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3.12 AVERAGE
3.12 AVERAGE
The first 200 pages of this book were just awful--the first day literally ends on the 200th page, so you can imagine how overwrought with detail the prose is--but the story got pretty good after that.
I probably wouldn't recommend going out of your way to read The Pioneers, but if you've started struggling through it already, you should soldier on to the end.
I probably wouldn't recommend going out of your way to read The Pioneers, but if you've started struggling through it already, you should soldier on to the end.
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
I was going to give this two stars. I wanted to give it up about halfway through. My copy is slightly beaten up because I slightly beat it up when I nearly threw it out. It was page 243 that ended with Richard Jones crying out at the door. Turning the page, I saw a quote that went on for a quarter of a page. No one cries out a paragraph, Cooper! I did give up for about three days, but I forced myself back into it. So why the extra star? Well, the second half took me five days, while the first half took half of my life.
It does pick up, but the first 180 pages are just one evening. He takes nearly half the book just setting things up, which can be frustrating. I've read books that seem like they take forever to actually start, but this was insufferable. What doesn't help is that Cooper does what a lot of American authors did in the 19th century, or, said better, he doesn't do what many American authors didn't do. I mean, of course, a lack of paragraph breaks. Henry James is the worst offender I know, but Cooper is pretty bad as well, especially the first half. Probably because there's more action in the latter half.
So if you can get through the first half, you'll have a very good adventure story for you. I even found it quite moving, especially the end. I had grown to really like The Leatherstocking, so it was affecting to see the back of him. John Mohegan, the Delware chief who is Natty Bumpo's closest companion, also has a very moving scene towards the climax. Here is the quote I found myself rereading a few times:
'"Why should Mohegan go?" returned the Indian, gloomily. "He has seen the days of an eagle, and his eye grows dim. He looks on the valley; he looks on the water; he looks in the hunting-grounds—but he sees no Delawares. Every one has a white skin. My fathers say, from the far-off land, Come. My women, my young warriors, my tribe, say, Come. The Great Spirit says, Come. Let Mohegan die."'
I won't say what happens after that, to avoid spoiling a two hundred year old novel.
I thought most of the characters were kind of non-entities though. Some were more colorful than others. I really liked Billy Kirby and Benjamin Pump by the end, though the latter's speech was nearly unintelligible. Richard Grant was, is, and always shall be an ass. At least he finally learned to shut up sometimes by the end.
I can't say I recommend this novel. The first half was such a slog that it tainted my enjoyment of the latter half, which was so much better. I will say that I intend to read more Leatherstocking Tales, but I'm going to need some time away from Cooper for a while.
It does pick up, but the first 180 pages are just one evening. He takes nearly half the book just setting things up, which can be frustrating. I've read books that seem like they take forever to actually start, but this was insufferable. What doesn't help is that Cooper does what a lot of American authors did in the 19th century, or, said better, he doesn't do what many American authors didn't do. I mean, of course, a lack of paragraph breaks. Henry James is the worst offender I know, but Cooper is pretty bad as well, especially the first half. Probably because there's more action in the latter half.
So if you can get through the first half, you'll have a very good adventure story for you. I even found it quite moving, especially the end. I had grown to really like The Leatherstocking, so it was affecting to see the back of him. John Mohegan, the Delware chief who is Natty Bumpo's closest companion, also has a very moving scene towards the climax. Here is the quote I found myself rereading a few times:
'"Why should Mohegan go?" returned the Indian, gloomily. "He has seen the days of an eagle, and his eye grows dim. He looks on the valley; he looks on the water; he looks in the hunting-grounds—but he sees no Delawares. Every one has a white skin. My fathers say, from the far-off land, Come. My women, my young warriors, my tribe, say, Come. The Great Spirit says, Come. Let Mohegan die."'
I won't say what happens after that, to avoid spoiling a two hundred year old novel.
I thought most of the characters were kind of non-entities though. Some were more colorful than others. I really liked Billy Kirby and Benjamin Pump by the end, though the latter's speech was nearly unintelligible. Richard Grant was, is, and always shall be an ass. At least he finally learned to shut up sometimes by the end.
I can't say I recommend this novel. The first half was such a slog that it tainted my enjoyment of the latter half, which was so much better. I will say that I intend to read more Leatherstocking Tales, but I'm going to need some time away from Cooper for a while.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racial slurs, Racism
Minor: Animal death
i find that i have a lot of trouble with reading older books. maybe it's because my brain is conditioned from almost exclusively reading stephen king novels, but i always zone out and have trouble retaining whatever i read when it comes to these older novels. with this one, i'm not sure if the issue is me or the book. i found this to be painfully boring. i'm not really interested in history either, so i understand i'm not really the target audience for this, but i found this dull and uninteresting. really hoping that the last of the mohicans is a better read
I remember liking this book more the first time I read it, maybe forty years ago! Maybe the old writing style is harder for me now since so much modern fiction is written in a bare-bones, non-descriptive style. More reason to read old books! It's good exercise for your brain.
This book starts out so slowly. It takes several chapters for the author to introduce characters and set up the story and to get through the first day! But, when the story gets going it is worth the wait. Quite relevant to the environmental concerns of today.
This book starts out so slowly. It takes several chapters for the author to introduce characters and set up the story and to get through the first day! But, when the story gets going it is worth the wait. Quite relevant to the environmental concerns of today.
Although I had better success on my second reading of [b:The Last of the Mohicans|38296|The Last of the Mohicans (The Leatherstocking Tales #2)|James Fenimore Cooper|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388199654l/38296._SY75_.jpg|2064030] than on my first time through, I don't expect that this book will go the same way. James Fenimore Cooper writes sleep medicine that masquerade as books. While The Last of the Mohicans had something going for it--a story that takes place against the backdrop of the Seven Years War, filled with pathfinding, hunting, and even battles--The Pioneers almost entirely takes place through conversation in Otsego, New York, bordering on Cooperstown, named after James Fenimore Cooper's father. The bulk of the conversation is about what settlement means for those who live in the borderlands of the young republican--namely, Native Americans and Natty Bumppo ("Leatherstocking" or, in The Last of the Mohicans "la longue carabine"). The book ends with the recognition that the "old ways" of Native Americans will be displaced and/or destroyed, only to be replaced by what Cooper seems to view as the corruption of modern, nineteenth-century civilization. Fitting with the norms of nineteenth century literature writing, there is the implication that Native peoples will be wiped out, and that Indians are nothing more than "a dying race."
This book had the theoretical potential of being something interesting, but Cooper simply is not a good writer. The problems here are not necessarily the conventions of early nineteenth-century American literature, as plenty of other works written in the period are captivating and worth reading. I'm not sure what it is, but I don't find Cooper's books to be worth reading.
This book had the theoretical potential of being something interesting, but Cooper simply is not a good writer. The problems here are not necessarily the conventions of early nineteenth-century American literature, as plenty of other works written in the period are captivating and worth reading. I'm not sure what it is, but I don't find Cooper's books to be worth reading.
I avoided books like this one like the plague (!) when I was a kid, no matter how many adults had recommended them to me and in spite of dad's dying wish and countless gifts under the form of Karl May's books. But well, now I did read one book like that and yep, I'm fairly glad I didn't inflict this pain upon myself as a kid.
Also, white people are, quite easily put, self-serving monsters.
Also, white people are, quite easily put, self-serving monsters.
*1.5 stars*
The ONLY reason I am giving this the half star above one is because of Natty Bumppo's contribution of being against overconsumption and trophy hunting. Besides that, this is the most boring book I have ever read and is a work of historical amnesia that pretends that Chingachgook's death was the end of the Native American race as a whole? It's such a mess just don't bother
The ONLY reason I am giving this the half star above one is because of Natty Bumppo's contribution of being against overconsumption and trophy hunting. Besides that, this is the most boring book I have ever read and is a work of historical amnesia that pretends that Chingachgook's death was the end of the Native American race as a whole? It's such a mess just don't bother