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A review by maitrey_d
No Beast So Fierce: The Terrifying True Story of the Champawat Tiger, the Deadliest Animal in History by Dane Huckelbridge
3.0
Extremely overwrought prose, filled with cliches and at times repetitive statements. I really wonder if the book was ever seriously edited. And a travesty when you compare it to Corbett's own taut style of narration.
Although Huckelbridge makes some attempt at addressing Corbett's paternalism in his writings, I was struck by the fact that Huckelbridge cannot shake off his own bumbling white guy act. Particularly egregious was the not-naming of Indian/Nepali names throughout the book (although Huckelbridge thanks his native guides by name), especially the tahsildar of Champawat who played such a crucial role in Corbett's hunt of the maneater. Corbett didn't name him in his original account, and neither does Huckelbridge in this one, despite the fact that he tracks down the name in colonial records to verify Corbett's story. It left a particularly sour taste in the mouth, despite the fact that Huckelbridge is otherwise sympathetic to local environmental and conservation causes.
I only liked the bits that had a very brief and readable account of environmental changes in both Nepal and Kumaon at the turn of the 20th Century.
Although Huckelbridge makes some attempt at addressing Corbett's paternalism in his writings, I was struck by the fact that Huckelbridge cannot shake off his own bumbling white guy act. Particularly egregious was the not-naming of Indian/Nepali names throughout the book (although Huckelbridge thanks his native guides by name), especially the tahsildar of Champawat who played such a crucial role in Corbett's hunt of the maneater. Corbett didn't name him in his original account, and neither does Huckelbridge in this one, despite the fact that he tracks down the name in colonial records to verify Corbett's story. It left a particularly sour taste in the mouth, despite the fact that Huckelbridge is otherwise sympathetic to local environmental and conservation causes.
I only liked the bits that had a very brief and readable account of environmental changes in both Nepal and Kumaon at the turn of the 20th Century.