Rating: 
Summary: Romantic and moving -- a great read!
Review: Due to a lot of business travel and long airplane trips, I've read a lot of 5-star books of late (Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, Under the Tuscan Sun, Crooked Little Heart, to name a few). But, I was very touched by Inman's spiritual and literal search for home, peace and for love. After making the long journey with him and also feeling very involved in Ada's progress, I could only be saddened by the ending. This is a "must read" if you have romance in your soul.
Rating: 
Summary: it's not that good of a book to waist your time on.
Review: Cold Moutain is way too complicated to understand.It seems like a book for people with a very high I.Q.and a high rate of intelligence to understanding and analyzing difficult novels. The book is way too boring to keep my attention but for some srange reason it did for awhile.The author, Charles Frazier, dragged on into too much detail, telling unnecessary things that had no sense.I think the book, chronologically, stunk because i lost my place more than once trying to keep up to where the next setting, and plot were heading. From the looks of what type of problems his characters faceed, the author was probably a problem child with these expierences. I have not read the final chapters, but i'm not really looking forward to it. It stunk! Overall, I think Siskel and Ebert would give this book a negative review, but since that's not a option, and they're in a good mood and so am I, I'll give it a 2 star, for effort.
Rating:
Summary: A PERFECT READING
Review: One would be hard pressed to think of any words of praise that have not already been heaped upon Charles Frazier's Civil War masterpiece "Cold Mountain." Winner of the National Book Award, it has been called "Magnificent," "Impressive and enthralling," "Magnetic." These views were shared by millions of readers who bought the book and eagerly shared it with friends.Fortunately, my task is not to amplify the accolades that "Cold Mountain" has already received but to focus on the unabridged audio version read by the author. Many have called Mr. Frazier a born storyteller, that appellation proves true in his sometimes intense, always understanding reading. Born in Asheville, North Carolina, he brings appropriate voice to the saga of Inman, a wounded Confederate soldier who leaves his regiment to begin a trek home to Ada, the woman he loves, and a farm on Cold Mountain. Set against a backdrop of the last days of the Civil War and the changes that will bring much drama is found in the people Inman meets along the way and in his relationship to the ravaged land he encounters. The recent release of "Cold Mountain" as a major motion picture starring Jude Law, Nicole Kidman, and Renee Zellweger will undoubtedly win this popular novel countless new fans.
Yet a very special pleasure is to be found in listening to the story read by its author. Mr. Frazier has said in an interview that Inman is based upon his great great uncle and his great grandfather, both of whom were soldiers in the Civil War. In effect, this is a family story beautifully imagined and related. Charles Frazier is the one man who could write it; he is the one man to give it voice. - Gail Cooke
Rating:
Summary: Please Mr. Frazier, write another!
Review: You high school and college kids who were "forced" to read this ... I hope you will look back when you are older and realize how fortunate you were to have such insightful teachers. I'm not a teacher, but I once was a student and I understand how you feel. But please read again! And *feel* it. I'm an editor, and I read a LOT every day. Various topics. Various styles of writing. "Cold Mountain" thrilled my soul at times. Mr. Frazier's detailed but never maudlin descriptions often put me right on that trail with Inman. And Ada's melancholy was palpable after Mr. Frazier detailed her day-to-day life for me, rather than just telling me "she's depressed." There were often spots in the book where I would back up and re-read a passage, and sometimes read aloud, just for the SOUND of it. The words and the way he put them together, like an intricate work in stained glass. I so admire Mr. Frazier's skill ... and the story he told with it. I read it months ago, and it still pops into my mind occasionally. (Of course, it doesn't hurt that I drive past the real Cold Mountain occasionally.) I think it's time for me to read it again.
Rating:
Summary: This is the best book I've read in 5 years! "Loved" it!
Review: This is the first book in five years of my frequent reading that I actually can say I "loved reading". It is rare for me to find a book that has such beautiful phrasing, powerful use of words, and stunning descriptions of the landscapes (both natural and human) that I want to read phrases, sentences, and whole paragrahs over and over again, just to feel them in my mouth and in my brain. But Charles Frazier is a wonderful writer and Cold Mountain is a superb book for readers who truly love language, richly-rendered characters, and enjoy probing nature's mysterious power over our lives. It is unfortunate that several members of our book club did not like this book enough to stay with it past the first few chapters. They wrote it off as being "too dark" a story. Too bad they didn't get to see the many shades of multi-colored light that this unforgetable story and the unforgetable writing brought to me. I just bought another copy (since the last person I loaned my first copy to hasn't returned it yet) and plan to reread it again in the coming months. I look forward to Mr. Frazier's next novel!
Rating: 
Summary: Literature or lackluster story telling?
Review: I always read the 1 star ratings first - I did finish this book, and despite the negative comments, some with which I agree, there are some lyrical passages of imagery in this book that provide its saving grace. For example, I vividly pictured the window that Inman looks out of every morning while in the hospital. My relationship with the book was as if I looked through that window and watched the stories as they unfolded. I can not agree that the characters were flat, but rather the book is written so that one stands apart from the action and the characters as if in viewing a mountain from miles away, or through an open window. The explanations about the farm and seasonal chores, and Ada's transformation into a "functional" character of strength was inspiring. Historical accuracy? Well, if that is what one is reading for, sure, maybe the book isn't definitively researched, but then I was reading for enjoyment. For a first novel, Frazier is stylistically sound; probably wasn't writing for those movie rights, and for this reader, provided a nice vacation from daily toil. Besides, he has a best seller AND a movie; I don't. I saw the movie before I finished the book. Yuck. While Kidman to me is always lackluster in her performance, she played the blank, flat slate to the hilt. Zelleger is perfect as Ruby, with a fantastice supporting cast, BUT the book is still better than the movie.
Rating:
Summary: A Civil War Odyssey
Review: Charles Frazier's Cold Mountain is the Civil War era cousin of Homer's legendary Odyssey. The two literary works share both a strikingly similar plot and a colossal share of critical acclaim. This year's Pulitzer Prize winner is the tale of a Confederate deserter's journey back to his home in the majestic Blue Ridge Appalachian range. Frazier, in his first novel, captures masterfully the essence of mid-19th century Confederate America using a Southern prose style which can best be described as sublime. A native of the South Carolina mountains, he combines his gifts as a knowledgeable historian, brilliant author, and childhood recipient of a number of juicy Civil War tales passed down by his great grandfather. The most unique and intriguing feature of Cold Mountain is its romantic, yet diligently researched portrayal of an America so vastly different from the one we know today. The wild brawls, gun fights, lawlessness, bartering, and general "fend for yourself" attitude of the period both shocks and excites the contemporary American who realizes his society was as such no more than 150 years ago. Also, Frazier does not hesitate to douse his novel with explicit scenes of violence and sensuality so that even the most captious of readers will be lured by Cold Mountain's intensity. He cools down the high-speed spice by taking full swan dives into the pool of profound, where he grapples with a number of philosophical issues including love, death, nationalism, and the human experience in general. Cold Mountain is a rich, entertaining, and high quality work of literature which I recommend to all.
Rating: 
Summary: Intersting Story
Review: I am a civil war buff, but Cold Mountain took a little bit to get into. Once I kept plugging through the book, I then started to enjoy it. I think the book leaves you stranded in different directions. The movie has a lot of inaccuracies, but I find it very entertaining, and I love the mountain music. Over all, I think Cold Mountain is a good book and worth your time reading.
Rating:
Summary: Lots of action, great description, page-turning story
Review: I liked this book very much. I kept turning the pages to find out what would happen next, but I had to slow down to enjoy the detailed description, setting, history, nature, and interesting vocabulary.
Here's a sample quote that I think reflects the quality of the writing:
"Ada and Ruby hoed and pulled weeds among the rows of young cabbages and turnips, collards and onions, the kind of coarse food they would mostly live on for the winter. Some weeks earlier they had prepared the garden carefully, plowing and sweetening the dirt with fireplace ashes and manure from the barn and then harrowing the cloddy ground, Ruby driving the horse while Ada rode the drag to add weight."
The author's use of verbs and specific description was an inspiration. This first time novelist was consistently great.
Some people may object to the vocabulary of the 1860's that was interspersed through out. I liked it very much.
John Dunbar
Sugar Land, TX
Rating: 
Summary: Boring
Review: When I picked up this book I was really looking forward to a good read. Boy--was I fooled. I kept reading hoping that it would get better and it didn't. The author makes up words and describes stupid stuff--like an in-depth description of the food being eaten. The plot sucked and by the end of the book I really could care less if Inman ever got home! Let alone to his "true love." There was nothing going in that direction. First book I ever threw into the trash after I read it. I was so disappointed in it that I won't even see the movie.
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