The Deerslayer by James Fenimore Cooper

Title: The Deerslayer

Author: James Fenimore Cooper Narrator: Peter Berkot Publisher: Tantor Audio Website: Tantor Audio Genre: Western Listening Length: 21h:6m

Synopsis: The Deerslayer is a story about the adventures of the woodsman known as Deerslayer and his Delaware Indian friend, Chingachgook. The novel presents the violence and unpredictability of life in a place where only a few white hunters and hunting parties of Indians had ever set foot.

As with The Last of the Mohicans this is a novel I would have struggled to read - the writing is just as, if not more, flowery and this might not suit the modern reader. However, as an audio book it is wonderfully poetic and the narration by Berkot is sublime. The story-line is much slower than The Last of the Mohicans, indeed there is little of the action that one might expect from a novel set during the start of the Anglo-French wars in North America. Much of the narration is in the form of conversations or soliloquys by the main character, Deerslayer. As such the dialogue is wonderful and really helps develop the characters’ personalities. The majestic landscapes and the intimate feel of the inner forests are magnificently presented. There is little real tension in the narrative, but this is an audio book to listen to in order to let the rhythm of the language and to allow the verbal images of the landscape to waft over you as you listen to the delightful reading by Berkot.

What others thought at the time of writing Amazon.co.uk; 13 reviews, of which all were 3* or more, giving an average of 4.4* Amazon.com; 132 reviews, of which 89% were 3* or more, giving an average of 4.0* Goodreads.com; 11,481 ratings (364 reviews), with 87% of 3* or more, giving an average of 3.7*

Other novels by the same author (click on the image to go to Amazon for more information)

Other novels narrated by Peter Berkot (click on the image to go to Amazon for more information)