Manfred has tremendous powers of observation, w Whitman-like enthusiasm for life. This is his epic classic of the American West. Fusing fact and fiction with brilliant writing he recreates this harrowing true adventure of a legendary mountain man and pioneer mauled by a grizzly bear.
This book is 351 pages, a length I can easily read in less than a week if the book engages me. This book took about two months. I found it deadly boring. Hugh, the main character, was not the least bit likeable. He was recalcitrant, which sometimes got him in trouble. The incident that started his odyssey happened because he disobeyed orders and went off on his own.
After the mauling, Hugh managed to fashion some kind of splint for his leg and then spent weeks crawling toward his destination (some fort, if I recall correctly). There wasn't a whole lot of action during this lengthy part of the book so the author filled it with long descriptions of the landscape and Hugh's efforts for food and water.
The dialogue--especially Hugh's--was rather hokey. Granted, this was the early 1800s and I would imagine that people today speak differently than folks back then. However, I got the impression that the author really had no idea of how people talked back then so made it up.
The ending was anticlimatic. I've never read any of Frederick Manfred's books and, if this is an example of his writing, I don't plan to read any others.
After the mauling, Hugh managed to fashion some kind of splint for his leg and then spent weeks crawling toward his destination (some fort, if I recall correctly). There wasn't a whole lot of action during this lengthy part of the book so the author filled it with long descriptions of the landscape and Hugh's efforts for food and water.
The dialogue--especially Hugh's--was rather hokey. Granted, this was the early 1800s and I would imagine that people today speak differently than folks back then. However, I got the impression that the author really had no idea of how people talked back then so made it up.
The ending was anticlimatic. I've never read any of Frederick Manfred's books and, if this is an example of his writing, I don't plan to read any others.
