Cold Mountain : A Novel

Rating:
Summary: strong emotional feelings of pain and hope
Review: This is one of the best books that I have read in a while. I could not put the book down until I finished it. I was really concerned abot Inman. The suspense if not knowing whether or not he would make it home kept me going. I grew up in the Asheville area so any historical fiction prtaining to Western North Carolina and that time period interests me. I would recommend this book very highly. PS The book was so good that I read it in about 16 hours.

Rating:
Summary: Overall disappointing.
Review: I looked forward to reading this book; as I got further into it I was struck with the constant references to excrement, human and otherwise; graphic killings; and a series of distasteful, totally unredeeming characters that Inman meets along the way. I stuck it out til the end hoping the end would be worth it; it wasn't. I had suspected the outcome; and was disappointed to find my suspicions correct. Pluses for the book were the female charcters, Ada and Ruby. Also the extensive research and authenticity with reference to vocabulary of that time, names of flora and fauna, and things like kinds of tools. The brutal treatment of ordinary citizens during that time and the efforts taken to hunt down the outliers do have a lasting effect on the reader. But overall, I was disappointed in the actual story.

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Summary: Charles Fraizer's first book is exactly that--a first book.
Review: "Cold Mountain" is an admirable, and at times a magnificently written, first novel. The details are Faulkneresque in their simultaneous gritty and somewhat surreal qualit: there are images indelibly etched upon my literary conciousness that are as fantastically gruesome as the wretched end of Joe Christmas in "The Light in August." But unlike Faulkner, the lyrical quality of the book is not strong enough to pull off the conceit--the plot is hobbled by inordinate attention to the quotidian, and the ending is improbable--at least in the carefully crafted world of Fraizer's Cold Mountain. The book's last two chapters have the color of material written in half-hearted response to deadline or maybe just boredom/frustration with the project. All in all a good read--but I'm looking forward to a second novel which should prove to be a bit more seasoned.

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Summary: Wow!!!!!!!!!!!
Review: As a North Carolinean, this book was unbelievable--you will find the characters very real and will grow attatched to them. You will probably hate the ending--most do--but it is the perfect summation to such an emotional book.

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Summary: The longest journey in the world.
Review: I had high expectations based on the reviews, but let me tell you, I kept reading out of sure will-power to stick with it. This was the LONGEST journey in the world. While I suppose that all of the detail was good for helping me to understand life during that period of time, it bogged down what story there was and at the end, left me asking both myself and Inman, was it really worth it?

Rating:
Summary: Best book I've read in 3 years
Review: Moving, well-written, with wonderful imagery and perfectly evocative language. Has made ashes-of-roses my favorite color. No maudlin sentimentality, but enough heart to reach a crusty cynic like me.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful, beautifully written classic
Review: This book manages to be romantic without being sappy. Every phrase was exquisite; his descriptions were extraordinary.

Rating:
Summary: A well written dull story
Review: Fraziers prose is well written story but not a very interesting story to go with the prose. This book was nothing more to me than several short storys linked by Inman wandering through the woods and mountains and none of them moved me.

Rating:
Summary: A wonderful read. I loved every minute of it.
Review: While I thought the ending a bit hazy and slightly dissappointing, I still give this book high marks. The imagery and writing style were quietly superb. The character dialog and character development was terrific.

Rating:
Summary: A good histoical based romantic drama
Review: I read a review of this book while my family and I were taking a vacation in Virginia, visiting Civil War battlefields. The history of civil War interests me greatly. The book Cold Mountain interested me because it showed two sides,the soldiers view and the back home view. the story drug a little in places, it took me two months to finish the book, but I am a slow reader and often rereading details. I gave the book to two other friends to read. One of them, a Christain lady said she did not care for the ending. The other lady has not returned the book, she has had it about six months. I like to read histical based novels.