A Hunter's Confession

"The two greatest things about Carpenter's sterling hunting memoir is how well-informed and precise it is -- positively erudite; but never show-offish or exclusive. The second involves how much this knowing-ness is the natural tropism of the author's great and generous heart, his love for all creatures -- including the human one." -- Richard Ford

A Hunter's Confession tells the story of hunting -- both its history and the role it has played in David Carpenter's own life, including the reasons he once loved it and the dramatic hunting incident that made him give up hunting for good.

Winding through this narrative is Carpenter's exploration of the history of hunting, subsistence hunting versus hunting for sport, trophy hunting, and the meaning of the hunt for those who have written about it most eloquently. Are wild creatures somehow our property? How is the sport hunter different from the hunter who must kill game to survive? Is there some bridge that might connect Aboriginal to non-Aboriginal hunters? Carpenter ponders questions like these as he describes what hunting has meant to him and to others throughout history and in our own time.

Carpenter beautifully evokes the sensual pleasure of holding a gun, the inherent spirituality among hunters, the intense relationship between the animals and their pursuers, and the transcendent joy of hunting. Finally, he conveys poignantly how for him animals have been transformed from objects of hunting to objects of wonder.

"A lucid, provocative and often humorous exploration of an activity that has been both castigated and cherished over the years." -- Winnipeg Free Press

"A serious and sincere exploration of a hunter's enjoyment and agony over the tradition he loves." -- Sustainablog

"You can't read this book without feeling Carpenter's deep respect and reverence for the 'forest primeval,' and all the creatures in it." -- Saskatoon Star Phoenix

Winner of the Saskatchewan Book Award