The Revenant

This is very much like The Count of Monte Cristo in terms of being a revenge story, although it is based loosely on real people and happenings that occurred in exploring the mid-west in the early 1800s. I found it very gripping and the pages flew by.

I'll start with a disclaimer: I've never seen the DiCaprio movie. Not knowing what exactly to expect made me enjoy this book even more. The bleak but irrepressible struggle for survival in part one was awe-inspiring and compelling. The fight for revenge and acceptance of impossible odds in part two equally so. I loved this book.

Age range: 16+
Too violent for younger readers.

“The goal each day is tomorrow morning.”

I didn't realize going into this book that a) it's actually a movie as well with Leonardo diCaprio, I guess? and b) that the main character, Hugh Glass, was an actual guy. This guy was horrifically mauled by a bear, left to die by a guy who stole his rifle to boot, somehow survives based on grit and determination, and swears vengeance – to get his rifle back. I'm no gun person, but that must have been a hell of a rifle.

The book hops POVs a bit during the book to keep tabs on the main players in Hugh Glass' story, which I liked so that I could appreciate the few times when Hugh Glass was this close to his mark without even realizing it. Glass meets several companions along the way, and I particularly liked the group of French guys he befriends. Their story is particularly touching in a way I was simultaneously expecting and not expecting at the same time. I also really liked the ending, because it didn't take the predictable Western ending route. I appreciated that.

This was quite an adventure book, and even sparse on atmospheric details sometimes, it was still an enjoyable read.

Fantastic read - finished in two sittings.
Excels at both a great plot and also seeming to capture the world of frontier trappers and mountain men - the nearly constant walk along the edge of death for the promise of money.

Read like a movie.

Holy crap, I think Hugh Glass has to be one of the biggest badasses in history- EVER. Even if half of what happened in this story is true (and Punke gives us a head's up at the end saying what he had to fill in and what he could confirm) it is one of the greatest adventure/survival stories I've ever read. I have loved survival stories since reading My Side of the Mountain when I was a kid.

My boss read Revenant at the same time, and I loved what she had to say about it. Compared to Hugh Glass and other mountain men, we humans of today are sad, sad wussies. I think she is right about that, and I'll think of Hugh Glass the next time the internet is down and I have to wait for a few minutes. It could be worse. I could be cracking into marrow bone trying to digest rotten meat.

The good news: what a great book to start the new year off with! The bad news: it was soo great, the next five are going to seem awful in comparison. Sigh.