The Last of the Mohicans: A Narrative of 1757

James Fenimore Cooper

Jan 1921 · Macmillan

Ratings and reviews

- I had always assumed this was an adolescent adventure, perhaps similar to Jack London. No, definitely not. The prose is dense and a number of times I had to highlight text and search for definitions. And some of the violence is gruesome, even by modern standards. - At first the narration seemed glacial and the 400+ pages daunting for someone used to reading snippets and tweets. But once I settled in and let the author tell his story the way he envisioned it, I was hooked. - There seemed to be a lot of OCR errors in the text. I'm assuming some sort of archaic font was the culprit. - The sexual roles and stereotypes amongst the white characters are dated and a bit uncomfortable but it's certainly no worse than Jane Austen, a near contemporary. - I was also expecting Zane Grey, cigar store depictions of the natives. Again, totally wrong. The Amerindians, their culture and their personalities are actually the centerpiece of the work. Natty Bumppo is important primarily because he acts as a bridge, a guide between the cultures. This may be one of the most sympathetic, albeit romanticized portraits of Amerindians I can recall from the 19th century, especially for 1826. - I kept seeing paintings of the Hudson River School's landscapes in my mind's eye as I read. - I was so taken by the work I'm already beginning on the rest of the Leatherstocking Tales. FIVE STARS

Having read an abridged version of this book in high school, I immediately fell in love with the adventure & heroism of the tale of Hawkeye, Chingachgook, & Uncas. When the movie came, I thought it was great. Now to have read the original text all the way through, I find Cooper's work to be one of the most magnificent pieces of American literature ever written. It truly is a masterpiece for the ages!

What an adventure! The novel of Coopers is incomparable in it's descriptive narrative of the American frontier.Cooper's use of the English language draws the reader into a world so believable the lure is compelling. The book brands vivid images in your mind that leave you living this novel emotionally.