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Summary: It's a love story, alrighty, but not between two people.
Review: Having savored the beautiful prose and chill tragedy of Cold Mountain, I was curious to read other Amazon reader reviews. Those who didn't like it appear to have been in search of a fast-paced Civil War/love story. Those who embraced it as fully as I do appear to comprehend the real object of Inman's desire, and the true source of Ada's strength: the mountain itself. Anyone whose heart is drawn toward the Blue Ridge, anyone who never really left those mountains of North Carolina, can comprehend the depth of yearning. To place the truly inhuman realities of the Civil War behind you is to be pushed and pulled with accelerating speed. Frasier managed to force this pace on the reader--to insist on a spoken cadence until Inman could actually see those mountains, and then to impel one forward, faster and faster, without sustinence, until the agonies of the visions of war and hatred finally broke like a wave on the mountain's flanks. To those readers who missed the love object the first time through: visit the Blue Ridge, climb those mountains for a while, and reread the book. You, too, will come away changed.
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Summary: An outstanding effort!
Review: Having been badly burned recently in buying something that was - inexplicably - an award-winner, I was a bit hesitant about Cold Mountain, but the cover (really!) drew me in - and I'm not sorry. I found this book a wonderful slow read. The descriptions were evocative (both the beauty of nature and the degree to which man can destroy that beauty). I thought Frazier did a tremendous job in communicating the lengths a person will go to to survive - and in Inman's case, to get home. I really felt his absolute determination. I love hiking and being in the mountains, and while Inman endures an unbearable loneliness during his trek, I also felt a great sense of peace as he journeyed through those many forests and hills.
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Summary: This will become known as a distinguished work
Review: My college-aged daughter gave me "Cold Mountain" for Christmas as she knew I am a Civil War buff and read copious amounts of historical fiction. I don't scan the best selling book lists to see what the great unwashed is reading, so I had seen none of the hype surrounding this book and knew not of its exalted place on such lists. I'm glad I went in thusly -- with open mind. The book started very slowly and for the first 100 pages it was a complete disappointment; it really wasn't a work of historic fiction and certainly was not of the genre of "The Killer Angels", which is a timeless work. However, about that time it struck me that I couldn't just race through it as I usually do while simultaneously reading some thick historic tome, for the author wrote with such care, thoroughness, and detail that I was purposefully being slowed down to enjoy the story! And what a story it was! It is fortunate that Frazier skimps on the why's and wherefor's of the War itself, because it would bog down his story. Moreover, it would be dissatisfying to the true history aficianado and boring to the strict novel reader. By about a third of the way through the book, I cared less about how this guy Inman was going to get home and started concentrating on the rich, complex tapestry of the story Frazier was composing. The word pictures, especially in describing the harsh lifestyle and the intricacies of the natural mountainous ecosystem, were intricate and impressive. Moreover, the richness of the characters and their surroundings was steadily impressive as well, from the evil Junior and his household of slatterns, to the wise Goat Lady, the lonely widow, the sin-laden and ill-fated preacher, and the people encountered by Ada and Ruby. Before I realized it, I had foresaken what I could learn from Frazier and simply became immersed in his winding, twisting tale. For those turned off by the violence of this Civil War period piece, I would just offer that this book probably more accuracurately depicts the common violence of contemporary mid-19th century rural society (akin to that depicted in the recent movie "Last of the Mohicans" from a story told a century before) than just an area affected by war. For those upset with the ending, I would respond that the pragmatist in me had already spotted how Frazier had set up the ending by showing how the vicious Home Guard would soon spot a domiciled Inman as they had other outliers before him. So I knew there would have to be a confrontation shortly after his reconciliation with Ada unless they both took to the road. In fact, I readily pictured the whole party of heroes being gunned down by Teague and his boys on their way down the mountain after the snow had melted, not caring whether females were present in the party or not (the tension of the crucial scene could have been heightened by a depiction of the fate of the cave outliers at the Guard's hand). I also wondered whether the 1874 "postscript" was included at the editors' insistence to preclude an uproar from readers' requiring endings that tie things up for them more neatly. Read the end of the story again without including the 1874 portion and all sorts of imaginatory endings present themselves! Pedantically, the publisher might consider in future printings including a more detailed and/or clear map of the terrain between Petersburg and Cold Mountain for those of us who prefer having geographic bearings. Lastly, if "The Red Badge of Courage" is the first "classic" Civil War novel with the mental ruminations and emotions from one soldier, then "Cold Mountain" with its epic journey in which two people strive to once again find themselves despite great odds, has clearly reached a similar plane.
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Summary: This book taught me how to read
Review: To everyone who complains that Cold Mountain is a slow, drawn out read, I say..."Who's in such a hurry?". I have always been a "speed reader", but when I started this book I found myself really begining to savor the words the author used to portray his beautiful love story. Cold Mountain was an exceptional novel that I am glad I read, and will recomend to my friends.
Rating: 
Summary: The most disappointing novel I've read in years
Review: I don't know why I had high expectations of this novel... maybe because the cover was simple and the colors appealing. This story was a corncrib fashioned of mahogany: obviously Frazier crafted his prose carefully and did much research before detailing the natural history of the region he describes. But his endless, almost compulsive storytelling leads one to believe that his story will ultimately be worth the trek through far too many "seamlessly's" and animals roasted on "green twigs" - and such is not the case. The story's ending is worse than disappointing - it is like a cold shove to the reader's sternum, after having been wooed through hundreds of pages of promising prose. I felt a little pissed off today after having finished the book - I coulda had a McCarthy.
Rating:
Summary: Soul-stirring, primal and dark - outstanding
Review: Cold Mountain is a fantastic tale. Inman's quest to escape from the horrors of war and return to his simple past is an uphill battle all the way. Frazier's writing syle and attention to detail paint a vivid picture of our nation's heritage, and human nature. This book should be mentioned in the same breath as the works of Faulkner, Steinbeck, and Cormac McCarthy.
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Summary: A story to be treasured with words to be tasted slowly.
Review: Mr. Frazier joins the genre of writers who use the written word to paint remarkably detailed paintings. In the class of Tolkien, Ann Rice and others, Mr. Frazier clearly demonstrates the reality of the Civil War apart from the patriotism of both sides. It is a masterpiece that requires slow reading to form the delicate word-pictures of Inman-Ada-Ruby-the Goat Woman and Ruby's Dad. It is not a "can't put down" book and yet the images created by Mr. Frazier will linger long after the book is finished. Perhaps in later editions Mr. Frazier will give us better graphics so that we can follow Inman's journey through Virginia, the Blue Ridge Mtns and Western North Carolina with the intimacy created with his wonderful style of story telling.
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Summary: I thought it was OK
Review: I am a 13 year old who read this book for a school project. I was looking forward to reading it because I heard so much about it through not only my teacher but through many newspaper articles, but when I started the book I found that I enjoyed the parts about Ada better than Inman. I just have to say that this book WAS NOT what I expected. I didn't really enjoy it. But that might be because I didn't understand what was going on. If I were on the National Book Award comitee I would have a hard time finding this as the Award Winner.
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Summary: Cold Mountain drew me in immediately .....
Review: Being from the area I wanted to read this book just to "check things out". Almost immediately I was taken in, wanting to read it fast so as to find out what was going to happen to all of these wonderful people, and then I actually started pacing myself so it wouldn't end. Now I sit here lost because it is over, but am thankful that I was a part of the intertwining of these peoples lives. It was definitely special!!
Rating:
Summary: Not quite as good as expected
Review: After reading the review in USA Today, I guess I expected a little too much. While greatly impressed with with the lyrical style of writing, I found the early and middle parts of the story quite slow. The book was obviously well researched, and the reader certainly got a strong feeling for the difficulties of the times. The characters were beautifully developed and quite believable in spite of the harshness of many. Nevertheless, while good, I did not see that as a great novel. Towards, the end, I found myself more engrossed, but through most of the book, while enjoying it, I didn't feel distressed to put it down.
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