Lately, I’ve just finished reading The Pathfinder by James Fenimore Cooper. An eon or so ago, or when I was in junior high, I read The Deerslayer and The Last of the Mohicans. Cooper wrote five books chronicling the life of Natty Bumppo, (the three mentioned plus The Pioneers, and The Prairie) who is almost never called that in the books but always bears an appellation that describes an aspect of his character. He is variously called Natty, Deerslayer, Hawkeye (yes, that’s where Mash got the name), and Pathfinder. Interestingly, Cooper did not write these books, called The Leatherstocking Tales, in chronological order. He began with the last book, and as time went on decided to fill in the blanks.
So, why did I decide to read Cooper again? Well, first and foremost, I liked the books very much when I read them those many years ago, and I wondered if I would still like them or if I’d ‘outgrown’ them. Somewhat to my surprise I enjoyed the book; however, my enthusiasm was tempered by Cooper’s wordiness. I admire descriptive writing, but Cooper goes overboard. Even Mark Twain, a near contemporary, thought his writing was overwrought.
That said, I can see the influence Cooper, Dickens, Austin, Eliot, Dumas, and other 19th century writers have had on my penchant for description. Because description of people and places can be symbolic and create mood, it is a valuable tool in the writer’s toolbox. While the minimalist style of a Hemingway is effective and has its charm, I find myself drawn more towards the rich, poetic style of a Mark Helprin. If you’ve read A Soldier of the Great War by Helprin you know what I mean. His lyrical style transports the reader into the world and the time as if one is a witness to the events he narrates. Thomas Wolfe called writers poets, and I believe in and aspire to that highest form of the literary art in my writing.