Rating: 
Summary: Potentially an interesting story, but so poorly written
Review: ... and delivered that I never gained much sympathy for the characters or respect for the hard times and environment in which they lived. Luckily I have visited the Blue Ridge mountains, so I could visualize their haunting beauty without the aid of the author's descriptions. The only scene which I now remember vividly was the cruel demise of the bears. As for the ending, I suppose the author was trying to be clever, but I had to read it several times hoping to get closure for 500 or so pages of effort.
Rating:
Summary: HATED IT!
Review: I really hate to be negative about any book and of course I don't want to insult the author, but I found this book incredibly dull. I was barely able to get through the entire book. I mostly skimmed the chapters about Inman waiting for something interesting to happen. The chapters about Ada and Ruby were slightly more readable, but not enough to make the book interesting. None of the characters drew me in. I read this book because I kept hearing how good this book was. I know i'm in the minority but I wouldn't recomend this book to anyone.
Rating: 
Summary: I liked it, but can understand if others don't
Review: I liked it because I found it interesting who Inman meets on his journey back from the war to home in western North Carolina. Look forward to seeing the movie. But I can understand why the average person would be annoyed and impatient with it. It is really deep, descriptive reading
Rating: 
Summary: Read Black Flower instead
Review: Publicity certainly can put a book on the best-seller list, I suppose. But this book is so unsatisfying. It is cold and disengaged, Inman's interior monologues don't really give him an interior life, and Anna is sheer chloroform. As always it is the lower-class hillbilly woman who does all the work while Anna strenuously exhibits refined sensibilities. Actually, Anna, like most of the heroines of recent Civil War fiction --- including 'On The Occasion Of My Last Afternoon'--- are in reality 1990's urban women, with secular sensibilities and lots of The Dreaded Irony. At any rate, the book is simply flat. Why do Inman and Anna love each other? They've never exhibited a moment's heartfelt, unguarded love or even desire toward one another. All these people's personalities seem very urban contemporary --- cool, disengaged, passionless. I am giving it three stars for research and a heartfelt attempt to write well. Read the marvelous 'Black Flower' --- passed over for the National Book Award, but then, also, look at what has been being selected for the NBA and you'll see a pattern. Passionlessness is very much a current literary fashion. Spend your money on 'Black Flower', or go to the Amazon review and see what others have to say about it if you don't believe me. It is an incredible book, fierce and beautifully written. If you want to know what Civil War soldiers really thought and felt, read 'For Cause And Comrades; Why Men Fought In The Civil War'. Far from becoming cynical, as all our contemporary Civil War heroes are currently depicted, men believed deeply in their cause and their comrades, and prayed fervently. Although it is true that many North Carolina mountaineers became very disaffected with the Confederacy, on the other hand, they became ardent Union supporters. The key word here is ardent. Reviewers who disagree with a negative viewpoint on this book answer the one-star reviewers with two things; 'If you don't like Cold Mountain then surely you must like trash literature and sitcoms' and/or 'You have to struggle on through the first fifty pages and then it gets good' --- fifty pages being too long to stand there and read some pages in the bookstore to see if you like it. To read fifty pages you'd have to buy it. In regards to the wonderful 'Royal Nonesuch' review below, he's right. Give it a NBA and high-priced publicity, some hot reviews and 'If that don't fetch them, I don't know Arkansas'.
Rating: 
Summary: This book is for lovers of literature and history
Review: This book will be appreciated by those who enjoy the passage of time and the joy of learning. The characters learn about themselves, the world around them and the political climate of the world they inhabit. The reader learns about nineteenth century life, food, economics, customs and beliefs in rural, mountainous North Carolina. Cold Mountain does not read like a television sitcom - there is no gratuitious laughter or predictable endings. Instead, Frazier relates the lyrical, sad and joyous existence of Ada and Inman during the Civil War. If you want predictability, instant gratification and cheap, shallows guffaws, then by all means tune into MAD TV. If you want your perspective on history, southern culture, gender relations and war to be challenged, then read this book carefully and savor its beauty. In this book, art truly imitates life. Read Cold Mountain and experience a life outside of your own time, place and perspective.
Rating:
Summary: I knew these characters
Review: I just could not put this book down. It felt so real. Actually it was like the book moved at a real time pace, and I found that appealing. All of the character were very well defined by their time and place. What a rich and enjoyable book. I cannot wait for Mr Frazier's next novel.
Rating:
Summary: Life in every word of every sentence
Review: Frazier does a remarkable job using every word and every sentence to bring plants, insects, animals, scenery, and personalities to life. Many times I would have to stop on a sentence...and re-read, in order to grasp the depth and beauty of the writing. The characters come to life. If you ever want to be a writer and/or love fine writing, this is a must-read!
Rating:
Summary: Cold Mountain's characters lack developement
Review: I just finished Cold Mountain. It was ok, but no masterpiece. It was no Lonesome Dove. It lacks the character developement and any element of change in character(s) to even make much of a comparison. Inman was already changed in the beginning and there are only snippets of him before the war as a younger man. Ada's change is described but her role, necessary as it is, remained tedious reading throughout the book, with occasional flashes of interest. I skimmed the chapters focusing on her. It was not a waste of time though. Overall an enjoyable read.
Rating:
Summary: This book will ruin every other book for you!
Review: This book is beyond spectacular. A friend lent it to me and I started the first chapter a bit skeptical, but soon I was hooked! Ada, Inman, and Ruby are such three dimensional characters. It was fascinating to watch Ada grow from a sheltered girl into a self-sufficient woman under Ruby's tutelege. And Inman's long hard journey back to his mountain home and the woman he loved there was a wonder to read. Frazier's attention to detail truly make this novel. These details cannot help but engage the reader's full five senses. I was moved by the characters and the story and was incredibly sad when I had finished this work of art. I know that every book I read from here on out will pale in comparison!
Rating:
Summary: Superb story of humanity ,the environment,and war time
Review: The story Charles Frazier tells will always remain in my heart and mind as an opening to the seasons, the flight and knowledge of the birds, the animals and the awareness of all life wishing to stay alive. He reminds me to be aware of the regret we feel, when trying to conserve one's own life, takes another...even for food. This is an eloquently written work. A gift to the city dweller in us who will not stay listening long enough to hear the sounds Frazier finds in the woods and streams of this world. Frazier reminds us that it is the journey that is important, not just a perceived happy ending. Being alive and aware of life around us is the continuing story.
|
