Rating: 
Summary: A book of great beauty
Review: This is not a book for the intellectually lazy. If you are willing to make the effort, however, it is a book of unusual beauty and humanism that will stay with you for a long time.
Rating:
Summary: Classic. Recommend to All Friends.
Review: This is the kind of book that wanna be authors dream of writing..it had early and insane word-of-mouth recommendations and just grew and grew in popularity..but, still remains unknown to enough people that you can be the 'cool one' and discover it for yourself and your friends/family. Gritty and real, it tells the tale of an AWOL Civil War soldier and his struggles to return - to his home, his left-behind love..and, really, his life. Never gets smarmy although it really is a love story. A great depiction of that era and the tough-as-nails people that our jelly-soft selves came from. It hurt it was so good.
Rating:
Summary: A Modern Classic
Review: This impressive first novel grabbed my attention immediately. I was enthralled with its portrait of life in the Civil War era. The characters seemed real, and I cared deeply about their fate. I couldn't put the book down and didn't want it to end. It made me long to see the mountains of North Carolina and want to learn more history. I'm looking forward to Frazier's next novel.
Rating: 
Summary: Extremely overrated
Review: I had to read this book for summer reading for AP English IV. I really wanted it to be better than what other people told me, but it was pretty much one of the most boring books I have ever read. It's extremely slow, and really hard to get into. I also had to keep re-reading pages because I was so easily distracted by other things, only because I couldn't get into the story. By the end I didn't feel like I had ever connected to any of the characters. That was the biggest problem with the book for me: I never cared about Ada or Inman, the only character I even remotely liked was Ruby, and I couldn't STAND Stobrod. Frazier doesn't give enough background on his characters to make the reader care if Inman lives or dies, or ever gets back home to Ada. In fact, I felt like Ada and Inman's romance kind of came out of nowhere. As I was reading, it seemed like Inman just really wanted someone to focus on, and Ada just didn't have anyone else. Maybe if Frazier had built up the romance more earlier, I would have cared. But as it was, I didn't.
Rating:
Summary: Good Literature
Review: It warms my heart that literature this good is being written today. A modern classic. What's amazing to me is that this is a first novel. I can't wait to read Frazier's next book. He brings a new voice to historical novels, weaving introspection and the survival tales of two lovers, he keeps you reading with hope until the very end. Lovely language is just the icing on the cake.
Rating:
Summary: A modern classic
Review: I won't try to top the excellent reviews this book has gotten here and elsewhere. I would, however, like to add my positive vote. A book this descriptive and touching I have not read in a very long time. As for the book's critics....I have a feeling these people curse the sun for rising when they get up in the mourning.
Rating: 
Summary: A stark but enthralling view of life during wartime.
Review: I was not overly fond of either of the main characters in this novel but still found their struggles and experiences rivetting. In the beginning, I was annoyed by Ada's helplessness but I enjoyed accompanying her as she learned how to survive, with the help of Ruby (who quickly became my favorite character). Inman's journey showcased both the ugliness of war and how it leaves nothing and no one untouched. I appreciated the stories of each person he met up with, especially the woman with the goats, and how each person left some impression him. I also enjoyed the attention to the details of the flora and fauna, they become a character of the story all by themselves. Despite the hardships all around they still thrived. This is not a soft view of the Civil War, at times it is downright horrible but I believe it is an honest one. I did not see this as a love story, so much as two people wanting to recapture the feelings of a few brief moments they shared before the ugliness of war changed their lives. In much the same way adults sometimes wish for the freedom of childhood. However, you can't go back and I think that is why the book ended as it did in the last chapter before the epilogue. The epilogue itself was a bit vague and confusing.
Rating:
Summary: A coldly beautiful world...
Review: This book took me a long time. I found parts of it almost unbearable violent and difficult to read, but then there were parts that were achingly beautiful. Inman and Ada, two sould dealing with the brutally new world of post-Civil War America, both go through painful journies of slef-discovery that make them extraordinarily different than they were before the war. Their re-discovery of each other at the end of the novel brings them together as equals, with maturity and balance. The language in this beeok is often gloriously evocative, and some expressions have stayed with me a long time. The title of one chapter, "Verbs, all of them tiring," comes to me when I am involved in the physical work of my own rural life, and I have a feeling of communion with Ada at those times. This is a powerful book, not easy to read, but very valuable.
Rating:
Summary: A challenge to the Mind
Review: I read this book for a school assignment. At first I thought the book was rather dull and dense with descriptions, but as I read further, I grew to like the book more and more. Many of my classmates also felt the same way. I liked the book mainly because it was different from all other Civil War books. It gave a new perspective to things. It told the story from different points of views, views that aren't normally looked at. I found that very unique and interesting. The guy in my class that would never read any of the books our class assigned or at least never finished them enjoyed the book and finished before everyone else. I admit that the details are a little difficult to bear but that just adds to the book. I really enjoyed it and think you will to, just be patient... If a high school student can be patient with it I'm pretty sure others can too.
Rating:
Summary: <yawn>
Review: I chose this book to read for summer reading at my high school last year. One of the only reason's I chose the book was beacuse I liked the teacher who recomended the book, and usually trusted her suggestions. Boy was I wrong. This slow moving story of Inman (a wounded Civil War Soldier) and his unending quest to return to his lover Ada. Slow paced, wordy and at times downright dull, I wouldn't highly recomend this book to anyone...this could possibly be one of the worst books I've read...however, if you like slow-moving, easy to follow books (or are a fan of the civil war) than this book might be of interest to you.
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