Cold Mountain : A Novel

Rating:
Summary: Hate the Ending
Review: After spending ALL that time on this book, I expected more from the ending. It wrote like a love story (a mans version of a love story). I simply believe that a female author would not let you go through all that torture, only to be let down dramatically. Don't bother to read, maybe the book of tape might suit someone better, then you can sleep through most of it.

Rating:
Summary: The most exquisite storytelling I have ever read.
Review: Imagine a story conceived by Faulkner, charactered by Steinbeck, and put to words by Updike. I have read many fine novels, but none finer. This book is a masterpiece. Thank you, Mr. Frazier.

Rating:
Summary: A very miserable read.
Review: I don't know how this book made it to the bestseller list. It was a gift from a well-meaning friend (I live in the area where the story is set), but apart from some pleasing turns of phrase and the minor interest sparked by the story of Ada, Ruby and Ruby's father, this was an unenjoyable slog. Not worth the time and effort.

Rating:
Summary: Too detailed, protracted and far-fetched
Review: Cold Mountain purports to be an American "Odyssey", but the amount of detail is overwhelming and the story line is too thin. It seems as though the author tried to incorporate every esoteric bit of research he could about the Civil War period into this novel. No glossary or supporting notes are provided to help understand the antiquated words and aspects of life in the 1860's. And the main character, Inman, apart from a thinly veiled name that describes his personality, appears throughout the book as a non-entity - just a faceless man trudging home to the girl he loves! If you love American history you might like this, but I prefer a book with more adventure and plot such as "The Quincunx" by Charles Palliser.

Rating:
Summary: Beautifully written
Review: It's just simply great. Very deep and provocative. One question though; please someone answer what is the symbolism of the crows? I know it's important...they appear throughout the book. I just can't figure out what they mean.

Rating:
Summary: The story is good, the writing itself not so great.
Review: Being a Civil War reenactor, I had to read this book. On the whole, I enjoyed it, but I felt like I was watching the action from very far away, and it felt a little awkward. People have raved about Mr. Frazier's writing and personally I found it inconsistent, and even offensive in a few places. I can deal with a character's use of profanity, but I think the storyteller can often choose better words. I felt like Mr. Frazier was trying to hard to appeal to a 20th-century audience, which rationalizes his use of profanities and his descriptions of feminine body parts. I really thought the description of the nursing woman's breast was unnecessary, not because I am prudish, but because it did not have any storytelling merit. These types of specific descriptions contrast with the incredibly vague ending: read it too fast and you may come away with the wrong idea. But the fact is, Frazier never actually comes out and says what happened to Inman; so naturally I took the optimist's viewpoint. Even after I re-read the ending I still didn't feel fulfilled. My advice: read Howard Bahr's "The Black Flower" instead.

Rating:
Summary: A powerful, memorable tale; absolutely unique.
Review: One of my favorite books. Strikingly vivid detail in a real setting, over 100 years ago. Poetic use of language, and gut-wrenching scenes. This is a masculine book that my wife loved too.

Rating:
Summary: I thought Inman's journey would never end!
Review: If you like very descriptive writing, Cold Mountain is for you. I enjoyed the character development of both Ada and Ruby. Inman on the other hand ... all I can say is that it was an extremely long and drawn out walk. Some of the characters Inman met along the way were very interesting, but he wasn't.

Rating:
Summary: Want to get depressed?
Review: If this book hadn't been given to me from a friend who wanted to know what I thought of it, I would have stopped reading after 50 pages. Yes, the book is well written, but on almost every page there is only hardship and bad luck. Every character in this book is fighting against something all the time. I couldn't believe it. And I just KNEW what the ending would be after the first few chapters. Yes, life can be tragic, but it's not this kind of struggle and I simply can't believe that during the Civil War every single day was so bad. I get enough bad news in my own life; why do I need to read about other's here?

Rating:
Summary: Good story, sparse writing, graphic violence
Review: This book was short on information and long on words. Oftentimes, I did not know what the author was talking about because of his use of jargon and very little dialogue.

The story was good, but the violence was a little too graphic for my taste. A disappointing ending as well.