Rating: 
Summary: Quite The Interesting Story
Review: A starkly realistic portrayal (albeit not outstandingly written) of life during the Civil War Era, Cold Mountain does not shrink from the facts while following the lives of Inman, a Confederate deserter, and Ada, the girl to whom he journeys. Of the many good points of the story, I found the transformation of Ada an unexpected surprise. Her phenomenal character development takes her from carefree, ingnorant city girl to a mature, hardworking down-to-earth woman. The depressing, melancholic side of the book, however, almost outweighed what little happiness and knowledge there was to be gleaned. There definetly did seem to be an excess of the blood and guts factor, with both humans and animals butchered in graphic detail. Another thing to be forewarned of is the ending, which, while perfectly fitting to such a book, can be seen coming like a freight train on the prairie. Cold Mountain is a book that one must read repeatedly in order to FULLY COMPREHEND. Therefore, I would not recommend it to the slight of mind, or even those who prefer the more common action-adventure tale. While the book Cold Mountain had its highs and lows, I must say that it is for the most part a deeply moving read and an excellent historical fiction novel.
Rating: 
Summary: Brilliant? No. Try Boring!!
Review: First of all, let me say that I did not read Cold Mountain of my own accord. I was required to read a Civil War novel for my History class, and Cold Mountain was at the top of the list.
But if you think this counts as a Civil War novel, there is something wrong with you. The story begins with the main character, Inman, in a hospital. He is recovering from an injury, and after recalling his horrible and bloody battle at St. Petersburg, he decides to go home instead of return to service. Throughout the rest of the story, Inman mentions the same battle over and over and that is all you hear about the war. So Inman begins his journey home, and we follow him through a few trials before learning about a few more characters. Ada is introduced as a pathetic city girl who's father was the preacher in Cold Mountain, but he has just passed away. Basically, Ada is not fit for farm work and has to choose between returning to Charleston or to risk starvation while waiting for Inman to return. She is in love with him and doesn't want to lose him. Ada is on the brink of starvation when Ruby shows up. Ruby is an independent black girl who comes and takes over the farm so Ada doesn't perish. All through the story we hear bland descriptions of scenery, people and the long drawn out story of Inman's journey and Ada's horrible farm life. Fraiser won an award for this? It doesn't deserve to be burned, much less to be in print. He needs to take Creative Writing 101, if he can find a teacher who will accept his crummy writing. In the story, Fraiser abuses morality, the Civil War, and the English language. It took me a long time to find anything interesting at all in the story, but eventually (at about page 150) I found something worth reading about. Anyone who can find this book exciting and gripping has no life at all! Do not read this book. I hope this review can save a lot of you readers out there time, money, and your sanity!
Rating:
Summary: A Must NOT Read
Review: For History class, we had to pick a book based on the Civil War for required reading. I decided to choose Cold Mountain because it looked interesting enough, being on top of the suggested reading list, and catching my interest with Amazon reviews online. It was also winner of the National Book Award. After I read it, I was stumbling over why it won this award.
Cold Mountain's plot is about two people trying to reunite after the Civil War. One is Inman, who is basically just wandering around meeting strangers throughout the whole book. Although not very often, he also recollects about experiences he had in the Civil War. This confused me because this book is supposedly about the Civil War, but in reality it was only mentioned it a few times throughout the entire novel. Ada, the other main character, needs help with the farm, which was passed down to her through her father, because she had never worked at a farm before in her life. Luckily, a girl named Ruby comes along and teaches her how to handle the farm. When the book focuses on Ada and Ruby, it is the same thing over and over again, Ada learning how to work on the farm, and Ada thinking about Inman. It all got very boring after a few chapters. Cold Mountain also had some sexuality included, which is inappropriate for middle school.
In conclusion, I thought this book was long and boring. I was hoping for it to mention the Civil War more often, but it rambled on and on with Inman and Ada's very sad lives. I'm still stumped as to why Cold Mountain won the National Book Award. I give this book one out of five stars. The book was so terrible; I used it to put me to sleep every night. Cold Mountain really dragged on about the same subject, which got really boring after the first couple chapters. If you have nothing better to do or have trouble getting to sleep at night, Cold Mountain is the right book for you.
Rating: 
Summary: The point of this book was?
Review: I was reqired to read a civil war book for History, and I chose Cold Mountain. A civil war novel (supposedly) and at the top of the recommended books list that was passed around in class. It is also a winner of the National Book Award. As I began reading it, I wondered why it was such a piece of work? The plot of this story involves Inman, a wounded soldier, and his trek back to his hometown of Cold Mountain to his lover, Ada. We here about the civil war maybe three times throughout the entire book, and that is when Inman tells and retells the story of his fight at Petersburg to travelers he meets along the road. We may hear about the war, but it is the same gruesome and bloody story over and over again. My first impression of the book was that Frazier, the writer, needed to take grade-school creative writing again. My sixth grade English teacher would have been apalled if I had turned something like that in to her.
So, when we are not hearing the story of Inman's travels, we hear about the pathetic city girl Ada, Inman's lover. Her father was the local pastor/preacher but just passed away. Now Ada has to figure out how to actually use her own two hands to work the farm, or head back to Charleston. Lucky for her that Ruby, an independent black girl, steps in and pretty much takes over the farm. Periodically, we hear about how Ruby is turning Ada into a hardworking farmer, and how Ada misses Inman terribly. As the book drags through all of their boring and pathetic lives, Frazier abuses morality, soldiers, and worst of all, the English language. If a book is called "heart-stopping....spellbinding", you would expect it to use better sentences than "Ada sat for hours.." and "Then she looked at Inman." If you have nothing better to do or are a civil war fanatic, then this book is for you.
Rating:
Summary: Long winded and rather pointless
Review: This book is a long, drawn out, meandering, and ultimately disappointing narrative about two people who happen to be living during the American Civil War. The book's best quality is the way it brings to life the forgotten details of life 130 years ago, such as how to churn butter and manually run a farm. But for heaven's sake, if I want to know that kind of trivia, I'll read a non-fiction historical reference. Some have called the narrative "timelessly romantic." Well, I have another word for this book's plotline: "Throwaway." Strip off the facade of irrelevant details about life in the 1800's, and what's left is a relatively shallow soap opera romance. How boring. (As an aside, I can't help but think that the author's depiction of the Confederacy is way off base. We know the northern states opposed secession; according to this narrative, most people in the south despised it even more (southern soldiers included.) Well, gee... There was SOMEONE in the Confederacy in favor of doing some seceding at some point... wasn't there??? You'd never know it by reading this book.)
Rating: 
Summary: Cold Mountain, a Civil War Love Story
Review: Cold Mountain takes place in Virginia during the Civil War. The book is about one man's quest to be reunited with his love, Ada. The title Cold Mountain refers to the town in which Ada lives.
Inman had been fighting for the Confederate Army for several years. At the start of the book, Inman has an injured neck and is staying in a hospital. Inman hates the war and misses Ada, who he barely knows, but feels he is in love. One day Inman decides to escape from the hospital and return home.
Meanwhile, Ada's father has passed away and she is in charge of his farm. She becomes friends with Ruby who helps her on the farm. Ada reads The Odyssey to Ruby. This is significant because The Odyssey is very similar to Cold Mountain in that both stories are about a man attempting to reunite with his love.
Inman's journey is an exciting one. There are many tense moments and he encounters several people who assist him in his venture. Inman has nightmares about the war and is disgusted by it. As Inman gets closer to Ada, the book focuses more on the characters' thoughts and feelings. During the journey Inman becomes cynical and feels unworthy for Ada.
Eventually, Inman is reunited with Ada. Everything is going great until there is an unexpected turn of events. To find out what happens you must read the book.
I would recommend this book to anyone who likes stories involving war, a journey, and love. Personally I don't like books that are centered on love. I think the entire plot is slightly far-fetched but Frazier does an excellent job of making it work. Cold Mountain is fairly long at 449 pages. I think the book could have been shortened to about 350 pages. The beginning caught my attention by talking about battle. When I realized the whole story was about Inman getting back together with Ada, I lost some interest but decided to keep reading. The plot would have made more sense if Inman was returning home because someone was ill rather than he was tired of the war and missed Ada. I enjoyed Inman's adventure very much and the ending took me by surprise. Overall I give Cold Mountain four out of five stars because although it was a very enjoyable book there was some room for improvement.
Rating:
Summary: A mythic and brutal odyessy through the civil war South
Review: It does take a while to really get into this book. For me, it was between 80 and a 100 pages before I was at the point of continually being drawn back to the book. I think this was the point where I started realizing and appreciating the mythic quality of the story. As Inman makes his painful journey, he meets many people, each of which have a story to tell. In the alternate chapters following Ada and Ruby, there are flashbacks. Through the stories and the flashbacks, one gets more and more of the feel of the times. This certainly isn't the glamorized South being depicted. For those reading this book during the Iraqui war, there is much to think about. Times haven't changed all that much. Apparantly, there were those who felt that the war was being fought for economic reasons, not for moral reasons. This is no fast read. Rather, it is a book to spend a bit of time with. There's a bit of fancy in it which contrasts with stark and brutal reality. It's being made into a movie, and it is quite obvious that the producers are looking for a chance to win some Oscars. You don't take a best-selling civil war novel, hire an academy award winning director and acting talent like Nicole Kidman, Renee Zellweiger & Jude Law, then set it to open Christmas Day if you're not thinking Oscar. However, the screenwriter has a challenge ahead of him, and if he turns out a script that is reasonably true to the book and yet satisfying as a movie, he will definitely deserve an Oscar. So the question is should you who are reading my review read this book? Very difficult question. It's not a real easy book. It's not packed with adventure, though there is adventure in it. It may have too much romance in it if you're looking for adventure, and too much adventure in it if you're looking for romance. However, if you are patient and don't come to the book with a lot of expectations but just allow it to work on you, I would say give it a try. If you like it, you'll probably consider it one of the best you've read. And if you don't like it...well, put it aside and give it another try in a year or so.
Rating:
Summary: Not on the bandwagon
Review: I may be the only one in the universe to feel this way, especially considering Hollywood is making a movie, but I am shocked this book has received so much critical acclaim. Purchaced for the very reason the movie is being made, awards, I clawed my way through every boring page, if only to say I finished it. The biggest tragedy of this novel was after dragging myself through the dreary, overly romanticisized landscape, the characters do not even get a happy ending. Rather, they get a this-is-real-life dramatic ending designed to impress you with the authors grasp of reality.
Nedless to restate, I was not impressed and will not go see the movie.
Rating: 
Summary: Cold Mountain: In short, a masterpiece
Review: This is one of my favourite books A story of improbable,intermitant love between Ada (a preacher's daughter) and Inman (a soldier). The story is set during the latter part of the Civil War: replete with all the sacrifices and deprivation that accompanied this era of American history. Initially, this book was a little hard to get into; but then, so beautifully written and engrossing, it became hard to put down. I must tell you that there were a few occasions in this book that literally took my breath away: descriptions of some subtle unexpected event or scene that jolts the readers senses. There is one moment of such compassionate violence that I still think of, even though I read this book a couple of years ago. In short, a masterpiece of writing and story telling: one of these rare books you hate to see come to an end.
Rating:
Summary: A West Virginia Wood-hick
Review: I am 57 years old and this is the best book I have ever read. I sure hope that he has another novel or two in him. Anyone who would give this book 2 stars is a rumnut (my word) of the first order and should be ashamed.
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