Book Reviews of Cold Mountain

So many have given this book enthusiastic reviews and called it great literature. I did not like it, nor did I consider it great writing.

I know it is fiction, but I wonder how accurately it portrays the time of the Civil War. I think the author has taken a current worldview and applied it to that time. There is no authentic Christianity in it. All of the characters that Inman meets on his travels home are crude or criminals or primative. I know that is probably to set the mood of the times, but I think there was some (if not much) geniune Christianity, true religion that gave the hopeless hope during that desperate time. Look at how many in our country turned to religion (in some form or another) after the 9/11 attacks.

I read over three-fourths of the way through it, skimmed through the rest, then just decided to not finish reading it carefully. I thought the ending was unsatisfying.

I have read books that did not have happy, neatly wrapped up endings (such as Cancer Ward, The Chosen). I do not think this book in the same category as these.

Some people may just adore this book. For some reason, I have never been able to get into it. I've attempted to read this book several times, and just lose interest. Perhaps this book will do better in the hands of another reader.

This is about a man who is making is way home from the Civil War after being injured. (Through the North Carolina Mountains) His drive is behind a woman he barely knows. The story goes back and forth between his journey and what is happening in her life as he is making his way. I enjoyed the depiction of what life was like in the mountains during this time. How hard life was. How hard you had to work to survive. I enjoyed it so much, it made me wants to learn to grow and cook like they did. Just to get the feeling

This is about a confederate soldier who decides to walk back to his home in the Blue Ridge Mountains. He goes back to see the woman he loves...

An extremely fascinating look at the culture and environs of the Smokey Mountains which I loved reading about since I visited there. A romantic story full of yearning, war, separation, passion. I enjoyed this book and recommend it as a good read.

This National Book Award Winner, made into a movie, has become a classic. It is a bit of a hard read, but the ends do justify the means. The book is spell-binding, and a must for Civil War buffs.

Sorely wounded and fatally disillusioned in the fighting at Petersburg, Inman, a Confederate soldier, decides to walk back to his home in the Blue Ridge Mtns, and to Ada, the women he loved there years before.....

Historical, Civil War era tale of a Confederate soldier's attempt to walk back home to his love, Ada, through a disintigrating South torn apart by war. At the same time Ada is trying to survive on her father's derelict farm. If you saw the movie - read the book.

A beautiful story of three characters (Ada, Ruby and Inman) and their journeys (both external and internal) while surviving a very difficult period (the Civil War.) A vey rich and colorful American Odyssey!

Civil War novel chronicles a Confederate army deserter's search for home and love in the last days of the Civil War. Excellent prose.

I, too, started this book about three times before I actually continued reading it through to the end. Not sure why I couldn't get started with it, but once I did, I loved it SO much. I think the writing is beautiful, and the ending, for me, while unexpected and sad, was very appropriate, and not a let-down at all.

Frazier manages so many remarkable things in Cold Mountain: an amazing but so subtle shift in language and mood and diction that set Ada's story apart from Inman's, and yet wove them both together; rich sensory language that fixed people and places firmly in the reader's mind; a fragile balance between grit and delicacy, civilized and barbaric, the real and the imagined; and of course, the intriguing and unlikely love story. This was a haunting and memorable book.

I just could NOT get into this book at all.

Charles Frazier's "Cold Mountain" is a masterpirce that is at once an enthralling adventure, a stirring love story, and a luminous evocation of a vanished America in all its savagery, solitude, and splendor.

Wonderful romance. Such a good book, would highly recommend. Descriptions of wonderful scenery add to the romance.

Great book, and a good movie from it. This was a very moving story, realistically told. I couldn't put it down.

Good Story

Saw the movie, didn't care to reach the movie. Hope someone else will enjoy it.

Much better than the move; the author's descriptions of the mountains landscape and character development is outstanding! a must read!

A classic -- way better than the movie.

It is written in a dry, manner-of-fact style. Good story.

This was an excellent read. I read it before I saw the movie, and the book was definitely better than the movie. Even if you saw the movie already, there was a lot more to the book.

The book is so much better than the movie...still tragic but much better relationship development.

So much more than the film! The words create strong images of the scenes in your mind. No one movie could capture the depth of this book; the struggles, the emotions, the pain and joy of the characters, or the desolate beauty of the landscape.

Frazier sets his American "Odyssey" in the waning days of the Civil War, and does a credible job with his wandering hero as he attempts to make his way home to his sweetheart. The story is fleshed out and made whole by alternating the journey with the story of the sweetheart, who is facing struggles of her own in a life turned upside-down.

I loved this book, just loved it. But it is a book that I've found folks usually loved it, or hated it. Not many in between. I even loved the movie.

I absolutely loved this book. I was drawn into the characters and journeyed with them. You, literally, never know what will be around the next corner for each character. I can't wait to read another Charles Frazier book.

Fabulous tale of an epic journey. Some chapters describe very strange events, but some how it is easy to suspend disbelief. The characters are rich and colorful. If you are familiar with the geography, it is even more interesting.

Every bit as good as the movie, if not better. I loved this book.

The story of lovers separated by war (the Civil War) and the equally deep friendship between two women who couldn't be more different.

Absolutely lovely writing and characterization. A great historical novel.

This is not the type of book that i usually read,but this was an excellent book.I really enjoyed it.

This is a www.BookCrossing.com book with some underlining but is in good reading shape.

Powerful book. A little slow to start, but worth it in the end!

Gripping tale of the Civil War sensitively told...

I had a hard time getting into this book, but once I got through the first chapter, it was a good read.

Excellent!

One of the best books I've ever read and I read 1-2 books a week!

Cold Mountain is a love story based in the Civil War era. A Confederate soldier deserts the army to walk back home to Cold Mountain to see the woman he loves. Ada is desperately trying to survive during the war. It's a very emotional story.

One of the most acclaimed novels in recent memory, Charles Franzier's Cold Mountain is a masterpiece that is at once an enthralling adventure, a stirring love story, and a luminous evocation of a vanished American in all its savagery, solitude, and splenor..

National Book Award winner

An absolute MUST READ. I usually don't like contemporary books, but this one is SO beautifully written. Highly recommended.

An excellent, haunting story.

The movie was wonderful-the book is better.

(from a review inside the front cover) This is "the best Civil War novel since Michael Shaara's 'The Killer Angels'" This book was made into a major motion picture.

This was even better than the movie (what book isn't??). Finished it in 2 days

Great book. Kept my attention.

a great read with amazing characters and a realistic sense of the countryside.

Someday literature classes will study the symbolism in this novel. However, to mee, it was boring with not much happening until the very end.

Saw the movie first and figured the book would be similar with more detail. The movie was so different from the book I'm surprised the author gave permission to the changes. The book was breathtaking in it's description of the settings, the characters, the plot. It's not an easy read but I would do it again.

The hero of Charles Frazier's beautifully written and deeply-imagined first novel is Inman, a disillusioned Confederate soldier who has failed to die as expected after being seriously wounded in battle during the last days of the Civil War. Rather than waiting to be redeployed to the front, the soul-sick Inman deserts, and embarks on a dangerous and lonely odyssey through the devastated South, heading home to North Carolina, and seeking only to be reunited with his beloved, Ada, who has herself been struggling to maintain the family farm she inherited. Cold Mountain is an unforgettable addition to the literature of one of the most important and transformational periods in American history.

Excellent book. It captures the true facts and happenings of the Civil War which most did not know. It is also a story of true loyalty and love. It is a masterpiece.

better than the movie.

A++

"As close to a masterpiece as American writing is going to come these days."
-Raleigh News & Observer

I've heard this book is excellent. I didn't read it, i watched the movie and therefore, I don't want to read the book now.

Beautiful, evocative and moving.

Civil War novel on which the movie is based

This book was just outstanding - incredibly well-written, interesting both for its historical detail and its classic romance. I loved the way the characters developed over the course of the book, and the detailed descriptions of southern civil war-era settings. I highly recommend it.

have not read

The book upon which the movie was based- a southern romantic saga set in Civil War time.

Loved this story!

The story is good - the writing is a true joy to read. I would read some sentences and paragraphs over again, just to enjoy the way Frazier used the words. He is a true wordsmith!

An incredible quiet, moving and beautiful read.

Ihear the movie was better.

Takes place during the Civil War. A woman left waiting for her man to return from war trying to farm it alone. Also tells the story of the man in the battle fields. A really good read.

Couldn't get into it so can't really rate it, never finished it.

Trust me on this one. The book is way better than the movie. It was great to learn about the Civil War from the perspective of a woman and the difficulties of living in that time.

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