The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper

I recommend “The Last of the Mohicans” by author James Fenimore Cooper (JFC).  This is my first novel by JFC.  I decided to put JFC and his novel on my 2023 reading list after I read about him and his time in Paris in “The Greater Journey – Americans in Paris” by David McCullough. When I draft my book list and goals for the reading year, I include at least one novel written from the 1800s and the 1900s.  This book met my 1800s book goal for 2023.

“The Last of the Mohicans” follows a soldier, two sisters and their Indian guides as they navigate the unsettled landscape of America in the mid-1700s near the Great Lakes and waters of New York state.   The story gives us a raw picture of the hardships the group faced from the land and the Native Americans.  The area they traveled was home to several different tribes of Native Americans.  JFC’s story gives us insight into the mind of the Native American at the time of the story and how they approached life and death. 

I especially liked the way JFC painted his story more than the storyline itself.  His words gave life to nature, people, and other simple aspects of the story.  Here is one of many examples of this “The clouds, as if tired of their furious chase, were breaking asunder; the heavier volumes, gathering in black masses about the horizon, while the lighter scud still hurried above the water, or eddied among the tops of the mountains, like broken flights of birds, hovering around their roosts.” (from Chapter 19)  This is beautiful writing.

I recommend “The Last of the Mohicans” by James Fenimore Cooper.  I liked the storyline.  JFC shares with us a time in our American history and the key players in the history along with the hardships and successes they experienced.   I liked the way the author painted the story in front of my eyes from start to finish.  I felt I was part of the adventure.  JFC will be an author on my 2024 reading list. 

Me:  I am Diane M. Spolar and I live in Willowbrook, Illinois (a suburb outside of Chicago) with my husband, son and cat.  I am a CPA by day and a reader by night and on the weekends.  I am a lifelong lover of books.