Rating: 
Summary: Captivating, a very good novel
Review: This is a very different war novel from recent releases in the genre like War of the Rats or The Triumph and the Glory. In fact it is more of an after the fact war novel, an examination of the emotional, social, and psychological aftermath of war. Inman is very well presented, I think anyone can really relate to his situation and empathgize with what he is going through. Five stars!
Rating:
Summary: A Beautifully Crafted Story
Review: This is a book that will remain with you always. Mr Frazier's prose captures the "flavor" of the times perfectly. This is not a book for those looking for a violence, or sex, or horror - though it has all that. The characters are strongly independent, yet Ada, Ruby, and Inman need one another to give them sustenance. I am still moved by this author's tale. Don't read this book if you are looking for King, Cornwall, or Grisham. This is literature, not a story drilled out by someone looking to make another buck.
Rating:
Summary: ABSORBING
Review: WHEW! ONCE YOU GET THROUGH THE FIRST COUPLE OF CHAPTERS, AND ESTABLISH A RELATIONSHIP WITH INMAN AND ADA, IT IS HARD TO PUT THEM OUT OF YOUR MIND. THE WORST THING ABOUT SUCH A BOOK, IS FINISHING THE LAST PAGE. REMINISCENT OF 'LES'MISERABLES'.
Rating: 
Summary: Enjoyed it, but with a few complaints
Review: I had the same problem getting into the book that others have mentioned. I put it down after a few pages and then only read it after I had read everything else in the house. Eventually I got into the book and kept awaiting the reunion, skimming the passages about plants (what was that for anyway?...yawn). The fact that the ending was sad did make me snarl a little, feel a little cheated, but my main complaint is Ruby's husband! She was the strongest, most honest person in the book and she ends up marrying a little weasel that leaves her father to die, then lives in Ada's house without permission for days while the two women go searching for dear old dad. I was appalled at her brand-new lack of judgment and offended for Ada that now all these kids of Ruby and her lousy husband ended up living with her. I also think the author could have at least MENTIONED poor Inman in the conclusion. I suffered through a lot of pages with that man and he deserved better!
Rating: 
Summary: BORING...
Review: I have no idea why everyone raves about this book. Maybe because Oprah said to? It's long, dull, slow, wordy, and tortuous to get all the way to the ending. I was extremely disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: 5 stars until the ending
Review: I know the ending was poetic. I know the ending was foreshadowed. I know the ending was beautifully written. But it was still a lame way to put down a book that I had not been able to put down.
Rating:
Summary: Spectacular
Review: Rich, substantive writing that pulls you in; so detailed and in so true a voice that I journeyed with Inman and Ada over the course of this book. Other reviewers are right to say this is not a book to be read quickly: just because this is on the bestseller list doesn't mean it's Grisham or Steel. I read a great deal, but I can count on one hand the writers who have written prose so powerful I had to put the book down. Charles Frazier is now counted among the few, and I feel deeply in his debt for the absolute privilege of having read his book.
Rating: 
Summary: Best read on an empty stomach
Review: If I had to read about what Inman and Ada ate one more time I was going to eat the darn book. Thankfully, the story ended. The author probably couldn't come up with yet one more disgusting discription of roadkill. When Inman ate the bear I burst out laughing. Yes, I know people eat bear but it was just a little farout as to how Inman got the bear in the first place. All that aside, the book is quite boring although I recognize that the author worked very hard on it. He just didn't come through for me.
Rating:
Summary: Not bad overall, but narration inconsistent.
Review: Taken in its entirety, I liked this book, however, I felt the narrator's voice was inconsistent at times. That is, he would be describing excellently and then, for some unknown reason, he would drop to a vulgar term for the object and that blew the whole scene for me. I also felt most of the scenes with Ada were drab and uninteresting. Hence, I had to fight the urge to skim those chapters. I would recommend this book, but with the warning that not all the chapters carry the same "interest factor."
Rating:
Summary: Yawn. Should have been a lot shorter.
Review: This book was OK. Would be fine for a long, long plane ride. But, they story kind of dragged, and the ending was very ho-hum. At times I thought the writing was very nice and descriptive, but for the most part I slogged through the book cuz I heard it was so good.
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