Bibliothèque

James Fenimore Cooper

The Last of the Mohicans

1826

A seductive, old-fashioned, very narrative, tale of 18th-century racial and national conflicts which would come to shape today’s North America. Diffusing a barely hidden critique of a weak and hypocritical Christian society in favour of honour-bound and earnest Native American Tribes, and a union of the two, Cooper is always careful to compensate his almost childish praise of “Indian nature” by a “superior” trait conceded to his white audience. But in this dense relation, the author's prejudices (his relying on nature rather than culture) gradually become unimportant to allow you to enjoy the book and appreciate the characters in all their moderated worth, till you become part of their eternal landscape of woods and plains, mountains and rivers. What starts as a slowly paced critique of white conquest and its varied Native responses is quickly shadowed by the very thing they’re all fighting for, as North America itself becomes the most powerful character of the book. This is a sensual, tragic reading which, treacherously, and quite sadly, makes you forget to care for who wins, who loses; in this narration, all that matters is the journey: quiet, yet adventurous. Almost providential. Of the success of the critique, let the reader be the judge. The book, however, belongs to high literature. 

P.S. We know that the destiny of the characters and the outcome of the combats weren’t providential; every little human action made them what they became. It would have been interesting to see a narrative which purported to impact on, rather than indulge in, the fate of North America.


Tags: good humour, the shaping of America, the last of the Mohicans, fleeing together through the woods, strong hints of interracial love which will make you want to rewrite the ending, besieged fortress, antifeminist representation of women as obstacles to the heroes, Providence, racial game of warriors and masters and hints of critique on whiteness on the part of the Natives, historical notes on the wars, culture, and legends of North America, long quest through the rivers and the woods, tribal organisation vs. Euro-Christian organisation, the nature of God, faith,  and true religion, North America as a character

William Golding

Lord of the Flies

1954

This is not the kind of book you could ever like reading: it’s not pleasant, feels as if it's not meant to be so. It’s that one necessary stone in the wall of your education. Going through each scene is like a dare, unnerving, frighteningly thrilling. You feel the next drama coming round the corner, you fervently turn the pages and tell yourself it's just to be done with it, leave that godforsaken island behind you.
The book really shook me, though I never managed to love the characters. I couldn’t help but hope they would be saved, all the while wishing those evil kids’d be dead, already. It is impossible not to hate them but it’s equally as hard, I find, to let go of them. 

As Golding blurs the lines between sanity and madness, wrongness and evil, the characters' distinctiveness is forgotten 'til they all embody the figure of 'the boy', or more simply 'the human', in its most banal, yet scariest form. This is where Golding truly nails it: this, the subdued but powerful writing whispers, this could be you.

P.S. The N-word is present around page 200. and used by a kid for a nasty comparison between disorder and order, “savages” and Englishmen.

Tags : tragedy in close quarters, dystopia, héros malmenés, superego vs. the id, study of the abstract and madness, external vs. internal evil, “maybe there is a beast… maybe it’s only us”, guerrillas here and there, games and adventures