Rating: 
Summary: overwhelming
Review: I finished this book last evening. It was not an easy read, but my efforts were amptly rewarded. I've never been as touched by a story as I was by this one. This book is more poetry than prose, and it deserves to be read and read again. Today when I think back to the story I am overcome with sadness. My view of war has been forever changed.
Rating:
Summary: A cross between a mauldin Twain and the verbosity of Dickens
Review: Being an avid reader of Clancy, Ludlum, Grisham and other writers of such genre, I begin reading Cold Mountain with some apprehension. I suspected that it was a "womans-book". However, from its poignant beginning to the ironic end, I found it a "page turner", not from the action, not from the basic premise of the story-line, but from the writing and the imagery of Frazier's prose.It reminded me of Dickens type of narrative with its vivid description of society during the Civil War years yet coupled with a Twain type of tale. The travails of Innman (the hero, as it were) as he sought refuge away from the fray and futility of the Civil War kept my interest at a high level. The struggle and growth of Ada (the heroine) were interesting, if, for nothing more, you learned of the painful existence of people during those hard times. Although one hoped that there would be a "happy ending", I was not disappointed in the actual ending. Frazier has captured through imagery and prose a style long lost in American literature.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best novels of the 20th century!
Review: This novel is so outstanding that it defies description. Every paragraph is a love song to the English language. The story is mesmerizing, original, and beautiful. As for the ending, I thought it was superb. I can't guarantee that you'll love it, but I guarantee that I did, and I've read thousands of novels. A++++
Rating: 
Summary: A tired, insipid, bore - don't waste your time
Review: The hype surrounding this novel makes me wonder if Frazier is owed many favors by the community of critics. Cold Mountain was a huge disappointment. It appears that the author couldn't decide between a narrative-driven novel and a descriptive one. He ends up failing at both endeavours. The story is long, painful, and liberally scattered with side plots each of which has no apparent purpose. The descriptions are not especially vivid. They are, in fact, not especially anything. Just boring. Don't waste your time on this book unless you are a very serious Civil war buff.
Rating: 
Summary: A lovely novel
Review: I hesitated for over a year, belieiving that the hype surrounding Frazier's book had to be a set-up for disappointment, and I'm very happy to have been wrong. While I agree with other reviewers' comments here that the editing is a bit sloppy and the plot at points uneven, this is a novel that accomplishes what fiction promises and rarely delivers: a new crucible, characters so fully and finely drawn that it is possible to compare one's own life and world to their's, an altered perspective when the last page has been turned. To read Cold Mountain is to be frustrated and annoyed and astonished and hopeful by turns; to read this book is to take a long walk oneself. I'm immensely heartened that this is a first novel, and look forward to a long relationship with Frazier's future work.
Rating:
Summary: Dark and Obvious Piece of Junk Disguised as Literature
Review: This book is a cliched piece of garbage and the author should be drawn and quartered. Not only is it unrelenting in its depravity, it passes itself off as a romance. Most women I know would be instantly turned off by the vulgar and disgusting details in this work. DO NOT BUY IT. If this saves one person $20, good. Give the money to a charity instead. Sometimes it isn't better to go and read a book.
Rating: 
Summary: Tedious and Disappointing
Review: I struggled to reach the end of this book, stopping several times to pick up more interesting reads. Perhaps this book is historically accurate and the problem is that the period of time in which it is set was, for lack of a better word, tedious, but I did grow tired of the daily and detailed recounting of the hero's difficult journey home. I didn't think he was ever going to be reunited with Ada and after finishing the book, I wish he hadn't been.
Rating:
Summary: TOO DESCRIPTIVE,WITHOUT ENOUGH ACTION
Review: i STILL HAVEN'T FIGURED ALL THE HYPE ABOUT this book! I must have started it 4 times until I decided i was going to read it completely, so I could understand what everybody was talking about. One question: Did Inman die in the end after all he had endured? Maybe this is what really disappointed me. Ironically, I just finished Uncle tom's Cabin by Stowe and really enjoyed it. Would someone please explain what I obviously missed during "Cold Mountain"? I read constantly and I really missed something in this book according to the popularity on the Best Sellers list! I would appreciate hearing from anyone!!!!
Rating:
Summary: This is a great book
Review: I just wanted to say as a descendant of the Inman family that this was a wonderful book. As a geneologist this was a wonderful way to read a fictionalized version of some of the things that happend in my family. Of course Mr.Frazier took literary liscense to be able to tell such a compelling story which makes it all the better. Family members have some idea what really happened but as none of us were around then we will never know the whole truth. It is a great love story that gives a very visual accounting of the lives and times of our forefathers.
Rating:
Summary: This book did not live up to the hype.
Review: I was disappointed with the story. It was dark and uninteresting. I did not like the way it was written with no quotations so you couldn't seperate when someone was talking. It also had a bad ending. I would never call this book a love story which is what it gets billed as. Save your time. Read something else.
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