Rating: 
Summary: Not what I expected
Review: This was not at all what I expected, and thank goodness for that. I'm not into the Civil War and picked this up tenatively. But I'm glad I did, for it is one of the best things I've come across in a long time.Well defined characters along with a great plot and dialogue makes this one of the best bets out there. It's a rare thing when the book AND the movie are great, but that's just what happened in this case. Do yourself a favor, don't pass this one up. Also recommend: McCrae's "Bark of the Dogwood."
Rating:
Summary: Civil War Epic - Survival of Body, Mind and Spirit
Review: Charles Frazier has penned a novel within the Civil war setting ... which contains so much heart-felt emotion that its popularity is achieving "Gone with the Wind" proportions. The essence of its appeal is the writing style of the author. He creates imagery and visual landscapes with words in a lyrical poetic style. He captures the reverential and popular vernacular of the era. He builds characters that are life-like and believable as if he were relating a biographical experience. His use of similes, metaphors and symbols are sublte and highly effective. The titles of each chapter provide a glimpse of the literary genius of this author ... "shadow of a crow", "the ground beneath her hands", "verbs, all of them tiring", and "ashes of roses" -- all masterpieces. He relates the stark naked beauty of the Blue Ridge Mountains, as if one were breathing the chilly misty morning air and touching the cool morning dew shimmering on the leaves of trees. He describes the life of the mountain people, capturing their courage and noble spirit. He does not spare us the harsh realities created by destruction and the resulting privation. The story begins when Inman, a soldier, is recovering in a Confederate hospital from nearly fatal wounds. He reflects on the changes war has wrought on his personality, his view of life, and how this would affect his future with Ada, his beloved sweetheart left behind in Cold Mountain, NC. As he recovers, he relives how they met and how their attraction for each other blossomed. During his recovery, he decides he can not kill any longer. Thus begins his long journey, trek back to his home. Along the way, he meets many unusual characters, all believable, who express their survival mechanisms in a variety of ways. The chapters alternate, between Inman's journey and adventures, returning to his beloved Cold Mountain, along with Ada's life, which is a struggle, to learn skills for which she is ill-prepared, cooking, farming, gardening, animal husbandry. She was a classically educated young lady with a certain near upper crust breeding. Fortunately she is befriended by a North Carolina mountain-girl native, who meets her on an equal level where through mutual agreement --- they meet each other's needs. Ruby is a hard-working farmer girl, who possesses the practical skills and physical endurance to make a farm become productive. Especially moving was a description how the self-taught fiddle (violin) player Stobrod, who also made his own violin, played music for a young dying girl, as her spirit ebbed and was leaving her physical body. He tried to slow down dance tunes to fit the occasion but just could not create a sluggish enough tempo. The girl was pleased with his playing and asked him for another but he played his full repertoire and knew no more. She challenged him to create a tune for her ... with the question, Have you never tackled it before? To which he replied, No. She said, "Best go at it. Time's short." The melody, mood, drones, and double stops he created caused the girl's mother to burst into tears ... it was a haunting tune in the Phrygian mode. The girl told him it ws the finest tune she ever heard, to which Stobrod modestly replied, "It wasn't neither." There are so many 'stories within stories' in each chapter it would be pointelss to describe more ... The book needs to be read for its imagery, charcterizations, and plot along with the many side stories of events which occur both to Inman on his trek while homeward bound and to Ada, as she and Ruby learn new skills and endure many hardships in their courageous struggle to survive. I will state I saw the film, "Cold Mountain" first and was moved to tears at least on three occasions based on that I was compelled to read the book. To my delight I discovered the film completely captured the author's words and intentions. My highest accolades to the author for writing such a deeply penetrating, soul searching and heart wrenching book. My highest praise to the film makers for keeping it true to the essence of the written word. Although, there are many more events described in the book which could *not* possibly be shown on film due to limitations of time ... a one and a half to two hours viewing... the film altered very little of the spirit and actual events depicted in the novel. This novel should not be a fast read ... it should be savored and enjoyed ... giving free range to the mind and emotions as they are deeply affected by each chapter. Erika Borsos (erikab93)
Rating: 
Summary: Loved it
Review: I could not put this book down. The characters are very well developed and pitted against amazing circumstances. I found myself caring a great deal whether they would survive all of the hardships thrown their way, and I especially found myself imagining how I would have acted in similar circumstances. The story is a little unbelievable, I think, but just within reach of reality to make it exciting. For example, the lead character, Inman basically was a cross between Rambo, MacGyver, and Natty Longstocking. Dude was a man among men. Ruby seemed even more a man among men, basically learning how to survive on her own in the wilderness at the age of eight - and she was a female! Seriously, she would kick butt at Survivor in present times. Ada was a bit more believable, but still went through an amazing transformation in a short period of time. Regardless, I would highly recommend this book and am excited to see the movie. There is a great mix between character development and action, which makes for a story that is hard to put down.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliantly Written
Review: I thought this book was terrific though it took several tries for me to really get into it. Similar to watching a British-made film where it takes a bit for my ear to get acclimated to those accents, it took a bit for me to get with the cadence of author Charles Frazier's prose-like narrative style. But once I hooked into it the results were stunning. I also saw the movie version of Cold Mountain and thought it was also a visually stunning masterpiece. What the movie director accomplished through visual cinematography, Frazier accomplished through his brilliantly crafted words. The storyline is basically one where a young man in the Confederate army is so drawn by a love for a women he but briefly knew three years earlier that he walks out of an army hospital and walks back to her and to Cold Mountain. His 300 mile journey takes him not only through the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains but also through the tragedies and struggles of war. The war that Frazier describes is not one that is fought on the grand battlefields but one that is fought by people struggling to survive. Apparently from all of the Amazon.com reviews, Cold Mountain is a love-it or hate-it type of novel. Me, I loved it and would heartily recommend it to anyone who has an appreciation for brilliant writing.
Rating:
Summary: A very rich read!
Review: Nothing like a good read set in the War of Northern Aggression!
Seriously, I am a student of the American Civil War, and read everything I can get my hands on which is relevant to the topic. Cold Mountain deals with an all too often ignored aspect of war - not the battles and leaders, but life behind the lines and the profound affect war has on the lives of loved ones left behind. However, this is not just a "war story".
Frazier spins a rich tale which explores the human quest for love. The story's protagonists, Ada and Inman, share only three meetings and one embrace before Inman leaves for the war in Virginia. The love these two feel, or think they feel, for one another is the elixir which helps them survive the three years of deprivation and grief which follow. Separated for three years, the love these two have in their hearts for one another evolves into an ideal, a hope of what they can become if they can be together again. Frazier builds a beautiful story around this need we all feel to measure our own worth by the potential we see in our relationships.
If you enjoy this read, I recommend "The Black Flower" by Howard Bahr.
Rating:
Summary: Not everyone's cup of tea, I guess
Review: Cold Mountain is superb, but it's very dense and slow moving, so it's obviously (judging from the wildly different reviews here) not for everybody. But I was held spellbound.
However, you kind of want a dictionary at your side when you read Cold Mountain, but just any dictionary won't do. Frazier uses farming terms from the era of which he writes, the American Civil War, and some of the names for those pieces of equipment simply won't appear in your pocket Webster's. But know what? Skip it. Just keep reading - and reading and reading and reading. It's a long book, but I finished it in about 2 days. It's that good.
Inman is a wounded soldier. Ada, his love, is back on Cold Mountain keeping the home fires burning. The book alternates between Ada's story of her life on the farm with Ruby, a loner who just materializes one day and offers to help run the man-less farm - and with Inman's story of trying to get back to Ada, wandering the countryside with grievous injuries, trying to keep out of the way of the bounty hunters and other baddies.
Frazier's novel is full of dense details of nature, farming, war, the countryside, and the social milieu of the 1860s. The prose is elegant, the details are said to be stunningly accurate, and the story is spellbinding. No wonder it won the National Book Award. Can't wait to see the film, tho I have trouble visualizing glamorous Renee Zelweger as the plain Ruby; if she manages to lose herself in that dificult part, she'll surely win an Oscar.
Rating: 
Summary: Poor effort by Frazier.
Review: For a more accurate portrayal of the Civil War in WNC, read Clyde Ray's "Across The Dark River".
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely loved it
Review: If you enjoy deeply felt intelligent literature, you will likely love this one. If your idea of good reading is of the "page turner" variety, you might give it a pass. Charles Frazier's hauntingly beautiful novel is a retelling of a life-changing time in American history and the lives of the residents of Cold Mountain. I have not read anything else that has moved me in such a profound way in recent memory. It is very deserving of all of the accolades that have been expressed and undeserving of the petty criticisms that have been registered here. To those, I would suggest that they try some Grisham or King perhaps and leave the good stuff to the grown-ups.
Rating:
Summary: Cold Mountain
Review: TOTALLY UNREADABLE!!!! THE MOST OVER RATED, UNREAD BESTSELLER SINCE "MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA"
Rating:
Summary: A Good Read, but a little wordy
Review: Cold Mountain is a wonderful book that fill syou with the sorrow of the war that tore our country apart for 4 bloody years. It can be very wordy in parts and draw out some parts. BUt all in all its a great book. Its one of the only books that give you a picture of the troubles faced on the homefront (in the South that is). If you don't enjoy slow moving books, this is'nt for you.
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