Rating: 
Summary: slow start...extremely detailed...ends beautifully
Review: I was a cynical college student "forced" to read this novel for my American Literature class and it is the first time in a long time that I actually enjoyed the assignment. The first few chapters were slow and it took me some time to get into the novel but once I did, I flew through it. I was moved by Inman's journey from the battlefield back to the woman he loved and left. However, what is also remarkable is Ada's journey as she opens herself up to and becomes a part of the world around her. I would recommend this book to anyone who has the chance to read it...if it seems slow and too detailed, just stick with it. I promise it's worth it!
Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful until the last 14 pages
Review: In Cold Mountain, Charles Frazier creates two wonderful characters, Ada and Inman. Inman, a deserter from the Conferderate Army, is on his way home to his beloved Ada. Ada is struggling to manage the farm after her father's death. Each is on a course of discovery and growth: Inman, to learn to live again, and Ada, how to live life competently. When they are reunited, it is wonderful. Unfortunately, Frazier falls victim to the typical modern novel syndrome: happy endings are impossible, happiness on earth is merely fleeting. Ada and Inman have a few short days together, and then no more. Bridges of Madison County in the Civil War. What a waste. It could have been a truly inspiring book.
Rating: 
Summary: A rarity today, a book that requires you to slow down
Review: The minute you begin to read this book, it's yesteryear leisurely pace takes hold. This is a book that invites you to stop and appreciate the fine things around you, including the description and detail. The reading of the book is much more important than the end of it. Time and time again I would find myself slowing down to savor a particular passage. It is somber and dignified. A classic piece of writing.
Rating:
Summary: One of the finest books I have read in years.
Review: The writing in this book is top notch. As good as the story is I think the writing style and use of words and phrases is some of the best ever written.
Rating:
Summary: Inconsistant... rather annoyingly...
Review: A great story, told lovingly and descriptively... but the language used was horribly inconsistant... the dialogue used did not reflect the period which he was describing, and the relations drawn between modern day descriptions and civil war period scenes was rather strange to experience. i failed to grasp the significance of the number three, and the exhaustive description of birds numbering three was a tad overwhelming after a bit.All and all a good read but for a National Book Prize winner, i had expected A LOT more...
Rating:
Summary: Excellent! A beautiful work with a wonderful story.
Review: Cold Mountain was an excellent tale of both a man embarking on a journy to make it home from the war and the struggles of a young women trying to live in the rugged mountains of North Carolina. Frazier told the stories of these two individuals with amazing description and emotion. The reader cannot help but feel that they are right there working alongside Ada or hiking though the mountains with Inman. I was very impressed with Frazier's ability to be able to create a story that was so well written and so captivating.
Rating:
Summary: Intruiging and Captivating! Wonderfully written
Review: Charles Frazier has wrote a terrific book. It deserves the award it has gotten. Can't wait for his next book.
Rating:
Summary: Style triumphs over Substance
Review: I bought this book after reading kudos and praises for it from many sources. I believe now that these literary critics love the style of the book, whereas most people read books for substance. Some of his "style", like not using quotation marks, annoyed and distracted from my enjoyment of the story. He did obviously know a great deal about the time period he was writing about, but his plot line was predictable and pure formula. The final showdown, if not the depressing results, was obvious from the midpoint of the book.
Rating:
Summary: An absolute load of bollocksing cobblers
Review: A long-winded, hokey, patronising, unappealing, boring and unlikely tome - and I'm only half-way through it! Thanks to those readers who have flagged the unhappy ending - I couldn't bear a 'happily ever after'!
Rating:
Summary: Reminiscent of 'Villette' and 'Lonesome Dove'
Review: A year ago my mother started forcing Cold Mountain down my throat; out of sheer perversity I refused to open my mind to the book. Dull, I thought. Not my type of book, I insisted. Last week my neighbor offered it as a back-up read. Little did I know how utterly transported I would be within 24 hours. The first chapters didn't swallow me, but gradually the book consumed me. Cold Mountain is simply a beautiful epic, with absolutely lovely writing and descriptive passages the beg the reader to dwell upon the uniqueness of their phrasing. Inman's recognition of the inhumanity of war, its absolute denial of self with its corruptive influences, compelled me beyond the type of book I normally seek. His desire for individual redemption and goodness drives him to desert--yet he himself commits atrocities which really can't be avoided. However, Inman's innate goodness makes him accessible to those wounded strangers he meets and allows the reader to see the damage of war in a farther ranging arena than the battlefield. As for Ada, her initial depression and lack of personal solvency transform themselves into a sense of self extending beyond the prettiness of silk dresses and classic literature, into a tenacity born of physical competency and an awareness of not just the beauty of art, but the art in survival.
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