The Last of the Mohicans

This story is set in 1750 in the area around what is now modern day New York State during the French & Indian War.  Two sisters, Cora and Alice, set off from Fort Edward to meet up with their father, the English commander in charge of Fort William Henry.  Along the way, their Indian guide reveals himself as a traitor and engineers the kidnapping of the two sisters.  Nearby, two Indians – a father and son – along with their companion, a white scout with a fearsome reputation, become embroiled in rescuing the sisters. 

This wasn’t necessarily a “hard read” but the prose was sometimes overwhelming.  For example, here’s the first sentence:

“It was a feature peculiar to the colonial wars of North America that the toils and dangers of the wilderness were to be encountered before the adverse hosts could meet.”

Although I’m used to reading lots of different kinds of books, I’ve never had trouble reading a novel before now.  It wasn’t the difficulty of the words, but rather their intensity and the way they are put together that made me have to read some sentences, like that first one, a couple of times to really take it in and understand it. 

The story was captivating – the action, the detail, the beauty and wildness captured perfectly, or at least what I think may be perfect.   Ok, I confess.  I know close to zilch about the early French, English and Dutch settlers is close.  Ditto for the northern tribes of Native Americans.   So, I was sometimes confused.  Where they in Michigan?  Canada?  New York?   Then I did some research at http://www1.american.edu/ted/ice/french-indian.htm and the setting became clear and the story ever more engrossing because I could better understand some the important subtext of the story like the profound distrust between the English and the French, as well the Indians for both nations, and the constant changing of sides of the Native American tribes to protect their hunting and sacred grounds being a prime factor in the changing of native and traditional allegiances between tribes, eventually causing their destruction both through external fighting against the "pale faces" but also amongst themselves.   (How’s that for academic?!) 

The characters were rich and deep, interestingly so, since at first read, one could accuse Cooper of using stereotypes – the untamed frontiersman, the noble savage, the honorable military man.   Except that his characters are like uncut diamonds - while embodying at the core some of those simple stereotypical characteristics, their many facets are cut through the hardships and trials of the story, ultimately revealing their brilliance.   

Now that I’ve read the book, I guess I should see the movie.  The problem is that while reading this book, sometimes I had to take breaks just to move around and make myself relax and let go of some of the tension and to digest what was happening.  You can’t do that with a movie.  The battle scenes will be hard to watch, too.  And, I'm notoriously picky when it comes to film adaptations - just ask my son about Harry Potter.  

Hmmmm……Daniel Day-Lewis?! Nevermind, the book and my imagination's more than enough for me!   

City of Thieves

               I have a confession to make.  I am a coward.  And I don’t mean that I’m afraid of bedbugs or the dark [even though I am, a little].  I mean cowardice in a big way.  As in I would not be the person standing in front of a tank or staging a sit-in or charging into a burning building.  It’s one thing to survive an event, it’s quite another to willingly step into what you know is dangerous. 

As the 10^th anniversary of 9/11 nears, I find myself thinking of that day.  I remember my

feeling of horror as I watched the carnage.  It was not just for the people in harm’s way, but also, a little, for myself.  Because even though I sat with my family, safe in my own home, I was terrified.  What kind of  mentality must people have that they commit such acts?  What kind of anger, fear, courage or adrenaline made the victims jump out of burning buildings or rush a hijacker? I mourn for all those touched by 9/11, even small people like myself – those of us who learned that day the truth of their inner hearts.  And that is one reason why, after I turned the last page of City of Thieves, tears slid slowly down my cheeks.  

                During World War II, the Nazis invaded Russia and surrounded the city of Leningrad.  The city’s population in June 1941 was 2.5 million people.  For 900 days, the Nazis kept the city under siege (from September 1941 to 1944).  The official death toll for the entire siege is 632,000, but some believe that a truer estimate of loss from death, disease and flight is closer to 1.5 million people – approximately 60% of the population. (http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/siege_of_leningrad.htm)

“In June of 1941, before the Germans came, we thought we were poor.  But June seemed like paradise by winter.”  This is the setting of City of Thieves.  It is a story of a war, of nations, of a people.  And of youth, survival, desperation, friendship and love.  Of courage.

            At first, it seems a memoir about the struggle for survival under supremely harsh circumstances, but like a light flurry turning to a heavy snowfall, you slowly come to realize the impressive and vivid weight of truth in this story.  What I mean is that it’s not just the beauty of the narrative, the unceasing flow of the perfect words, the dialogue, the bareness of emotions; it’s the feeling of absolute genuineness that accompanies each and every sentence. 

In some novels, it’s the historical background that lends legitimacy to the words, but in this, it is the people [I hesitate to even call them characters, they are so much more].   The most powerful stories, I think, are the ones that brush the truth we hold closest inside of us.  When you read City of Thieves, be prepared for Lev’s and Kolya’s journey also becoming your journey; one that will reveal as much about your own fears, hates, lusts and confusion as theirs.  When it ends you may feel, as I did, a little lost, a little stunned and a tiny bit envious.