Rating: 
Summary: ABSORBING
Review: WHEW! ONCE YOU GET THROUGH THE FIRST COUPLE OF CHAPTERS, AND ESTABLISH A RELATIONSHIP WITH INMAN AND ADA, IT IS HARD TO PUT THEM OUT OF YOUR MIND. THE WORST THING ABOUT SUCH A BOOK, IS FINISHING THE LAST PAGE. REMINISCENT OF 'LES'MISERABLES'.
Rating: 
Summary: Enjoyed it, but with a few complaints
Review: I had the same problem getting into the book that others have mentioned. I put it down after a few pages and then only read it after I had read everything else in the house. Eventually I got into the book and kept awaiting the reunion, skimming the passages about plants (what was that for anyway?...yawn). The fact that the ending was sad did make me snarl a little, feel a little cheated, but my main complaint is Ruby's husband! She was the strongest, most honest person in the book and she ends up marrying a little weasel that leaves her father to die, then lives in Ada's house without permission for days while the two women go searching for dear old dad. I was appalled at her brand-new lack of judgment and offended for Ada that now all these kids of Ruby and her lousy husband ended up living with her. I also think the author could have at least MENTIONED poor Inman in the conclusion. I suffered through a lot of pages with that man and he deserved better!
Rating: 
Summary: BORING...
Review: I have no idea why everyone raves about this book. Maybe because Oprah said to? It's long, dull, slow, wordy, and tortuous to get all the way to the ending. I was extremely disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: 5 stars until the ending
Review: I know the ending was poetic. I know the ending was foreshadowed. I know the ending was beautifully written. But it was still a lame way to put down a book that I had not been able to put down.
Rating:
Summary: Spectacular
Review: Rich, substantive writing that pulls you in; so detailed and in so true a voice that I journeyed with Inman and Ada over the course of this book. Other reviewers are right to say this is not a book to be read quickly: just because this is on the bestseller list doesn't mean it's Grisham or Steel. I read a great deal, but I can count on one hand the writers who have written prose so powerful I had to put the book down. Charles Frazier is now counted among the few, and I feel deeply in his debt for the absolute privilege of having read his book.
Rating: 
Summary: Best read on an empty stomach
Review: If I had to read about what Inman and Ada ate one more time I was going to eat the darn book. Thankfully, the story ended. The author probably couldn't come up with yet one more disgusting discription of roadkill. When Inman ate the bear I burst out laughing. Yes, I know people eat bear but it was just a little farout as to how Inman got the bear in the first place. All that aside, the book is quite boring although I recognize that the author worked very hard on it. He just didn't come through for me.
Rating:
Summary: Not bad overall, but narration inconsistent.
Review: Taken in its entirety, I liked this book, however, I felt the narrator's voice was inconsistent at times. That is, he would be describing excellently and then, for some unknown reason, he would drop to a vulgar term for the object and that blew the whole scene for me. I also felt most of the scenes with Ada were drab and uninteresting. Hence, I had to fight the urge to skim those chapters. I would recommend this book, but with the warning that not all the chapters carry the same "interest factor."
Rating:
Summary: Yawn. Should have been a lot shorter.
Review: This book was OK. Would be fine for a long, long plane ride. But, they story kind of dragged, and the ending was very ho-hum. At times I thought the writing was very nice and descriptive, but for the most part I slogged through the book cuz I heard it was so good.
Rating:
Summary: Take Time to Read this Book
Review: Cold Mountain was not an easy read. But once into it one had the feeling of living with the main characters. It was as if I was there walking the trails and maintaining the farm. Author had a great description of the time and the place!!!
Rating: 
Summary: good use of language, great detail, but tough to get through
Review: I bought Cold Mountain about a year ago, without much knowledge of the hype. I just finished it this week. While I'm glad I did, only Inman's encounters with the kooks he visited on his travels and the eventual meeting with Ada kept me going (and with pauses of months in between). I could have done without about 80% of Ada's tale- the first two or three chapters with Ruby painted her character clearly enough. Having said that, Frasier's use of language and his attention to detail helped me paint a clear picture of Inman's travels. I greatly enjoyed the last 100 pages (though, not necessarily the ending) as his two stories converged. And the fact that I have set up a trip to hike Cold Mountain in October probably means the book had some positive impact on me.
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