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Summary: Cold Mountain Resonates with subtle power
Review: It has been a long time since a book has captured me and held me in such awe, and it still resonates . The power of this book is its language and the author's ability to render such lasting images as the slaughter of a bear, the sighting of a blue heron, a slanted house, a woman killing a goat, the snow falling and falling. The book is replete with one beautifully written scene after another; however, it goes beyond just fancy description. The characters are rich and their stories reveal truths--truths about the characters themselves (which few books do), the time period, America etc. I loved returning to this book, and I followed Inman's journey with concern and interest. This book will be read years from now, even after the "best seller" stigma some keep wanting to dismiss it with disappears. I go over the ending time and again; it is filled with such poignant emotion, but restrains itself which only heightens it all. It has to be one of the most memorable endings of book that I have read in a long time. Not since Morrison's Beloved have I been so grateful I can read, and authors like Frazier can write. This is a great great book.
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Summary: A magical, textured time-machine
Review: This book can take you to places that do not exist any longer, to a time when things were not as simple as we may like to believe. Amazing that Mr. Frazier allowed me to smell the hickory smoke from the fire, see the leaves falling from trees, hear ice crystals hitting the snow. I began to see and feel a place and time known to my great-grandfathers, and perhaps I could imagine them there. This book doesn't try to take you down any path, or teach you any lessons; it lets you touch and feel the people and the misty, confusing history of the time and come away with your own memories.
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Summary: Beautiful language, possibly the best book I've read
Review: I can't believe that the people who wrote the bad reviews read the same book that I did! The language in this novel was poetic and I found myself re-reading sentences to savor the beauty of the words. There certainly was a lot of violence but then those were violent war times. The violence was juxtaposed against incidents of human kindness. To me, this reflects the reality of life. Also, I didn't see the end coming. Like Inman, my hope for his reaching home came and went. There are no guarantees in life but we all hope for the best outcome. And sometimes we fall into dispair thinking we might not make it. Inman's and Ada's journeys were beautifully written.
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Summary: Well, I've read better...
Review: Like another reviewer here, I read CM after having read Underworld. Now, I don't like to compare books by saying that one is "better" than the other, but.....Cold Mountain just didn't stay with me. I give Frazier credit for the attempt, but the book reads like weak shot at being "epic", and can only be considered great in an era of lowered expectations. I truly hate to give up on a book (I once forced myself to finish a Tom Clancy book even though he writes like an insurance man) but CM was quite a chore. In a year that has given us the sheer story-telling power of An Instance of the Fingerpost, and the haunting brilliance of Underworld, Cold Mountain rates a 'close', but no cigar. I can't say that I would be interested in Frazier's next book
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Summary: I loved the book and hated to see it end.
Review: This was beautifully written book, and I have recommended it to all my friends. Yes, it is slow and sometimes plodding, but so was walking home to Cold Mountain. I identified with the characters of Ada and Inman, and thought them to be realistic and very special. In reading other people's opinions, I was surprised by the negativity. I guess you can't please everyone. But for this former English teacher, it was the perfect read. I look forward to Frazier's next book eagerly.
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Summary: Wonderful characters that you care about.
Review: I loved listening to this on tape. It was an unabridged version read by the author. I've walked and walked this week, not wanting to end the tape. My dogs highly recommend it! The gym has also seen alot more of me this week. It is a wonderful antidote to boring exercise. If I could find a dozen more tape sets of this caliber I'd be in great shape.
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Summary: One of the best books I ever read
Review: This book was very exciting, and it was a love story. It was the first love story I ever read and I nearly cried at the end.
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Summary: Tragic tale that presents a Civil War picture we seldom see
Review: A well-written story of a girl waiting for her man to return from war and the man deserting the Army to return to his girl. Shows part of Civil War era life that isn't normally presented-the hardships and feelings of the people of that time.
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Summary: Formula writing, fairy tale plot, inconsistent language.
Review: "Cold Mountain" is formula writing at its most ordinary. The fairy tale journey ... "and then he met an old woman ....crossed a river ..." and encountered yet another obstacle provides a predictable and unimaginative plot. A flimsy historical romance, it includes politically correct indigenous American mythology with tokenistic delivery. Unconvincing and poorly integrated into the body of the novel, his tales of Swimmer are clumsy and obtuse. His somewhat stilted writing style attempts to convey the language of the period, however it is inconsistent. The up-side is the pace of the novel, which successfully captures the slow pace of daily life and travel at that time. I can't believe what sells well in the USA ... the likes of "Bridges of Madison ..." and "A Thousand Acres" etc ... are predictable drivel. When will a truly great American writer hit the best seller lists?
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Summary: Outstanding first novel
Review: A trenchant but exquisitely written novel in which the power and magic of the author's language not only creates living beings ex nihilo but also draws the reader passionately into the unfolding of their story as a natural participant. In his first time at bat, Frazier has hit a grandslam!
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