Today’s book is the first actual classic that I will be reviewing and talking about on here. The Deerslayer is the first book in the Leatherstocking Tales by James Fenimore Cooper. This is the same series that also contains The Last of the Mohicans, one of his more popular novels. It opens on Deerslayer and his friend, Hurry Harry, walking alongside the shore of a small lake near where the Hutter family lives. Harry happens to be acquainted with the Hutter family but Deerslayer does not know them. However, they rapidly become acquainted when Harry decides to introduce them since they are in the area. Things start getting difficult and dangerous when they run into another friend of Deerslayer, Chingachgook, a Delaware Indian frequently referred to as The Serpent. He is in the middle of trying to rescue the woman he loves from a nearby rival tribe who has taken her captive. Deerslayer, deciding to help his friend, ends up also facing off with the nearby natives to help rescue Hist, beloved of Chingachgook. Due to their nearby presence the Hutter family, Tom and his two daughter Judith and Hetty, also end up getting involved with the potentially dangerous confrontation. As each of them faces the conflict they also must face themselves as they must choose what was the right thing to do in various situations.
I am going to open this part up by stating that I am not entirely sure I greatly enjoyed this book. It was really good and very well written but I did not appreciate the superiority of the Whites over the Indians that permeated the book. I know intellectually that was a common viewpoint during the time Cooper was writing in the early to mid-1800’s but I still struggle when reading books that contain that viewpoint nonetheless. Let’s move on though to other things. In terms of characterization I really felt like many of the characters were pretty well fleshed out, at least the main characters which seemed to be Deerslayer, Judith Hutter and Hetty Hutter. Each of these three seemed to be a three-dimensional character, at least mostly. Deerslayer was the epitome of the warrior who was at home in the wilderness and lived by a code of honor, one that nothing would make him forsake. Judith Hutter was the woman, young girl almost, that was the belle of the ball. She was frequently described as uncommonly beautiful and enjoyed being able to turn a man’s head. Her sister Hetty was the exact opposite and described as plain in almost every way though she also seemed to be devoutly pious in terms of religion. This created an interesting trio of characters around which the story revolved as each of them played an important role in how the plot develops. What I enjoyed was seeing how these characters grew over the course of the story. Judith and Hetty especially, as they definitely no longer fell in the same role at the end of the story that they did at the beginning of the story. All three of them were extremely complex characters in terms of how they acted but the descriptions other characters provided of how they acted often belied that fact. Many of the characters seemed to think that Hetty was unintelligent due to her looks but I often felt like she was the smartest one of the bunch. That may have just been me though. The plot was also supposedly simple but actually complex as well. Deerslayer partners with Chingachgook to help rescue Hist but the actual path to get there is convoluted and not in the least straightforward. It made for an interesting read, even if it was one that I slightly struggled with due to the bias that the author and some of the characters exhibited. I am giving this book three out of five stars.
This is the kind of book that is probably not going to be greatly enjoyed by a lot of people, unless you enjoy westerns then it might appeal as it does show a lot of similarity with that genre. However, I think that you should still consider reading it as it does provide a lot of insight into the prevailing viewpoint of the time period. At the same time it is a potentially difficult read and might be hard for younger readers to get through or enjoy so they should think carefully before trying it. Ultimately, while I think people should read it I will acknowledge that not everyone will enjoy it. If you happen to be familiar with this book feel free to share your thoughts in the comments as always.