонерах та Останньому з могікан Купер не вмів будувати сюжет, то тут він перевершив себе. Врешті-решт, Піонери "виїжджають" на типажах і другорядних персонажах, а Останній з могікан - на постійному нагромадженні подій (так, це не сюжет), а також на дуже сильному антиколоніальному посланні.
В Прерії нема нічого. Тут повністю відсутні другорядні персонажі (слабка риса ще з "Останнього з могікан"), тут відсутній динамічний перебіг подій. Герої по-колу переходять з рук одних "негідників" до інших: то головні герої в полоні сіу, то в полоні скваттерів, то знову сіу, то знову скваттери. Всі ці хаотичні переміщення не супроводжуються жодною інтригою. Спершу нам натякають на таємничий фургон, але вже після третини роману ми знаємо, в чому його таємниця, а сама проблема швидко вирішується. Потім нам "закидають" наживку у формі вбивства одного з синів скваттера, але... Це не детектив. Ця тема з'явиться, потім зникне, і знову "випірне" наприкінці роману. Щонайгірше, попри те, що підозрюваним є Натті, його виправдовують дуже легко. Умовно кажучи, фразою "Та він не винен!", хоча всі докази були проти нього. Присутність пауні взагалі ніяк не пояснюється, як і їхнє втручання в боротьбу між головними героями, сіу та скваттерами, причому на боці головних героїв.
Купер відомий слабкими сюжетами, тому це не мало б бути сюрпризом, але тут він починає копіювати сам себе. Наприклад, протиставлення "хороші делавари - погані гурони / мінги / ірокези" зберігається, тільки тепер "хороші пауні - погані сіу / дакота". Причому в Останньому з могікан цей поділ був в голові Натті Бампо, а не рисою самих племен. Але чому він відтворюється - і як об'єктивний! - в преріях?
Як і в Останньому з могікан, тут бракує другорядних персонажів. А ті, що є, так само клішовані. Пам'ятаєте псалміста? Тут він є, хоч і названий вченим. Але поведінка та ж, як і осел, на якому він їздить. Скваттер ще має хоч якісь риси характеру, як і його дружина. Сини? Просто сім (а їх точно сім?) синів - без обличь. Їх можна переплутати. Але я не плутав, бо не запам'ятовував. Просто "колективний син" - з сімома користувачами / інтерфейсами. Сіу? Вождь більш-менш запам'ятовується, але це він і близько не підійшов до Магуа з Останнього з могікан. Вождь пауні? Ні, просто фігура. Серед сіу запам'ятовується хіба один п'яничка.
Таке враження, що Купер залишив всі слабкі сторони свого стилю, а сильними не скористався.
Жодного притомного послання від Купера. Якщо "Останній з могікан" "витягує" остання частина - похорон Кори та Ункаса, пісня Чингачгука, а також ідеї, які стоять за цими подіями, то тут Купер "стріляє сам собі в ногу". Так, вождь сіу говорить правильні речі вождю пауні про білих, які будуть забирати землі в корінних мешканців Америки. Але це один-два абзаци. І ще один чи два рази Натті нарікає ��а захланність білих (дивовижний прогрес, порівняно з Останнім з могікан). Але цього мало. І це слабко. Не вражає. Купер трохи додає нових ідей. Внук Дункана і Еліс з Останнього з могікан закохує��ься в дівчину, яка є католичкою, дворянкою і іспанського походження. Гучнішого ляпаса ідеї WASP не зробити. Але Купер цю ідею не розвиває.
Є цікаве протиставлення Натті скваттерам. Натті в Піонерах обурювався на закони, бо це придумка міщан, щоб заплутувати простих людей. А от проста і щира людина може жити без законів - в гармонії з природою. Купер раптом починає дискутувати сам із собою. Скваттери в Прерії також зневажають закони, але в гармонії з природою не живуть. Навпаки, вони її нищать: вже на перших сторінках вирубують гайок, який дивом виріс серед прерії. Натті з цього приводу сприкрений, але в ході дискусії з скваттерами розуміє, що формально вони на однакових позиціях "закони - зло, бо ніхто не має права обмежувати свободу людини". Натті розуміє, що його позиція не така вже й абсолютно правильна.
Але ця цікава полеміка із самим собою, як і символічне повернення скваттерів в лоно цивілізації наприкінці твору (через вбивство сина, яке я згадував раніше. Дуже символічно: скваттери визнають, що закони таки потрібні, бо без нема захисту від недобросовісних людей) повністю нівелюються сценою смерті та похорону Натті. Якщо в попередніх романах індіанці зображені максимально суб'єктними, то тут все плем'я схиляє коліна перед білим Натті. Пауні, які до того його не знали взагалі, раптом сприймають його як свого символічного батька. WTF??? Друзі Натті - це також білі, перед якими мають схилятися пауні. Добрі білі в дії... Цим Купер перекреслює всю свою критику колоніалізму - не лише зроблену в Прерії, але й в попередніх романах. І саме через це така низька оцінка. В романі немає нічого, що було б цікавим чи вартим перечитування.
Чи варто читати цей роман третім, а не п'ятим? На мою думку, так. По-перше, доволі сумне враження завершувати цикл саме цим романом. Він слабкий, нудний і колонізаторський. По-друге, стає зрозумілим, чому в цьому романі з'являються внук Дункана та Еліс. В хронологічному порядку виглядає дуже дивно: персонажі з 2-ої книги вигулькують аж в 5-ій книзі. Якщо читати в порядку написання - все йде послідовно та узгоджено.
І тут з'являється фірмова суперечність Купера. В Піонерах Натті 68 років, дія Прерії відбувається через 12 років, але йому... 90 років, хоча мало б бути 80. Навіщо було так плутати з віком? Не знаю, але враження дещо кумедне.
Після цього роману беру паузу з циклом, але Слідопита та Звіробоя дочитаю, бо маю відчуття, що вони зовсім в іншому стилі. Цікавіші. І в них більше Натті та лісів. А саме за ліси я свого часу і полюбив цей цикл.
April 29, 2014
I take it Fenimore was not so familiar with this landscape as his descriptions of the prairie, to me, didn't convince. Natty, now a very old man, is the fittest 80/90 year old man in existence. Still, it was a good story and for me quite emotional at the end as our hero has become "my friend" over all the five books of the leather-stocking series. Very corny in places and sometimes predictable but I shall miss reading about his adventures. I have really enjoyed this series of books, at times they have been difficult to read but I have persevered as I believe there is no harm in trying to read "old English", (a bit like reading Shakespeare). I was left in the end like I had lost a dear friend and I suppose that's the quality of the writer and his writing. In all the two months it took me to read the whole five books I have been drawn away into a world that no longer exists and have a sympathy for the Indians and early pioneers that were trying to get away from it all. Fenimore had he lived till now would be horrified to see what we have done to this planet. I loved these books and don't regret for one minute picking up the first one.
January 16, 2015
I have now read the entire Leatherstocking Tales and regret to say that I rank The Prairie next to last on the good book scale for that series. ( The Pathfinder scored lowest for me, but I will give it another chance and read it again because I really didn’t pay much attention to it the first time. ) My disappointment with The Prairie lay in the plot itself, not the message. Cooper unabashedly criticized western expansion at a time when the nation believed it had a divine right to displace the original inhabitants of this land to fulfill its own destiny.
Unfortuately, the story is weak and the characters are for the most part uninspiring. Although The Prairie moves slowly the dialogue can be very lively, particularly in Chapter Nine. For example, when Dr. Battius, the cataloger of all things botanical and zoological is reacquainted with Paul Hover the Bee Hunter, he says, ”Aye, I remember you well, young man. You are of the class Mammalia, order Primates, genus Homo, species Kentucky.”
Natty is his usual sage and eloquent self but none of the other characters in The Prairie are too exciting. Paul Hover and Ellen Wade are likeable. Dr. Battius is entertaining. However Captain Middleton pales in the shadow of his grandfather Duncan (from The Last of the Mohicans), and his wife Inez is little more than an early 19th century caricature of a Roman Catholic. The squatter Ishamel Bush and his family are, in my opinion, Cooper’s most execrable villains. Bush was bound by no laws but his own, which he imposed on everyone else. The Prairie would have been a far more interesting and logical story if the plot had only been the conflict between the Sioux and Pawnee chiefs Mahtoree and Hard Heart.
Too often Cooper creates a natural or man- made structure around which the action occurs and devotes too many pages to the minutiae of its description. He does so again in The Prairie, this time plunking a rocky promontory, a thicket and a river conveniently in the middle of the plains.
Also, it wouldn’t be a Cooper tale without a daring escape. However, in The Prairie Natty and friends escape from the Sioux not once, not twice, but three times! Natty calls the Sioux many unkind names, but, strangely, “stupid” isn’t one of them. It is also amusing that Natty always has time to soliloquize in the face of immediate danger. The other characters catch on quickly and cut his speeches short right up until the end.
I read the 1984 paperback edition of The Prairie, which was the only one available at my local library. (On the inside cover it was noted that the book had been a gift!) It took me so long to read the book that by the time I finally finished it looked as if it had been in a buffalo stampede. Still, a paperback Cooper is better than no Cooper at all.
Unfortuately, the story is weak and the characters are for the most part uninspiring. Although The Prairie moves slowly the dialogue can be very lively, particularly in Chapter Nine. For example, when Dr. Battius, the cataloger of all things botanical and zoological is reacquainted with Paul Hover the Bee Hunter, he says, ”Aye, I remember you well, young man. You are of the class Mammalia, order Primates, genus Homo, species Kentucky.”
Natty is his usual sage and eloquent self but none of the other characters in The Prairie are too exciting. Paul Hover and Ellen Wade are likeable. Dr. Battius is entertaining. However Captain Middleton pales in the shadow of his grandfather Duncan (from The Last of the Mohicans), and his wife Inez is little more than an early 19th century caricature of a Roman Catholic. The squatter Ishamel Bush and his family are, in my opinion, Cooper’s most execrable villains. Bush was bound by no laws but his own, which he imposed on everyone else. The Prairie would have been a far more interesting and logical story if the plot had only been the conflict between the Sioux and Pawnee chiefs Mahtoree and Hard Heart.
Too often Cooper creates a natural or man- made structure around which the action occurs and devotes too many pages to the minutiae of its description. He does so again in The Prairie, this time plunking a rocky promontory, a thicket and a river conveniently in the middle of the plains.
Also, it wouldn’t be a Cooper tale without a daring escape. However, in The Prairie Natty and friends escape from the Sioux not once, not twice, but three times! Natty calls the Sioux many unkind names, but, strangely, “stupid” isn’t one of them. It is also amusing that Natty always has time to soliloquize in the face of immediate danger. The other characters catch on quickly and cut his speeches short right up until the end.
I read the 1984 paperback edition of The Prairie, which was the only one available at my local library. (On the inside cover it was noted that the book had been a gift!) It took me so long to read the book that by the time I finally finished it looked as if it had been in a buffalo stampede. Still, a paperback Cooper is better than no Cooper at all.
January 5, 2016
The only other one of the Leatherstocking Tales that I have read is Last of the Mohicans, which is much more famous than The Prairie, but to my mind not nearly as good. I found the old Natty Bumppo to be a more believable and interesting character than his younger self. He is the same wise man with a deep knowledge of nature and life on the frontier, but here we see him with his faculties weakened by age and deeply aware of his own mortality. As an older man he is less willing to fight both because of the stupidity and horror of violence, which he sees more clearly as an older man, and because the weakness of age makes him less able to hold his own in a physical struggle. There is never a doubt that Natty's values are the true ones that we are to admire and follow, but he isn't always perfect. Sometimes his caution goes a bit too far, and he has a tendency to rattle on at length, and sometimes his lack of education makes him unable to understand or respond intelligently to things that the other characters say. But his imperfections have their charms and ultimately make him a more completely drawn character.
I also enjoyed the other characters, particularly the less likeable ones, Ishmael Bush the squatter and Mahtoree the Sioux chief, and although others have criticized the plot as being slight, I found it to be totally sufficient as a vehicle for a portrait of an interesting group of characters in the wild frontier before the arrival of any but a few white men.
I also enjoyed the other characters, particularly the less likeable ones, Ishmael Bush the squatter and Mahtoree the Sioux chief, and although others have criticized the plot as being slight, I found it to be totally sufficient as a vehicle for a portrait of an interesting group of characters in the wild frontier before the arrival of any but a few white men.
February 8, 2020
I did ultimately enjoy this, the last of the five in the Tales regarding Hawk-Eye in fictional chronology, though the 3rd written by Cooper. I felt that it took longer to "get there" than the others; however, it does transport the setting finally to the wild prairie and includes some memorable characters. The ending, particularly the last 100 pages, as is typical of Cooper, is thrilling and pulse pounding, and the very end is very final for Hawk-Eye. Overall, despite its age, Cooper has thrills in store for the open minded. In particular, he has an axe to grind with mindless settling of the prairie frontier. And how did he know how to survive getting caught in a prairie wildfire?
March 11, 2023
Even for a Cooper novel, The Prairie can be pretty rough going most of the time: the narrative is often barren or contrived, a passel of useless characters trail the reader around, and the writing expresses nothing in fewer words that could not be obscured with more. These are literary offenses. I do have to rank it below the preceding novels The Pioneers and The Last of the Mohicans. So, the following is not meant to oversell:
The book's subject, setting, and characters, however, are perhaps the most intriguing of the first three Leatherstocking Tales. Firstly, Cooper's "prairie" is a flat, dead expanse inhabited by cruel beasts, dispossessed natives, and scrabbling loners and emigrants -- rather than being a realistic depiction of the former Louisiana Purchase around 1805, it opens up the imagined "West" for American fiction. Secondly, and even beyond the fairly touching and sensitive presence of an elderly Natty Bumpo, Ishmael Bush -- a brutal, indolent, and secretive man followed by his brood of obedient sons -- emerges as one of Cooper's most powerful and opaque characters with clear Biblical inspiration. Thirdly, the ideas that Cooper explores in his depiction of America's sudden westward expansion (perhaps because, unlike the period he set his previous two novels in, it had not yet fully settled) are nuanced and lofty. If I could sum up the novel's aims, it'd be in a question: what does God will?
When all of these elements come together -- like in the scene where the Bushes discover Asa, or where Abiram meets his fate -- it's fiction writing Cormac McCarthy could envy.
The book's subject, setting, and characters, however, are perhaps the most intriguing of the first three Leatherstocking Tales. Firstly, Cooper's "prairie" is a flat, dead expanse inhabited by cruel beasts, dispossessed natives, and scrabbling loners and emigrants -- rather than being a realistic depiction of the former Louisiana Purchase around 1805, it opens up the imagined "West" for American fiction. Secondly, and even beyond the fairly touching and sensitive presence of an elderly Natty Bumpo, Ishmael Bush -- a brutal, indolent, and secretive man followed by his brood of obedient sons -- emerges as one of Cooper's most powerful and opaque characters with clear Biblical inspiration. Thirdly, the ideas that Cooper explores in his depiction of America's sudden westward expansion (perhaps because, unlike the period he set his previous two novels in, it had not yet fully settled) are nuanced and lofty. If I could sum up the novel's aims, it'd be in a question: what does God will?
When all of these elements come together -- like in the scene where the Bushes discover Asa, or where Abiram meets his fate -- it's fiction writing Cormac McCarthy could envy.
January 2, 2018
Останній роман серії. Вже дуже старий Натаніель Бампо допомагає поселенцям у складних ситуаціях...
January 23, 2019
Somewhere within the illimitless plains of the prairie lies a tale of human valor.
December 29, 2016
This is the third in the five-volume series known as The Leatherstocking Tales. Here we catch up with Natty Bumppo (known here simply as 'the trapper') 10 years after the close of The Pioneers, as the end of his life approaches. He's left behind civilization of any kind, and seems to just want to be left alone, to live out his final days in peace and harmony. Not so fast, though, Bumppo! Along comes the family if Ishmael Bush, among whose troubles the trapper quickly gets entangled. From rescuing fair damsels in distress to facing down angry Indians, the ensuing adventure, while hardly seeming to ruffle the feathers of the unflappable Bumppo, is of the most-serious nature, with life and death on the line, and many depending on his skill and cunning.
To me, this book stands out as having some of the best supporting cast of any of the Leatherstocking tales. Paul Hover, Ellen Wade, Captain Middleton, Dr. Battius, Esther, Ishmael, Abiram White, and Hard-Heart are all strong and colorful characters that give this book some much-needed flavor. While they're not overly-developed (to say the least), as Cooper allows the readers' imagination to fill in many gaps about appearance and personalities, by the end of this book you'll really feel like you've got a handle on who these people really are, and what drives each and every one. Even Asinus and Hector come to be much-adored by the end of this book. To me, it is the characters that make this book a success, elevating it above some of Cooper's other work.
Like all of Cooper's novels, this one could have used a bit of aggressive editing, being longer than necessary, and at times downright boring. Of course, this mostly stems from his overly-pedantic writing, where he (as the narrator) and his characters (in their dialogue) talk in some of the most flowery and round-about manners to get across rather simple ideas. Almost as if Cooper was trying to prove something to his European critics, but maybe just a symptom of the Romanticist times. Either way, it makes this book fairly slow going, and will unfortunately discourage many readers. Really, the only one of his books that doesn't have excessively wordy descriptions is The Last of the Mohicans, and there is no surprise why that one has been the most popular.
I enjoyed THE PRAIRIE. Much better than THE PIONEERS, but not as good as THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. Recommended for fans of the classics.
To me, this book stands out as having some of the best supporting cast of any of the Leatherstocking tales. Paul Hover, Ellen Wade, Captain Middleton, Dr. Battius, Esther, Ishmael, Abiram White, and Hard-Heart are all strong and colorful characters that give this book some much-needed flavor. While they're not overly-developed (to say the least), as Cooper allows the readers' imagination to fill in many gaps about appearance and personalities, by the end of this book you'll really feel like you've got a handle on who these people really are, and what drives each and every one. Even Asinus and Hector come to be much-adored by the end of this book. To me, it is the characters that make this book a success, elevating it above some of Cooper's other work.
Like all of Cooper's novels, this one could have used a bit of aggressive editing, being longer than necessary, and at times downright boring. Of course, this mostly stems from his overly-pedantic writing, where he (as the narrator) and his characters (in their dialogue) talk in some of the most flowery and round-about manners to get across rather simple ideas. Almost as if Cooper was trying to prove something to his European critics, but maybe just a symptom of the Romanticist times. Either way, it makes this book fairly slow going, and will unfortunately discourage many readers. Really, the only one of his books that doesn't have excessively wordy descriptions is The Last of the Mohicans, and there is no surprise why that one has been the most popular.
I enjoyed THE PRAIRIE. Much better than THE PIONEERS, but not as good as THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. Recommended for fans of the classics.
May 23, 2025
A group of settlers heads off across the Mississippi into the prairie, newly acquired in the Louisiana Purchase, looking for land outside the reach of onerous laws. There they meet with none other than the 86-year-old Natty Bumppo, formerly known as the Deerslayer, the Pathfinder, Hawkeye, Leatherstocking, and many other names. He left his native haunts in upstate New York and traveled to the Pacific and back, fleeing the sound of the settler's ax, and now has come to rest outside the limit of civilization in the status of a humble trapper, wanting only to commune with God and nature and live off their abundance. He ruefully observes and sometimes aids the settlers and some other white folks who cross their path in this inhospitable region, then called the American Desert, as they encounter the noble Pawnee and the perfidious Sioux hunting buffalo. They go from peril to peril, and many incidents include implausibilities of historical romances and even strain credulity.
The book is written in accordance with the sentimental taste of the time, with some broadly drawn characters, broad comedy, often wordy, pompous, even tedious language. Yet by the end I was invested in the story and eager to discover how it would turn out. The ending was even moving, as the ancient trapper passes away, filled with memories and surrounded by respectful friends, with his face to the setting sun. If you just relax and go with the flow of the rotund language it's not so bad.
Cooper is deeply and remarkably respectful of the Indians. He repeatedly informs us that they are a "wronged and humbled people," and admiringly describes their dignity, pride, skill, hardiness, untutored simplicity, and patience. Nevertheless he clearly sees their dark side: ignorance, credulity, and cruelty. Perhaps he provides a more accurate picture than either later Westerns or current hagiographies.
The book is written in accordance with the sentimental taste of the time, with some broadly drawn characters, broad comedy, often wordy, pompous, even tedious language. Yet by the end I was invested in the story and eager to discover how it would turn out. The ending was even moving, as the ancient trapper passes away, filled with memories and surrounded by respectful friends, with his face to the setting sun. If you just relax and go with the flow of the rotund language it's not so bad.
Cooper is deeply and remarkably respectful of the Indians. He repeatedly informs us that they are a "wronged and humbled people," and admiringly describes their dignity, pride, skill, hardiness, untutored simplicity, and patience. Nevertheless he clearly sees their dark side: ignorance, credulity, and cruelty. Perhaps he provides a more accurate picture than either later Westerns or current hagiographies.
November 6, 2016
This is one of those books that I thought would make me a more sophisticated reader, tackling something that my English teachers probably fawned over while the rest of the class rolled their eyes and couldn't wait for the bell. I've read classics that I've enjoyed, but this is not one of them. Did people seriously ever talk like this in the United States of America?
The story is at least twice as long as it needs to be, and I'll be honest...Unless I wanted to re-read every sentence five times in order to digest what the author was trying to tell me, I was resigned to finishing it without a complete grasp of the story's events. I'll rely on Wikipedia for that. After reading this, I know that run-on sentences were not harped on in Cooper's time like they are today. Oh, and he overuses commas, big time, so much, so that they are sometimes, placed where it doesn't, seem like they should be, in the midst of, a sentence that is already a run-on, and you've already forgot what the hell he was talking about, so your mind, begins to wander as, the words pass by your, already weary eyes...
The only thing that propelled me through to the end was applying the score from the film adaptation of Last of the Mohicans. And if my inability to enjoy this thing simply means I'm not that "sophisticated" reader I set out to be when I opened this thing, then so be it. I'll gladly settle for a literary bum if being otherwise subjects me to writing like this.
The story is at least twice as long as it needs to be, and I'll be honest...Unless I wanted to re-read every sentence five times in order to digest what the author was trying to tell me, I was resigned to finishing it without a complete grasp of the story's events. I'll rely on Wikipedia for that. After reading this, I know that run-on sentences were not harped on in Cooper's time like they are today. Oh, and he overuses commas, big time, so much, so that they are sometimes, placed where it doesn't, seem like they should be, in the midst of, a sentence that is already a run-on, and you've already forgot what the hell he was talking about, so your mind, begins to wander as, the words pass by your, already weary eyes...
The only thing that propelled me through to the end was applying the score from the film adaptation of Last of the Mohicans. And if my inability to enjoy this thing simply means I'm not that "sophisticated" reader I set out to be when I opened this thing, then so be it. I'll gladly settle for a literary bum if being otherwise subjects me to writing like this.
March 27, 2015
I actually might have rated this a 3.75 if you could give quarter stars.
I didn't think this book was as bad as some of the others in this Leather Stocking Series. Usually Natty goes off on tangents about Faith, Race and other things, but I found him somewhat subdued in this book. He does go off on how he's an old man, a Chritian and not so educated but again, it's quite mild in comparison to some of the other books.
I found it interesting and exciting here and there too. So almost 4 starts just not quite.
Not being able to stomach civilization and all it's "perversions", Natty finds himself surviving in the prairies between the Sioux and Pawnee Indian tribes. He comes across a small wagon train of settlers with a cargo that is precious and illegal. Of course rescue is needed and wars with natives pursue with "the old trapper" (Natty) being wise and beloved by almost all.
Alas the great Dearslayer's, Hawkeye's, Long Gun's, Old Trapper's or what ever other pet names acquired through this series...trails must come to an end, and done so with quite the pomp and ceremony. Goodbye.
I didn't think this book was as bad as some of the others in this Leather Stocking Series. Usually Natty goes off on tangents about Faith, Race and other things, but I found him somewhat subdued in this book. He does go off on how he's an old man, a Chritian and not so educated but again, it's quite mild in comparison to some of the other books.
I found it interesting and exciting here and there too. So almost 4 starts just not quite.
Not being able to stomach civilization and all it's "perversions", Natty finds himself surviving in the prairies between the Sioux and Pawnee Indian tribes. He comes across a small wagon train of settlers with a cargo that is precious and illegal. Of course rescue is needed and wars with natives pursue with "the old trapper" (Natty) being wise and beloved by almost all.
Alas the great Dearslayer's, Hawkeye's, Long Gun's, Old Trapper's or what ever other pet names acquired through this series...trails must come to an end, and done so with quite the pomp and ceremony. Goodbye.
July 2, 2015
This 1830 novel reads reasonably well today, and in fact, is quite contemporary in its reflection on how civilization is changing the landscape (and not for the better), and how the settlers disrespected and mistreated the original native inhabitants.
I kept stopping myself and asking: "When was this written, because the language and issues are so pertinent".
The use of the word "parachute" really surprised me because I thought of it as a modern word, in relation to airplanes and flying. I wasn't far off, however. The word was invented about 1780 in France by the ballooning enthusiasts who thought that an umbrella like device could be used in the event of a ballooning problem. The connection to Cooper is probably from his time in Europe when he moved to Paris for a period of time around 1826 and immersed himself in French life and culture.
I kept stopping myself and asking: "When was this written, because the language and issues are so pertinent".
The use of the word "parachute" really surprised me because I thought of it as a modern word, in relation to airplanes and flying. I wasn't far off, however. The word was invented about 1780 in France by the ballooning enthusiasts who thought that an umbrella like device could be used in the event of a ballooning problem. The connection to Cooper is probably from his time in Europe when he moved to Paris for a period of time around 1826 and immersed himself in French life and culture.
November 7, 2016
This read took me a while because I had to constantly go back and reread many paragraphs over to fully understand what was occurring. The content was written in a very flowery and archaic form of prose, which was at times difficult, for me, to comprehend the complete picture. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the plot and the characters though completely predictable. If written in a more modern style at least half the book would have been unneeded. I am a western and historical romantic at heart and so enjoyed the other Leather Stocking Tale that I've read."Deer Slayer" being the other. When I was a boy I dreamed of this type of woodsy adventurous life and when I read some of this stuff it kind of takes me back to those forgotten days.
September 21, 2016
Pēc sarakstīšanas gada šī ir trešā no piecām grāmatām par Netiju Bumpo, pazīstamu arī kā Takuzini, Vanagaci, Ādzeķi un droši vien vēl kaut kā. Sižetiski šis ir noslēgums viņa dēkām, kas beidzas ar sirmā klejotāja nāvi jau ļoti cienījamā vecumā, un ar šo darbu arī es beidzot esmu sēriju pabeigusi.
Godīgi sakot, šis, manuprāt, ir vājākais ķēdes posms, kas noteikti nepatiks spraigu sižetu alkstošajiem, bet arī citādi neizceļas (kā piemēram, "Pionieri", kas patika ar savu rietumu iekarotāju sadzīves tēlojumu). Notikumu pavērsieni viens otram seko kaut kā šā tā, bez iekšējas loģikas. Mazliet samocīts stāsts, gana spilgti varoņi. Izlasīt ir vērts, jo noslēdz ciklu.
Godīgi sakot, šis, manuprāt, ir vājākais ķēdes posms, kas noteikti nepatiks spraigu sižetu alkstošajiem, bet arī citādi neizceļas (kā piemēram, "Pionieri", kas patika ar savu rietumu iekarotāju sadzīves tēlojumu). Notikumu pavērsieni viens otram seko kaut kā šā tā, bez iekšējas loģikas. Mazliet samocīts stāsts, gana spilgti varoņi. Izlasīt ir vērts, jo noslēdz ciklu.
August 5, 2011
The first book I read by Cooper and I certainly took things out of order. It took a while for me to get into Cooper's stride. But the book is deep and rich, though parts are haunting. I must read some of his other books. I consider his work some that any "well read" person should have purused!
December 28, 2015
Of all the Leatherstocking Tales, I found this one particularly compelling. The protagonist is no longer young and vigorous; he is in the final years of his life, yet his intrepid spirit and level head remain in play.
October 6, 2022
Natty Bumppo is now a very old man, but still eschews the settlements of the young United States, so finds himself in the newly acquired prairielands west of the Mississippi. There he gets entangled in the affairs of two enemy Native American tribes, a "squatter" family that is hiding a secret, a bee hunter, an army officer and a "naturalist" in search of new treasures. After many misunderstandings, suspicions, fights, temporary truces, and new allies and new enemies, Deerslayer/Hawkeye/Pathfinder/Old Trapper eventually finds peace and a final rest.
Again, Mr. Cooper focuses a story on things that we "know" would have been happening or make sense to have been happening, but don't frequently feature in historical fiction and feature people that are mostly overlooked which gives you "Huh. Well, sure, why wouldn't there have been?" moments but can also be frustrating. There are many tedious talking sections (mostly when Natty and the Doc are going at it), with quite a bit of catch and release and features what I think is Cooper's biggest weakness, Omnipotent antagonists. The bad guys always have the best luck (in all The Leatherstocking Tales) , which would be forgivable if they were especially skilled or more knowledgeable than our protagonists, but they AREN'T! Natty's got like 50 years experience on all of them! A few lucky breaks (to help Natty show off his skills) would be forgivable, but the consistent reversals is frustrating. On the bright side, I did like bringing in the grandson of one of Natty's old buddies (see The Pathfinder characters), and in fact mostly liked the "friends club" (you'll know who they are pretty quickly). Probably the last third of the book was my favorite; the heartbreaking scene with Tachechana ; and Natty's satisfying closure (I half expected it to end with them dropping him off and him disappearing into the Prairie, which would have been dramatic, but this does give us an unescapable, permanent, and honestly much needed end for this character).
Content notes: No language issues, it is mentioned that characters swear but not what they say. A LOT of perilous situations for the women; one of the company is a lady of unusual beauty and nearly ever guy wants her to become his wife/mistress (against her wishes, as she is already married) and tries to force their plans by kidnapping her; another woman is also casually told she is to become the wife of men she doesn't care for; lastly, a married woman is told her husband (who she loves) means to "divorce" her and give her to a different man, just because. Boarder-lands style warfare, wildfire/bow and arrow/tomahawk/rifle injuries and/or deaths .
December 27, 2023
Ця книга завершує розповідь про пригоди мисливця Натаніеля Бампо. Він вже не звіробій і не воїн , а вісімдесятилітній звіролов (він ловить звірів капканом ).
Події роману відбуваються в період приєднання Луізіани до США. Переселенець, Ішмаел Буше разом зі своїми сімома синами, дружиною Естер, братом дружини Ебірамом, племінницею Елен Уейд, та лікарем і природознавцем Овідом Батціусом йде на захід, тому що він незаконно заволодів землею і уряд США призначив винагороду за його голову. Ебірам торгує чорношкірими людьми, і як приманку, використовує полонену Інес де Сертавольос. В прерії він зустрічає Трапера. Той, показує йому місце для ночівлі, де Ішмаел, розташовується табором, а трапер іде в прерію. Наступного дня він зустрів Елен Уейд, її коханого Поля Ховера і Овіда Батціуса. Несподівано, на них напало плем’я червоношкірих Індіанців Сіу. Воїни Сіу зв’язали полонених і привели їх до вождя Маторі. Вождь з воїнами племені напав на табір Ішмаела і викрав худобу, поки його сім’я спала. Трапер з друзями втекли, під покровом ночі. Наступного дня мандрівники зустріли капітана Дункана Ункаса Мідлтона, який з загоном солдатів освоював нові землі.Також він шукав свою дружину Інес де Сертавольос, яка таємниче зникла. Трапер розповів йому, що його дружину утримує Ішмаел Буше. І вони напали на табір і визволили Інес. (Ішмаела в той час не було в таборі, бо він пішов шукати зниклого сина і він знайшов окровавлене тіло Ейзи в прерії). В той час Сіу вирушили на пошуки Ішмаела і трапера з його друзями. Щоб збити Сіу з сліду трапер і його друзі переправилися через річку з допомогою вождя племені Вовки Пауні, яке ворогувало з племенем Сіу. Сіу побачили своїх ворогів і між племенами виникла сутичка Племя Сіу взяло в полон вождя Тверде Серце і його супутників. Воїни Сіу вважали Овіда Батціуса чарівником, бо дуже боялися ревіння його осла. Раптом Тверде Серце вбив воїна, який охороняв його і втік у прерію.Всі воїни Сіу кинулися ловити полоненого, а трапер розв’язав своїх друзів і хотів втекти. Однак, Ішмаел Буше, який був спільником Племені Сіу, знову зв’язав трапера і його друзів і привіз до свого табору.
Капітан Мідлтон сказав Ішмаелеві, що забуде про його участь у викраденні Інес і захисить його на суді, якщо він відпустить його друзів. Ішмаел відпустив всіх, крім трапера, бо вважав його вбивцею свого сина.. Однак, трапер бачив, як Ебірам вбив Ейзу. Трапер сказав про це Ішмаелеві і той відпустив його, а Ебірама повісив на скелі. Трапер, Поль Ховер, Мідлтон, Інес та Елен пішли в селище Вовків Пауні, де їх гостинно прийняли. Трапер залишився там і незабаром помер, а Поль Ховер, Елен Уейд, Дункан Мідлтон, Інес Сертавольос та Овід Батціус щасливо повернулися до США. І дон Аугустин, батько Інес дякував богові за щасливе повернення доньки. Поль І Елен незабаром одружилися і він почав працювати в законодавчому органі штату Луізіана.
Події роману відбуваються в період приєднання Луізіани до США. Переселенець, Ішмаел Буше разом зі своїми сімома синами, дружиною Естер, братом дружини Ебірамом, племінницею Елен Уейд, та лікарем і природознавцем Овідом Батціусом йде на захід, тому що він незаконно заволодів землею і уряд США призначив винагороду за його голову. Ебірам торгує чорношкірими людьми, і як приманку, використовує полонену Інес де Сертавольос. В прерії він зустрічає Трапера. Той, показує йому місце для ночівлі, де Ішмаел, розташовується табором, а трапер іде в прерію. Наступного дня він зустрів Елен Уейд, її коханого Поля Ховера і Овіда Батціуса. Несподівано, на них напало плем’я червоношкірих Індіанців Сіу. Воїни Сіу зв’язали полонених і привели їх до вождя Маторі. Вождь з воїнами племені напав на табір Ішмаела і викрав худобу, поки його сім’я спала. Трапер з друзями втекли, під покровом ночі. Наступного дня мандрівники зустріли капітана Дункана Ункаса Мідлтона, який з загоном солдатів освоював нові землі.Також він шукав свою дружину Інес де Сертавольос, яка таємниче зникла. Трапер розповів йому, що його дружину утримує Ішмаел Буше. І вони напали на табір і визволили Інес. (Ішмаела в той час не було в таборі, бо він пішов шукати зниклого сина і він знайшов окровавлене тіло Ейзи в прерії). В той час Сіу вирушили на пошуки Ішмаела і трапера з його друзями. Щоб збити Сіу з сліду трапер і його друзі переправилися через річку з допомогою вождя племені Вовки Пауні, яке ворогувало з племенем Сіу. Сіу побачили своїх ворогів і між племенами виникла сутичка Племя Сіу взяло в полон вождя Тверде Серце і його супутників. Воїни Сіу вважали Овіда Батціуса чарівником, бо дуже боялися ревіння його осла. Раптом Тверде Серце вбив воїна, який охороняв його і втік у прерію.Всі воїни Сіу кинулися ловити полоненого, а трапер розв’язав своїх друзів і хотів втекти. Однак, Ішмаел Буше, який був спільником Племені Сіу, знову зв’язав трапера і його друзів і привіз до свого табору.
Капітан Мідлтон сказав Ішмаелеві, що забуде про його участь у викраденні Інес і захисить його на суді, якщо він відпустить його друзів. Ішмаел відпустив всіх, крім трапера, бо вважав його вбивцею свого сина.. Однак, трапер бачив, як Ебірам вбив Ейзу. Трапер сказав про це Ішмаелеві і той відпустив його, а Ебірама повісив на скелі. Трапер, Поль Ховер, Мідлтон, Інес та Елен пішли в селище Вовків Пауні, де їх гостинно прийняли. Трапер залишився там і незабаром помер, а Поль Ховер, Елен Уейд, Дункан Мідлтон, Інес Сертавольос та Овід Батціус щасливо повернулися до США. І дон Аугустин, батько Інес дякував богові за щасливе повернення доньки. Поль І Елен незабаром одружилися і він почав працювати в законодавчому органі штату Луізіана.
December 7, 2018
This book would easily be a 5-star if not for the heavy, over-burdensome wording. The complex, multi-comma'd sentences make for a pretty tough slog all the way through.
The story, however, is great. These are the early days of the plains, when Indians still held the upper hand there. The trapper is averse to towns and villages (what would he think of today's mega-cities?) and prefers open land and a good, honest struggle to life. If one were to calculate the time lapse since the first story in this series, he would see that things don't add up. The same person could not have been alive when Natty Bumpoo was roaming the forests of the east with Chingachgook, and still be breathing for this story. There are about 60 years missing in there, somewhere. But it hardly matters and can be easily ignored.
"Tis the gift of youth to be rash and heady," the trapper calmly retorted. "The day has been, boy, when my blood was like your own, too swift and too hot to run quietly in my veins. But what will it profit to talk of silly risks and foolish acts at this time of life? A gray head should cover a brain of reason, and not the tongue of a boaster."
"I have heard that there are men among my people who study their great medicines until they believe themselves to be gods, and who laugh at all faith except in their own vanities. It may be true. It IS true; for I have seen them. When man is shut up in towns and schools with his own follies, it may be easy to believe himself greater than the Master of Life; but a warrior who lives in a house with the clouds for its roof, where he can at any moment look both at the heavens and at the earth, and who daily sees the power of the Great Spirit, should be more humble. A Dahcotah chieftain ought to be too wise to laugh at justice."
"Settlements, boy! It is long sin' I took my leave of the wasted and wickedness of the settlements and the villages. If I live in a clearing, here, it is one of the Lord's making, and I have no hard thoughts on the matter; but never again shall I be seen running willfully into the danger of immoralities."
This concludes the "Leatherstocking Series" but I will pursue more Cooper. "The Pilot" comes to mind...
The story, however, is great. These are the early days of the plains, when Indians still held the upper hand there. The trapper is averse to towns and villages (what would he think of today's mega-cities?) and prefers open land and a good, honest struggle to life. If one were to calculate the time lapse since the first story in this series, he would see that things don't add up. The same person could not have been alive when Natty Bumpoo was roaming the forests of the east with Chingachgook, and still be breathing for this story. There are about 60 years missing in there, somewhere. But it hardly matters and can be easily ignored.
"Tis the gift of youth to be rash and heady," the trapper calmly retorted. "The day has been, boy, when my blood was like your own, too swift and too hot to run quietly in my veins. But what will it profit to talk of silly risks and foolish acts at this time of life? A gray head should cover a brain of reason, and not the tongue of a boaster."
"I have heard that there are men among my people who study their great medicines until they believe themselves to be gods, and who laugh at all faith except in their own vanities. It may be true. It IS true; for I have seen them. When man is shut up in towns and schools with his own follies, it may be easy to believe himself greater than the Master of Life; but a warrior who lives in a house with the clouds for its roof, where he can at any moment look both at the heavens and at the earth, and who daily sees the power of the Great Spirit, should be more humble. A Dahcotah chieftain ought to be too wise to laugh at justice."
"Settlements, boy! It is long sin' I took my leave of the wasted and wickedness of the settlements and the villages. If I live in a clearing, here, it is one of the Lord's making, and I have no hard thoughts on the matter; but never again shall I be seen running willfully into the danger of immoralities."
This concludes the "Leatherstocking Series" but I will pursue more Cooper. "The Pilot" comes to mind...
October 3, 2024
This book is the third book written by the author, but the last book in chronological order, in the Leatherstocking Tales about Natty Bumppo, the frontierman central to the series. I enjoyed reading this book, as it is a worthy end to the series.
It is in the middle of the opening decade of the nineteenth century that this story opens on the prairires of what is now Nebraska. We meet with the large family and cattle of Ishmael Bush, a lawless squatter who recognizes no law but his own, and his family, which includes his seven sons, his brother in law Abiram White, and Ellen Wade, the orphaned daughter of his wife's first husband. He also has a naturalist named Dr. Obed Battius, with book learnings to his credit and not much else. The goods of Bush include a wagon and tent holding something mysterious. There is also Paul Hover, a Kentucky - born bee hunter, in love with Ellen Wade. Again we have Captain Duncan Uncas Middleton, whose new wife Inez de Certavallos-Middleton, the daughter of a weathly Spanish grandee in New Orleans, has been kidnapped. And we have an old trapper, eighty-seven years old, who is not only Natty Bumppo (though never so named) but the very old friend of Captain Middleton's maternal grandparents. Toss in two separate tribes of native Americans, a bison stampede, a prairie fire, and people being captured and rescued, plus lots of adjectives and adverbs, plus a rejection of Spanish catholicism for good plain American religion, and you have a dandy James fenimore Cooper book.
And now, with the death of the Pathfinder / Deerslayer / old trapper, we are done with Natty Bumppo.
It is in the middle of the opening decade of the nineteenth century that this story opens on the prairires of what is now Nebraska. We meet with the large family and cattle of Ishmael Bush, a lawless squatter who recognizes no law but his own, and his family, which includes his seven sons, his brother in law Abiram White, and Ellen Wade, the orphaned daughter of his wife's first husband. He also has a naturalist named Dr. Obed Battius, with book learnings to his credit and not much else. The goods of Bush include a wagon and tent holding something mysterious. There is also Paul Hover, a Kentucky - born bee hunter, in love with Ellen Wade. Again we have Captain Duncan Uncas Middleton, whose new wife Inez de Certavallos-Middleton, the daughter of a weathly Spanish grandee in New Orleans, has been kidnapped. And we have an old trapper, eighty-seven years old, who is not only Natty Bumppo (though never so named) but the very old friend of Captain Middleton's maternal grandparents. Toss in two separate tribes of native Americans, a bison stampede, a prairie fire, and people being captured and rescued, plus lots of adjectives and adverbs, plus a rejection of Spanish catholicism for good plain American religion, and you have a dandy James fenimore Cooper book.
And now, with the death of the Pathfinder / Deerslayer / old trapper, we are done with Natty Bumppo.
March 26, 2025
In many ways, James Fenimore Cooper's writing does not age well. Though not virulently racist, he tended towards a paternalistic "noble savage" view of Native Americans that can lead to characters casually espousing assumptions of Native Americans that are patronizing.
That said, I still love them. I read all of The Leatherstocking Tales as a kid, and still regularly reread The Last of the Mohicans, and to a lesser extent The Deerslayer and The Pathfinder. I have given less attention to The Pioneers and The Prairie. In this volume, we find the aged Hawkeye out on the Great Plains, trying to stay away from settlements. He crosses paths with squatters, kidnappers, and gets caught up in a clash between the Sioux and the Pawnee. Cooper always plays favorites here and the Sioux become the Great Plains version of the Huron (villainous Indians) and the Pawnee the Plains version of the noble Mohicans. But despite this, Hawkeye (the Trapper in this book) recognizes nobility and humanity in the Sioux as well and reminds his many American counterparts that the Natives are the true masters of the Plains and that their being pushed aside, while perhaps unavoidable in his own mind, is to be mourned. Even in his 80s, the Trapper helps fight off Indian attacks, adopts a Pawnee chief as his son, rescues a Spanish girl from villainous squatters and reunites with a descendant of his old friend, Duncan Heyward. The sadness of his passing mixes with the sadness of the passing of an older world. This book is not at the same level as The Last of the Mohicans, but those of us who enjoy Americana and can both criticize and take some good from it, will find something to enjoy here.
That said, I still love them. I read all of The Leatherstocking Tales as a kid, and still regularly reread The Last of the Mohicans, and to a lesser extent The Deerslayer and The Pathfinder. I have given less attention to The Pioneers and The Prairie. In this volume, we find the aged Hawkeye out on the Great Plains, trying to stay away from settlements. He crosses paths with squatters, kidnappers, and gets caught up in a clash between the Sioux and the Pawnee. Cooper always plays favorites here and the Sioux become the Great Plains version of the Huron (villainous Indians) and the Pawnee the Plains version of the noble Mohicans. But despite this, Hawkeye (the Trapper in this book) recognizes nobility and humanity in the Sioux as well and reminds his many American counterparts that the Natives are the true masters of the Plains and that their being pushed aside, while perhaps unavoidable in his own mind, is to be mourned. Even in his 80s, the Trapper helps fight off Indian attacks, adopts a Pawnee chief as his son, rescues a Spanish girl from villainous squatters and reunites with a descendant of his old friend, Duncan Heyward. The sadness of his passing mixes with the sadness of the passing of an older world. This book is not at the same level as The Last of the Mohicans, but those of us who enjoy Americana and can both criticize and take some good from it, will find something to enjoy here.
July 22, 2024
Finishing the Leatherstocking Tales is no small feat, but 2500 pages later, I can finally put the last of the series back on the shelf with a feeling of accomplishment. While I will almost definitely never pick up this series again and would argue that there was more pain than pleasure in my reading experience, I do have a couple of recommendations for anyone who wants to try their hand at getting through this one:
1) Read the series in chronological vs. publication order. You'll understand Natty's growth as a character and the flow of his history better.
2) Set yourself a goal of a certain number of chapters per sitting. I started doing this after really struggling through The Deerslayer and it made the rest of the series feel more manageable.
And now for a few pros and cons:
Pros: This series is full of beautiful descriptions of the natural world and gives a genuine appreciation for the untouched beauty of early America. I also enjoyed the historicity of these novels. The Pioneers is particularly good at including interesting details about life in the early settlements. Additionally, there are elements of mystery and humor in each book that will keep you going even when the plot drags. Finally, Cooper does nail the ending on each of these books in that he wraps up the storylines so completely that there's no question what happens to each of the characters.
Cons: Very predictable plots, a protagonist who is the epitome of a Mary Sue, dialogue about nothing that will make you want to tear your hair out, racist attitudes towards Native Americans and African Americans, lots of helpless women in distress, lots of moralizing and expounding on philosophies about "white nature" and "red nature" (did I mention racism?), and a very outdated writing style.
1) Read the series in chronological vs. publication order. You'll understand Natty's growth as a character and the flow of his history better.
2) Set yourself a goal of a certain number of chapters per sitting. I started doing this after really struggling through The Deerslayer and it made the rest of the series feel more manageable.
And now for a few pros and cons:
Pros: This series is full of beautiful descriptions of the natural world and gives a genuine appreciation for the untouched beauty of early America. I also enjoyed the historicity of these novels. The Pioneers is particularly good at including interesting details about life in the early settlements. Additionally, there are elements of mystery and humor in each book that will keep you going even when the plot drags. Finally, Cooper does nail the ending on each of these books in that he wraps up the storylines so completely that there's no question what happens to each of the characters.
Cons: Very predictable plots, a protagonist who is the epitome of a Mary Sue, dialogue about nothing that will make you want to tear your hair out, racist attitudes towards Native Americans and African Americans, lots of helpless women in distress, lots of moralizing and expounding on philosophies about "white nature" and "red nature" (did I mention racism?), and a very outdated writing style.
October 23, 2025
Ok, ok, I like overly wordy books and luckily my husband enjoys listening to me read them to him, because if my brain decides to wander or I lose track of the words coming out of my mouth, I can stop and ask Allen, "What is happening here?" Luckily, he can usually fill me in, although even his brain got caught up in the paradoxes of this book at times, and he was a bit confused. Especially, the part where it took the white people 3 chapters to devise a plan to run from the natives.
Even with all of its wordiness, and not having read the prequels to this final book in the series more than 15 years ago, I found myself getting caught up and attached to the old trapper, the venerable venator, and his long speeches about how wise he and the native peoples are after all they have experienced together and how long he has lived. There are truly some sparks of wisdom throughout this book that we all need to learn or relearn one of them being in the 2nd to last paragraph in the book when Le Balafré, a wise elderly Indian, tells his people, "A valiant, a just, and a wise warrior has gone to the path which will lead him to the blessed grounds of his people!" he said, in regards so the old trapper. "When the voice of Wahcondah called him, he was ready to answer. Go; my children; remember the just chiefs of the Pale-faces, and clear your own tracks from briars."
That is such a beautiful metaphor for telling his people to prepare for their own deaths with their maker, "and clear your own tracks from briars." Beautiful!
Even with all of its wordiness, and not having read the prequels to this final book in the series more than 15 years ago, I found myself getting caught up and attached to the old trapper, the venerable venator, and his long speeches about how wise he and the native peoples are after all they have experienced together and how long he has lived. There are truly some sparks of wisdom throughout this book that we all need to learn or relearn one of them being in the 2nd to last paragraph in the book when Le Balafré, a wise elderly Indian, tells his people, "A valiant, a just, and a wise warrior has gone to the path which will lead him to the blessed grounds of his people!" he said, in regards so the old trapper. "When the voice of Wahcondah called him, he was ready to answer. Go; my children; remember the just chiefs of the Pale-faces, and clear your own tracks from briars."
That is such a beautiful metaphor for telling his people to prepare for their own deaths with their maker, "and clear your own tracks from briars." Beautiful!
November 13, 2021
When I was a sophomore or freshman in high school, I became acquainted with the character of Natty Bumpo through “The Deerslayer.” (Thank you Wanda Vickers!) I also learned that James Fennimore Cooper had written a series of books called The Leather Stocking Tales and thought it would be cool to read the series. By accident, I came across and read “The Last of the Mohicans” two years later. All that to say it took me 40-plus years to finish the task but I’ve now read the complete series. Oddly enough, I visited upstate New York—where the first books in the series are set—earlier this year and it sparked my desire to finish the series. The earlier books—DEERSLAYER, MOHICANS and PATHFINDER—rank by far as my favorites and they are set in the earlier years of Leather Stocking’s life. “The Prairie” is the final installment in the series and covers the last part of his life. It’s by far my least favorite of the five books. So little of the book seems to focus on Natty Bumpo and his character seems harmed more than invigorated by his isolated lifestyle—far removed from the noble and cheerfully optimistic guy I read about in The Deerslayer. It seems
Telling that my favorite part of this particular book was Natty’s death scene. It was definitive to lay a good thing to rest. Although THE PRAIRIE was disappointing, I’m glad to say I’ve read the entire series. Feels like an accomplishment!
Telling that my favorite part of this particular book was Natty’s death scene. It was definitive to lay a good thing to rest. Although THE PRAIRIE was disappointing, I’m glad to say I’ve read the entire series. Feels like an accomplishment!
April 6, 2020
Skvotterid tulid preeriasse pakku röövitud naisterahvaga. Tee viib neid kokku trapperiga. Siuud röövivad skvotteritelt karja. Viimased arvavad, et selle riuka taga on vana trapper. Kartes uut rünnakut kindlustavad skvotterid oma uue asupaiga kenasti ära. Nelly-le, kes on asunike pundis, järgnes preeriasse mesilaste püüdja Paul, kes trehvab trapperit ja nad hoiavad laagri lähedal kokku. Viimaste juurde satub juhuslikult üks ohvitser kes otsib oma röövitud pruuti. Trapperi juhtimisel minnakse pruuti vabastama. Samal ajal tapetakse Skvotteri vanin poeg. Süü aetakse trapperi kaela. Trapperi punt satub vangi siuude kätte, nad põgenevad. Selle peale siuud ja skvotterid liituvad ja hakkavad neid koos taga ajama. Kätte nad ka trapperi pundi saavad kes vahepeal olid leidnud poonide pealiku ja koos satutakse siuude vangi. Poonid tulevad oma pealikku vabastama, samal ajal skvotterid võtavad vangi trapperi pundi (trapper, Paul, Nelly, ohvitser, röövitud pruut ja loodusuurija). Siuud saavad lüüa ja põgenevad, skvotter peab kohut vangide üle. Kõik vabastatakse ja ka ilmneb tõde, et trapper ei olegi mõrtsukas vaid Abirami oma naise vend oli ta poja selja tagant maha lasknud. Teda karistatakse selle eest surmaga. Ülejäänud seltskond saab sõbraks poonidega ja läheb tagasi taivilisatsiooni. Trapper heidab aga raamatu lõpus hinge. Tegevus toimub Ameerika asustamata preerias umbes aastal 1700.
September 26, 2025
The protagonist of The Prairie is Natty Bumpo, mainly known today as Hawkeye in the Last of the Mohicans. But here he is simply called Trapper. He is close to 80, in fact later in the book the grandson of Uncas is introduced into the story. Trapper has given up hunting for the less rigorous trapping in his old age and has moved to the prairie in what is now known as Kansas to get away from the encroaching settlements, chopping of woods and the noise of where he lived.
Trapper has retained his integrity and his helping of others. He helps a young woman kidnapped by white squatters who have come to the prairie to escape the law and other confines of civilization. Trapper navigates between them and also between the Sioux and Pawnee who are warring each other. Trapper's wisdom and common sense is shown again and again. And like the other Leatherstocking tales there is much plot suspense and surprise
The book was written in the early 1800s. While Cooper was far ahead of his time, and in some respects ahead of our time, in his insights into Native Americans there are times when and language and stereotype can make a modern day reader wince. It is up to each reader to decide the value of reading this novel, given that.
Trapper has retained his integrity and his helping of others. He helps a young woman kidnapped by white squatters who have come to the prairie to escape the law and other confines of civilization. Trapper navigates between them and also between the Sioux and Pawnee who are warring each other. Trapper's wisdom and common sense is shown again and again. And like the other Leatherstocking tales there is much plot suspense and surprise
The book was written in the early 1800s. While Cooper was far ahead of his time, and in some respects ahead of our time, in his insights into Native Americans there are times when and language and stereotype can make a modern day reader wince. It is up to each reader to decide the value of reading this novel, given that.
Read
July 8, 2024I have read all but The Deerslayer, but everyone seems to like The Deerslayer, so I think I can go ahead and say that The Prairie is probably the worst of The Leatherstocking Tales. It's not that it's bad, or even mediocre. Cooper is always so weird and himself that he can never just be "bad." The problem of The Prairie is what is supposed to be its very feature: its starkness. The world is just empty. This results in some strong images, like the image of the 87-year-old "trapper" emerging out of the twilight from the seemingly endless and empty open prairie, but largely it is a demerit. I think the setting is poorly chosen, and somehow it breaks your heart to know that this man of the forests should end his days on a prairie. I do like the theme of physical decay and declining prowess, and of having lived too long, and of having been flung far afield -- but I wish Cooper had placed him in, say, Mexican Arizona or California.
Given that Cooper supposed this book to be the last installment, it's regrettable that the ending isn't stronger. But I guess the true ending of all of Cooper's work has to be the ending of The Last of the Mohicans. If you've read it, you know.
Given that Cooper supposed this book to be the last installment, it's regrettable that the ending isn't stronger. But I guess the true ending of all of Cooper's work has to be the ending of The Last of the Mohicans. If you've read it, you know.
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