Rating: 
Summary: Bad Ending
Review: It was really an entertaining read, however it had quite an unusual ending. I really wish the author had been more specific as to what happened to the protagonist, years after the final battle.Throughout the book, the characters are well-developed, and the writing was clear enough that you always knew what was going on--that is until you reach the end. Great historic fiction, though...
Rating: 
Summary: It's Not the Destination...
Review: ...as they say, it's the journey. Cold Mountain is quite possibly the finest novel I have ever read. What is remarkable is that after reading it the first time, I immediately re-read it--something I have NEVER done with any book, fiction or non-fiction. I have also listened to the audiotape of the book during long automobile trips, with delight. And that may be the problem for some people. We are used to a world of speed, in which hurtling down the highway at 55 miles per hour seems unbearably slow. Charles Frazier has managed to capture a two-mile-per-hour world complete with pain, joy, love and longing. I think he effectivly captured the voice of the period, the way people spoke, thought and acted. Most important, he created credible characters who found in others what they lacked in themselves. It is an intensely romantic novel, leaving one with an equal sense of longing and fulfillment. But take the time to savor the journey, because the destination is worth it.
Rating: 
Summary: An admirable attempt that falls short
Review: Charles Frazier crafts an admirable first book,Cold Mountain. I will spare you the summary (if you truly need one simply scroll up or down), and leave you with my opinion.
Frazier has a gift for describing scenery vividly. As the main protagonist Inman is traveling back to his home, and his love, you can create the image of his traves in your mind. The terrain in Cold Mountain surpasses the importance of scenery, but becomes a character in the book. However, it is this verboseness that slows down the pacing of the book. It is also unfortunate that Frazier's gift for descriptive background can not be applied to his description of the characters.
Inman and Ada, the two main characters, remain one-dimensional throughout the book. Both are so dislikable, that it strains the heart to feel any compassion for them. Ruby, Ada's friend, is the only character in this book that receives any true characterization. The lack of dialogue in this book also leaves much to be desired.
If you want to discover talented new scribe to your collection, I recommend Arthur Golden, and his book, Memoirs of a Geisha. Even though the book is filled with backstabbing and questionable morals displayed by the characters, you can at least feel like you should root for them.
Rating: 
Summary: THE GRASS GROWS SLOWER ON THIS SIDE
Review: This book has a good story line which could be much better than it is. Fraizer writes a novel with great imagery. Inman's journey across the embattled south is an epic one. However, the book's biggest detractor is the slowness of the plot at times. Some parts of the book are quite entertaining and just wish to be finished whilst others feel laborious to finish. If you are a person who is fascinated with the Civil War Era this book is for you. If you are the kind of person that looks for a book which is full of excitement and is nearly impossible to put down, you will be dissapointed by this one. Its underlying plot is of excellent caliber but it is the slowness of some parts of this book that keep it from being as good as it could potentially be.
Rating:
Summary: Butterflies
Review: While reading this book, it was not easy to picture it in the setting that the author spoke of. The dialogue was uncouth and crude at times, the imagery often depicting scenes of extreme non-relevance. Perhaps implicit workings on the plot and expressions of the author, most of these things did not help the setting placement. As this book was written in 1995 it was in my opinion that this book should have as well have been written in the setting of 1995, as it would have fit much better.
Other than much of the diction and modern vernacular, the book's content and organization are very interesting. The idea of two people following separate paths that are somewhat parallel, and eventually converging, is quite readily a very original idea. Most stories focus on just the main character, and leave it at that. Cold Mountain not only focuses on Inman and Ada, two characters in seek of each other in a certain way, it also goes into detail about background information of other minor characters in the story. Furthermore the book is organized in a "every other chapter" method, where every other chapter is about a different character. One chapter Inman, one chapter Ada, it keeps the suspense going and is a page-turner.
In conclusion, Cold Mountain is a great book but has some very serious diction problems that distract from the impetuous nature of the book. If the crudeness of the writing style was fixed the book could flow much like Yosemite Falls.
Rating:
Summary: Cold Mountain, more appropriately titled Long Walk
Review: If I could sum up my sentiments in one word after reading Cold Mountain, it would be this: ambivalent. There were times in the novel in which I found Frazier's (the author) transcendentalist-infused writing style as utterly profound, yet there were also moments in which I was compelled to wish eminent doom towards the author and his characters in the novel. I attribute my dislike of the book for many reasons, but I believe the most important factor is that the book is presented in such a way as to mislead perspective readers in to what it is truely about. Civil War- history buffs beware!!! : The title of the book and the small blurb on its back are quickly demistified by the third chapter as you realize that the story is not a heroic epic set in the Civil War era, but it is about the personal growth of a man and a woman and how their "journies" converge toward one another. To further clarify that, it is literally about a journey; the book is spent much of the time talking about the protagonist's LONG walk to his home and sweetheart on Cold Mountain. The book makes use of its Civl War-setting on the bare minimum; it uses it solely to manipulate character development and give reason to the largely fatalistic, depressed, and morbid tone of the novel. The novel is very much dependent on showing character growth from start to finish, yet it is truely hard to sympathize or even relate to these people. That is because the author spends much of his time embellishing his writing with intircate, yet frivolous details about their daily lives. The characters therefore rub off as annoying as the author attempts with much redundance to reveal every little event of personal-discovery each person has, ammounting to the finale and the conluding self-realizations of each character. Yet there were times in which I did have fun reading it. If you are able to get past some of its flaws, and accept that it is soley about discovery, redemption, love, and transcendentalism, then there may be many things you might like about it as well. The dark tone is diluted by several instances of comic relief, which I thought were hilarious. The book is implemented with fantasy and folklore, which add the elements of adventure and suprise to the story line. If you have a craving for encountering blood-lust in your novels then you may consider reading this book; it has just as much gun-toting cavaliers, cliched battle scenes, and pure, unadulterated violence as any action movie you would see today. In conclusion, I would both recommend and condemn the book, but that is because it has so much to do with personal preference. I was mislead into what I was going to read, and disliked that, yet there were enjoyable moments in reading it as well.
Rating:
Summary: Two journeys, one better than the other
Review: With two intertwining journeys, Cold Mountain embodies much of the captivating spirit of Odysseus as well as the element of self-discovery in "Their Eyes Were Watching God." Inman, a traveler escaping the savagery of war, journeys toward home where he hopes to rejuvenate his "empty spirit" and rejoin with Ada, a woman of his past that stirs his heart's determination along the journey. Although wishing to escape the part of the world that is so "frequently foul," Inman finds himself encountering vile characters, some of which force Inman to discover dark themes such as death and mistrust, while others incite hope and wisdom. His physical journey, attractively stuffed with graphic battles and killings, is as well enticing as his journey of self-discovery. Inman's travels conclude with an ending both relieving and tragic, stimulating together the profound emotions that author Frazier fabricates along the way. Knit with Inman's journey is Ada's quest for self-sufficiency. Utterly incompetent in all manners of living, Ada gives up her refined skills of piano playing to learn how to cook her own dinners. Her journey, although following more of a dramatic course of self-discovery, is in itself bland and painful compared to the travels of Inman. Frazier's magnificent abilities to describe scenery are portrayed in her chapters, but oftentimes I found myself skipping one chapter ahead to read about Inman before I would go back and endure with Ada. Insightful and universal themes can be detected through both journeys, but the romanticism and epic combats come rare, appearing in a exhausting sequence of alternating chapters. Nevertheless, Cold Mountain is all in all an enjoyable novel and recommended to fall somewhere in the top middle of your list of books to read.
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Summary: Two Intertwined Lives
Review: Cold Mountain is a novel of the two intertwined lives of Ada and Inman in the years of the Civil War. Separated by distance and silence, Inman and Ada discover what it is to really love. As Inman finds his way back to Cold Mountain, he encounters obstacles - hunger, fatigue, bullet shot wounds, bounty hunters - but through them all, he perseveres. The story beautifully portrays a man's love for a woman, brings will truth to the hackneyed phrase, "I'll climb any mountain and swim any sea just to be with you." Ada, on the other hand, is struggling to keep the farm together after the death of her preacher father. With the help of a tough and pragmatic companion, Ruby, Ada learns the essentials of domestic duties. Through the progress of the story, Ada changes from one who was dependent on her father to a strong capable woman. The language in this book is beautiful; the visual imagery of the Southern wilderness is brought to life with detailed descriptions. However, these descriptions sometimes are overdosed and the heaviness of it may tend to bore the reader. Also, though Inman and Ada have strikingly similar personalities, their inexpressed feelings and distance towards their emotions is disappointing. Their love for each other is not always evident and they often seem undetached from the memory of the other. Overall, I only found a few passages truly enjoyable. My first impression of the book was very disappointing because I had been expecting one with more excitement and life. Cold Mountain comes across just as its title reveals - cold. However, reading back on it, I have begin to slightly appreciate it better. A movie based on this book, starring Jude Law, Nicole Kidman, Renée Zellweger, and Natalie Portman, will be coming out in 2003. Hopefully the movie produces will paint the characters with more life and vitality. Until then, if you really enjoy reading about the beauty of nature, Cold Mountain is an outstanding illustration. Otherwise, don't begin this book with too high expectations.
Rating:
Summary: A journey to nowhere
Review: This epic journey by a young man in search of his love during the Civil War era was a poor attempt by Charles Frazier to make this novel into a classic. Instead of telling an adventurous quest filled with exciting action, this novel was confusing at times for many different themes were introduced at inappropriate times in the novel. Even the format of this book was confusing. This novel was split into two parts, a tale of a man and a tale of a woman. I give the author some credit for writing a novel vividly, painting imaginations into the reader's head. However, I disliked the way that he failed to connect the 'two' stories together. This book could have been better if Charles Frazier concentrated more on the actual importance of the journey itself than the useless everyday events that the characters experienced.
Rating:
Summary: New Shoes
Review: Cold Mountain reaches a new, profound level of storytelling. In its simple, honest storytelling, it captures the very essence of the southern culture, as well has human behavior every step of the way. Walking around in the shoes of the main characters, Inman and Ada, readers find themselves talking to the characters of the book, and also the feelings, moral values, and values of Inman and Ada. The images drawn are so carefully detailed and vivid that at times the reader may feel as if they for a brief moment was living the characters lives, whether it be sleeping on the damp forest ground, meeting a lover, and the desparation of following a fading trail. All in all a great read, and a compelling adventure which truely exemplifies the art of storytelling, to preserve a life.
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