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Title: Very flawed and over-rated?...
Review: Everyone knows the story of 'Last of the Mohicans', presumably from watching the Daniel Day-Lewis film. But what surprised me is how poor the novel by James Fenimore Cooper is. Two-dimensional characterisation (eg Duncan Heyward - gallant hero?) worsens a tale which seems to lack any proper structure apart from shoving in as many scenes of fighting and dramatic escape as possible. There are positive elements, such as the cunning but subtle personage of Magua and the basic premise of battles in the forested wilderness of North America. Perhaps that is why the recent film version is so much better - it takes all the good parts of the book, adds some new ideas and mixes them together.
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