Cold Mountain : A Novel

Rating:
Summary: A simply beautiful novel...
Review: I normally don't read romantic novels and when I picked this book up, I thought it will be a journey novel. I was pleasantly surprised to find that this book was engrossing emotinally as well as riveting. The simple descriptions of the action scenes were perfectly described in a sentimental way and the way that he alternates the narrative point of view for each chapter created an uneasy tension that made you turn each page with expectation. Pick it up...

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful novel
Review: The comparison of this book to Snow Falling on Cedars is inevitable. Both books read at times not so much like a novel but as a poem- a lyrical journey rather than a structured point A to point B format. This can be a mark of great writing, to be sure, but for that reason I note there has been criticism of Cold Mountain as slow reading. This was my first inclination, as well, as I began Cold Mountain- another over-written tome by an author striving to let us know how deep they are and how many words they can use to describe a shadow cast by a tree

However, Snow Falling on Cedars sat on my bedstand for a month while I managed only several pages at any time. My mind was indeed fully engaged with the spirituality of the world of the characters and the dreamlike quality exhibited on each page. However, normally, with Snow Falling on Cedars, this was usually enough to put me to sleep. Not so with Cold Mountain.

I raced through this book- literally could not put it down over a weekend. The book is lyrical- dreamlike is an apt description for the manner in which the author approaches the setting of each scene. However, you will care about the characters in Cold Mountain in a way that makes you want to know, as soon as possible, how it all turns out. Inman, a tortured soul, weary of war and of killing (although quite adept at both, as the novel bears out) leaves the hospital unwhole in body and spirit on a journey home, the Cold Mountain of the book's title. There he hopes to claim not only a respite from the travails of war, but also the love of Ada, who he left, as so many others did, on the threshold of a normal life to the killing fields of the Civil War.

The story of a man embarking on a dangerous journey in a time of war back to the love of his life is a story as old as war itself. The Civil War is also an era which has been exhaustively written about in many forms. What the author does in this novel, however, is humanize the individuals who graced that time in a way that is truly remarkable. Thieves, liars, lapsed clergy, widows, mountain men and women, drunks, murderers, and common Southern folk- the author introduces us to them all and this, as much as the epic journey of Inman and Ada's struggles at the farm, make this novel one of the best I have ever read.

While the story of Ada developing the farm may make for a difficult task when this movie is written for the screen (as it will be) the day to day life at the farm as described by the author effectively counters the meandering of Inman (is he ever really sure as to where he was at any time?). Ada is bound to the land as much as Inman feels bound to the journey. In this way, we as readers have a grounding in the story, a home base, rather than a story which focuses solely on Inman and a "what may lie around the next bend in the road" approach. This approach would surely have worked (see The Odyssey). But the author advances the story, rather than grinding it to a halt, by alternating Ada's story with that of her suitor.

The violence in the novel can be bracing, but very well written and realistic for the times. Inman often lapsed in the novel into what I imagined as an Eastwood character, the Eastwood of his earlier, unapologetically violent movies and not his introspective "Unforgiven". Perhaps this will be the saving grace when the movie does hit the screen, at least for the box office.

The journey does come to an end in Cold Mountain, with quick violence and a fast forward to many years after the war. The journey the author takes us on is one that is not easily forgotten, with characters one thinks about long after the book is placed on the shelf. A wonderful novel and highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Cold Mountain
Review: There are no other books after you have read this. It simply outshines everything written. I felt every emotion, shared every joy, shuttered at Inman's pain. I loved this & read it several times. The most simple things and recollections of everyday life seem anew,right down to the coat of a caterpiller, the color of grass, the smell of the earth and the wretch of a fresh wound.The love story is deeper than that of Rhett & Scarlett, without the melodrama of old Hollywood. The moods & memories of a broken man will haunt you !I love this !

Rating:
Summary: One of the greatest books I've read in a while.
Review: I'd heard mixed reviews of this book. My parents said it was too slow. That seemed to be the only complaint I heard. I read it for a class. It is, without question, one of the greatest books I've read. It paints the Civil War in a way I've never seen it: that is, a white southerner who actually doesn't glorify it. Which I thought was good, great even. Contrast it with the people Tony Horwitz interviews in "Confederates in the Attic" and you'll see what I mean.

Farrell

Rating:
Summary: Good, not great
Review: Cold Mountian is a book that:

-Takes a while to get into.
-Uses no quotation marks to indicate dialogue, but rather uses dashes (like the ones I'm using for each point here), which is a little rough to get used to.
-Paints wonderful pictures of the landscape, of the way war looks, feels and smells, of the thoughts of the characters.
-Spends a lot of time in flashbacks. It seems that some chapters were only written so that one character can either be stuck somewhere and have to tell someone else about their past, or be stuck somewhere alone and get lost in thought in order to remember part of the past.
-Uses a very consistent language, one that I am sure was time-specific, except for the occasional use of profanity that seems out of place in narration, especially since I don't recall any of the characters using it.
-Is a good book. Not great, but worth a look. I don't feel that I wasted my time with it, but at the same time, I spent part of each chapter thinking about what I would get to read once I was done with this.

Rating:
Summary: A great book, one of my all time favorites.
Review: I really liked this book, all of the descriptions, and everything else in this book make it come alive to me. I really like the beginning, how Inman escapes, and Ada is slowly starving to death. THis is one of the greatest books ever, and I recommend this book to everyone.

Rating:
Summary: Slow to Warm Up, Still in My Thoughts
Review: This is not an easy book to get into. I read a chapter, put it down and waited a week to come back to it. Am I ever glad I did! It's definitely a story that slowly entangles you. I couldn't care less about the characters until a third of the book had passed, but I'm still thinking about them -- vividly -- more than a week after finishing the novel. I think about Inman especially, perhaps because of the strength of the "hero's journey" storyline that we know so well, and the briefly spotlighted, yet so lovingly written Veasey. Stick with this story.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderfule novel
Review: Charles Frazier has written a novel that succeeds on a number of levels. The story itself is interesting; following the Oddysey-esque journey of a man fleeing the Civil War (and the man it turned him into) to recapture his life. We also meet the woman he fell in love with before the war interrupted everyone's lives.

But the true success of the novel is the language. It is beautifully written, perfectly capturing the mood the writer is looking for.

If you are looking for a book that will briskly while away a few hours, look elsewhere. If you are looking for a beautifully written account of life during the end of the Civil War, buy this book and enjoy.

Rating:
Summary: Love it or hate it
Review: This book came pretty highly recommended to me, so although the beginning did not seem especially promising, I made a valiant attempt. I got as far as the end of page 135 and gave up. My rule of thumb is, if the book hasn't grabbed your attention by 1/3 of the way through, don't waste any more time.

Everyone seems to have a different opinion of the main characters, but I thought they were both flat and boring. However, I'll admit that it's a matter of taste, so let's move on to something more important. The format of the dialogue is WAY distracting! I guess Frazier's trying to write in a streamlined, "modern" style, but I'm used to dialogue that has quotes around it, not just dashes in front of it. And if the dialogue occurs in the middle of a paragrah, there is no indication of where it begins or ends! Even if it were the best book in the world I would have trouble getting around that. However, it is not the best book in the world, so I had to give up and move on to something that's a little more worthwhile. So I started Les Mis. So far, I think I made the right choice.

Rating:
Summary: One Of The Best Books I've Read.
Review: "Cold Mountain" is a Civil War tale about a wounded soldier named Inman who making conflicts with people on his way back home to his love, Ada. You will find the characters living in your head for a long time and it is thrilling and finely detailed. I strongly recommend this book to anybody who likes adventurous books. It has a very powerful story and it is very moving. Cold Mountain is a "Grade A" novel.