Rating: 
Summary: favorable with an explaination
Review: By now you must know the story of Cold Mountain. The writing is exceptional. I rated the book, for myself, an 8. Let's talk about the other 2.I found the characters sorely lacking in tenderness. There wasn't one I would like to befriend. Even when Inman finally gets together with Ada the writing lacks warmth and love. I almost felt that the book could have been subtitled: "Cold People." In one review, Frazier was compared to Cormac McCarthy. Maybe so, maybe not yet. Still there is a parallel between the two that suggests to me that both are misanthropists. The writing is almost self-consciously exquisite. It is a fault, I think, because it concentrates on things rather than letting the characters reveal themselves with their words. A recent review in the New York Times spoke of authors who "don't make the essential point,that style serves story, that the words make human actions and feelings alive on the page" Th book is very good. It could have been remarkable.The writing is lyrical.But it is cold as Cold Mountain.
Rating: 
Summary: Ada the heart of Cold Mountain
Review: Inman gets top billing among reviewers. But his character is pretty one-dimensional. Frazier hints at the irrevocable ravages of the war, but never really delivers in depth. Inman is sort of the Schwarzenegger of the novel, lots of action, not much substance. We get a much better sense of Ada, where she's been, how she's changed and why. She's a whole lot more interesting. Perhaps the only shortcoming in an otherwise brilliant novel
Rating:
Summary: Haunting, Thrilling and Full of Wonder
Review: Seldom have I read a novel with the power to fill nearly all my waking thoughts for days. This novel of dedication, hard work and hard times brings to light a era in our history when the disparity of the classes was extreme (like today?). The actions of two educated people (Inman and Ada) sometimes goes contrary to their education but always tends toward the common goal of survival. A novel of our past and for our times. Having often tread upon the trails of the Appliachian Mountains I felt every step Inman took and saw every hardship and shared every bit of loneliness Ada endured
Rating:
Summary: A book without peer
Review: This is the finest modern American novel I have read to date. The language, the recurring themes of identity, of loss, of nature viewed by man and how it reveals itself, all are powerful and haunting. I finished this book over two weeks ago and find myself unable to read other works of fiction - they pale by comparison. I agree that this is a modern classic and belongs in curricula across the country
Rating:
Summary: Cold Mountain
Review: This novel is compelling and fascinating
Rating:
Summary: Write your name and address in this one.....
Review: ...or you won't get it back. This is one I will keep in my bookcase and give away copies of the paperback (when it comes out).
I read this as I sat at my home in the Blue Ridge Mountains. It is a wonderful book. Frazier's use of the language of the time, and the jargon caught the flavor of the mountain people so well. I felt compelled to read a chapter and then would have to stop and think about what I had experienced.
Living in these mountains I have met these people. Ruby's father lived up the road from our place. His daughter was so like Ruby. The genteel Ada, the resourceful Innman - they ring so true.
And I so liked Charles Frazier's style - it reminded me of Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition. Each character's travel - one physical, one more spiritual going from scene to scene, story to story; much same the way Mussorgsky take you from picture to picture.
I anxiously await Charles Frazier's next book, along news of his Pulitzer Prize.
Rating:
Summary: The finest novel I've read in a decade
Review: It's hard to believe that this fine book is a first novel; Charles Frazier not only writes with power and grace, his riveting story is a 19th-century American Odyssey
Rating: 
Summary: Underwhelmed
Review: I know I'm in a tiny minority when considering the tsunami of effusive reviews for this book, but I must sheepishly admit that I agree with the reader from Virginia. Maybe I don't recognize a masterpiece when I see it, but I just found the book slow going
Rating:
Summary: Lyrical and literate
Review: I knew nothing of this book when I read it. By the second page, I knew it would be one of my favorites. Frazier's writing manages to be lyrical yet spare, and the story is gripping. Imagine my shock when, upon finishing what I thought was my own "find", I discovered it was on the bestseller list at #1
Rating:
Summary: Haunting
Review: This one grows on you. Without being aware of its impact and intensity you find yourself caught up in the richness of the language and the story's methodical but unstoppable pace. Though slow to start, once you get caught in the world of the inhabitants of Cold Mountain, the real world becomes less real and the world of Ada, Ruby, and Inman overwhelm you. Not a book to be skimmed or glossed over for every word has meaning and forms part of the web that engulfs the reader in its awesome detail of nature and the beauty and bestiality of mankind. A book not easily forgotten
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