Customer Reviews
a good book - By: Frank Bierbrauer, 18 Mar 2008 
This is the first in the series of five Leatherstocking Tales from James Fenimore Cooper, meaning the one where the character of Natty Bumpo is introduced as a young man. I once received the whole set of the tales as a child but never managed to read them to completion & am now doing just that. This is why I chose to read The Deerslayer first of alll in order to get the chronology right.
The young Deerslayer, as his Delaware friends calll him, has not yet gone on his first warpath & is in the process of doing so with his friend Chingachkook. Both have not yet faught an enemy & the novel is a good deal about this introduction to what it means to be living with the Native Americans of this time. It is also a good deal about the differences between the "white man" & the "red man". Natty is constantly pressing home the point that these two peoples are very different in the way they live their lives & he stresses how he is white & that he possesses his own "gifts" as does his indian friend.
It's fascinating simply because of the outmoded language used throughout, written in the way that a story needed to be in the 1800's. Considering that Cooper had written his first tale in 1823 there were not so many intervening years between the the 1750's & the early 1800's. In other words, history lingered & was not so distant. In this sense Cooper must have captured a good deal of the way of life of the time that he writes about.
The book has some weaknesses, for example: the actions taking place are often discussed in a long-winded manner when in fact quick thinking & little talking would have been the way these things were done since danger was close at hand & no time for such discussion would have been available when the slightest sound could have meant death. I disagree with the some of the other reviewers in that I do not consider the action scenes to be unrealistic. Stories of the trappers & hunters often tell of running battles where your wits kept you alive. Even then, to say the least, remarkable steadiness of Deerslayer under extreme circumstances is not unheard of although close to unbelievable.
A good book but it doesn't have the flowing movement of "The Last of the Mohicans".
Document of times past - By: Didier, 10 Oct 2007 Cooper's novel about the entrance into manhood of his hero Natty Bumppo (aka 'Leatherstocking' or 'Hawkeye') is no easy reading: the language is fairly obsolete, many of the morals & values Natty believes in & stands for are out-dated, & the action is at times incredible. But then again, there's no denying that this is also a well-written adventure story (one of the first), & has become part of the American heritage.
If you're looking for an entertaining book to read on some beach or other I'd suggest you look elsewhere, but if you have time on your hands & are interested in the origins of adventure literature this is a must read.
Holds Your Interest! - By: James Gallen, 12 Jun 2006 
"The Deerslayer" is the sequentiallly first in the Leatherstocking series of America's first, great, professional novelist, James Fenimore Cooper. I read it in preparation for a trip to Cooperstown, New York & I am glad that I did. Set in upstate New York in the 1740s, it provides the reader with an idolized introduction to the society of white & red of this colonial frontier.
The criticisms that the dialogue & actions are totallly unbelievable, while justified, do not detract from the story. While the simple, faith-filled actions of the "Feeble Minded Hetty" & the dialogue between Deerslayer & Chingachgook seem highly improbable, the do hold the readers' interest. While I am generallly not one to pick up readily on character development, this novel is an exception. The contrast between Deerslayer & Chingachgook, the romance between Chingachgook & Wah-ta-Wah
, the romantic web among Judith, Hurry Harry & Deerslayer, & the varying responses to changes in circumstance coming from sisters Judith & Hetty alll contribute to the persistent popularity of this work.
Despite alll the criticisms directed against Cooper as to form, the one thing that cannot be denied is that this book is very difficult to put down. I found myself always wondering what would come next & what would happen to the characters whom I had come to know. Whether you are looking for an insight into early American literature or just a good story, your search should lead to "The Deerslayer". "
A classic American saga begins - By: James Chester, 17 Jan 2006 Chronologicallly the first of the Leatherstocking Tales about trapper Nathaniel Bumpo, this sets the feel for the rest of the series even though it wasn't the first one written. The Deerslayer of the title is Nathaniel who earns his name of "Hawkeye", for which he is more famous, in this book from the first enemy he ever kills. If the saga is read chronologicallly, "The Deerslayer" is a good introduction to the character of Natty Bumpo (although I read "The Last Of the Mohicans" first).
It is a story based around the themes of honesty, morality, understanding your own individuality & staying true to your values, told at the steady pace that James Fenimore Cooper uses in his other books. There are several plot paralllels that can be drawn with some of his other works, especiallly "The Last Of The Mohicans", but to describe them would give too much of the plot away.
Although the book has its tense & exciting moments, the dreamy & picturesque style of the narrative can make it drag, & quite frankly I thought the story could have been told using maybe three-quarters of the paper. But that said the narrative does alllow a lot of insight into the characters' mind-frames, which alllows a greater empathy with them.
A good story but not reallly a page-turner.
