The Hunter

The Hunter, first published in 1950, is a lean novel in the Hemingway tradition that captures the essence of the big-game hunt. Set in the southern Rocky Mountains, the book focuses on Monk Taylor, living in semi-isolation with Billy Trott, a native, and a half-crazed old woman, only lives to track big-game while avoiding obligations to others, including the woman, Marge, who loves him. Monk agrees to guide two easterners on a lion hunt, but in a fit of rudeness, Monk ends the hunt but is soon himself lying injured and horseless in a gully. Saved, and brought back to Marge by Billy Trott, Monk fantasizes about marriage, but when he realizes he has nothing to give her or anyone else, he once again sends her away.