'The Last of the Mohicans' by James Fenimore Cooper

The Last of The Mohicans, James Fenimore Cooper (3)

I chose World Literature over American Lit in high school and I continue to add the missed classics of American writers to my reading list.  As far as ‘The Last of the Mohicans’ is concerned, I had seen the movie (with a ripped and dashing Daniel Day Lewis) and was expecting a romantic story.   I found the hardest thing about reviewing this book was being distracted by the multitude of differences between the book and movie.  Much of the book is filled with Mr. Cooper’s respect for the Indian cultures embedded in the history of the times. There is very little romance and certainly not between Hawkeye (aka Natty Bumpo, the Scout, or Daniel Day Lewis’s character) and anyone.  In fact, it is an ensemble cast with some emergence of main characters in both Hawkeye and Uncas, the younger of the two Mohicans.  For those unfamiliar, the book is about a group of characters meeting during the French-Indian War. They consist of a British head officer, his daughters, the young American officer escorting them, and the two last Mohicans with their companion, Hawkeye.  The story is filled with their adventures as the daughters try to reach their father while Indian enemies thwart their plans.  As most American literature of the time (early 1800’s), the description and language can be dry and tough to read.  I did enjoy the dramatic scenes and the thoughtful Indian characters, but overall I must say I missed the romance.  In the end, the good dramatic scenes did not make up for the larger amount of dry description and inactivity. I’m not sure why the movie changed virtually all the relationships from the book (even main characters survive and/or die differently than in the book), though sadly, it’s likely due to the desire to have Hawkeye be the dashing figure as opposed to Uncas, the charismatic young Mohican of the book.