Review: The Revenant by Michael Punke

A thrilling tale of betrayal and revenge set against the nineteenth-century American frontier, the astonishing story of real-life trapper and frontiersman Hugh Glass

The year is 1823, and the trappers of the Rocky Mountain Fur Company live a brutal frontier life. Hugh Glass is among the company’s finest men, an experienced frontiersman and an expert tracker. But when a scouting mission puts him face-to-face with a grizzly bear, he is viciously mauled and not expected to survive. Two company men are dispatched to stay behind and tend to Glass before he dies. When the men abandon him instead, Glass is driven to survive by one desire: revenge. With shocking grit and determination, Glass sets out, crawling at first, across hundreds of miles of uncharted American frontier.

Based on a true story, The Revenant is a remarkable tale of obsession, the human will stretched to its limits, and the lengths that one man will go to for retribution.

Paperback, 272 pages

Published October 6th 2015 

by Picador (first published June 20th 2002)

****

Another bookish cork of mine, I'd like to read the book before watching the movie. When the family got together to watch this one I promptly fell asleep within 10 minutes - so no rules broken, but I have have heard the movie version has taken some liberties. I still haven't seen the movie.

This isn't a huge book coming in around 270 pages, I don't think it could've been bigger otherwise it might have been too long and drawn out. One of the things I was a little apprehensive about was the all male cast. Could this work? Having never read anything with that particular situation I went in with an open mind, in fact I actually forgot all about that aspect the deeper I got into this story.

I really enjoyed this book, the author did a great job of relaying the story and it wasn't hard to visualize the settings, from the cold winter storms the frigid water and feel the fear and terror of Indian attacks. Plus one can't forget the bear attack and cringe with each swipe of those large claws. The fact that this was based on a true life event made it all the more realistic and believable.

I am not usually a fan of wild west books but lately I have discovered that there are some interesting stories out there of survival, determination and men (and women) of courage.

I read this book as part of my '2017 read off my shelf' challenge. It is scary how many books I have in my tbr pile and I hope this year to make a dent in it. One down and a vast unknown number to go.