Helpful Score: 11
I know that many people must have truly enjoyed this novel, but I found it to be horrible. It was almost impossible to identify with any of the characters, and especially the character of Ada was vapid and shallow. Ruby was great, but not the zelwegger type in my own imagination. Truly this book seemed like a complete waste of time. Very few redeeming qualities in any of the people featured doesn't make much of a story. Just a little too out there, in my opinion, although very historically acurate in terms of Civil War history and the era.
This book is so well written and the research the author did shows in his depiction of life during the Civil War. This is a world turned upside down by war, and the male protagonist is on a journey home after seeing humanity at its worst. Meanwhile the female lead is trying to learn how to maintain a farm after the death of her father leaves her penniless. Everyone these people encounter have stories, myths, and legends to tell. It's a travel tale in the mold of The Odyssey. There is a lot of substance here, I think it deserves a second reading to pick up on some of the themes the author left half-buried in the tale for the reader to find. There are some gruesome sections (usually having to do with hunting or battles) and there is some use of "the 'n' word" (though not in an overly pejorative way), if either of those bother you a great deal be warned.
Helpful Score: 5
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.
Helpful Score: 4
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
Helpful Score: 3
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
Helpful Score: 2
Cold Mountain is one of those books that you have to be in the exact right frame of mind to read. It took me ten years, and during that time I must've started it five times, but on my sixth effort, I picked it up and couldn't stop. You have to take your time and let the words flow over you. It's a beautiful experience of a novel and has become one of my favorite reads of all time.
Helpful Score: 2
This is one of the few times I actually liked the movie better than the book and that's not saying much. There were only a few points in the story when I really cared about what was going on. About half way through I wished I was a person who could stop reading a book in the middle, but I have a hard time not finishing a book. I'm glad I kept reading because at least I'm not a quitter, but I don't feel like I gained much by reading this book.
Most of the chapters surrounding Inman, I could have really cared less. I was really tired of the trompsing through the woods stuff. I understand what the author was doing with this book, I just didn't find it entertaining, entralling or inspiring in any way.
Most of the chapters surrounding Inman, I could have really cared less. I was really tired of the trompsing through the woods stuff. I understand what the author was doing with this book, I just didn't find it entertaining, entralling or inspiring in any way.
Helpful Score: 2
One of my favorite stories. This is truly difficult to part with but I would love it if someone else can enjoy it as much as I did. Beware, the first 100 pages or so are kind of gruesome but once you get past that the characters shine!
Helpful Score: 2
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.
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.
Helpful Score: 1
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.
Helpful Score: 1
This book is very good at putting you in the situations and helping to understand the characters and what drives them. The areas are so well written you can picture them realistically and the main characters are very strong. The southern charm is very torn apart with the Civil War as most humanity is put aside in war. Very captivating.
Helpful Score: 1
Excellent book even better than the movie. You will love it.
Helpful Score: 1
Rich in historical fact that is woven into a bitter sweet love story. Engrossing read.
Helpful Score: 1
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.
Helpful Score: 1
Cold Moutain is the best Civil War novel since Michael Shaara's The Killer Angels. Written in a style equal to that of Shelby Foote, a must read.
Helpful Score: 1
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!
Helpful Score: 1
This book was not at all what I expected. The only prior knowledge I had of it was previews from the movie, which made it look like a love story. While it is that, that is a very small part of it. The young man's journey home from a devastating war, brings him in contact with the people of the mountains who are fighting their own war of grief and poverty. The woman who waits for him, and her friend, use their resoursefulness to help others. This is a beautiful story of people living in a devastating time.
Helpful Score: 1
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.
Helpful Score: 1
The book differs quite a bit from the movie, and it took me to the middle of the book to really get into it.
Helpful Score: 1
Civil War novel chronicles a Confederate army deserter's search for home and love in the last days of the Civil War. Excellent prose.
Helpful Score: 1
Good, but sad story. It drew me in.
Helpful Score: 1
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.....
Much better than the move; the author's descriptions of the mountains landscape and character development is outstanding! a must read!
This is one of my all-time favorite books. Beautifully written.
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.
Great story about a couple separated by war. They meet, war begins and they are without each other for 4 years. Great adventures as he tries to walk home and she learns how to live of the fruits of her land. I was sad at the end, but overall the book is a wonderful adventure.
Much better than the movie. More info and well written.
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.
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.
Heartbreaking and gorgeous. Absolutely lush in its vocabulary and imagery.
This is an abridged version of the full length novel.
This was SUCH a lovely book, I couldn't put it down. It took me several tries to get started with it, not sure why, but I'm very glad I kept up with it. And if you love this one, also read his THIRTEEN MOONS, it was wonderful also. I've not seen the movie, but do want to now.
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.
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.
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.
Good civil war novel and love story - well writtten, a long but good read
An acquaintance recently asked me, "What are you reading today?" "Cold Mountain." (I had just started it.) So now he tells me, "I saw the movie. In the end ......" Well, find out for yourself. Anyway, this is an odyssey: a Civil War Ulysses who, after taking French leave from a convalescent hospital, begins his long trek home to the mountains of North Carolina. This is very well written (for a Pulitzer novel) as the narrative swings back and forth between his trek and the sweetheart left behind on Cold Mountain. It is well worth the read to examine yet another aspect of the Civil War.
This is one of my favorite books and I have purposely stayed away from the movie because of it. Charles Frazier writes beautifully, and the descriptions of the region inspired me to visit that area a while back. I recommend this book to everyone.
Excellent. Historical accuracy, excellent character development, this is one of those books that I did not want to end, kinda wish there was a sequel.
My fiancee read this book and loved it so much he bought the hardcover edition to keep in his library.
This is the worst book I ever read. The characters were weak, the story line was poor and it was a depressing tale that I really had to struggle to read.
So much better than the movie!!
I didn't know this way in book form unti'll now, but I've seen the movie a few times now and LOVEE it!!
"Powerful, majestic, moving. As close to a masterpiece as American writing is going to come these days."
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.
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.
This book was a heartbreakingly beautiful story. So much the better when you have the movie faces in your mind's eye. A magnificent novel told in haunting detail. This was one of my top five favorites.
If you saw the movie you know one version of this story. Willie Morris says, " Charles Frazier's 'Cold Mountain' is the most impressive and enthralling first novel I have read in a long time. It's a magical story, ambitious in scope, with richly developed characters and beautiful evocations of landscape' Though set in an earlier time, it is con-temporary in the profoundest sense, with resonance of 'A Farewell to Arms'." High praise comes from Rick Bass as well, "...the joy I received in reading it, will fall over every other book, so wonderful is this one. 'Cold Mountain' is one of the great accomplishments in American literature."
Beautifully written story of love and war in changing times. Hard to put down!
In 1997, Charles Frazier's debut novel Cold Mountain made publishing history when it sailed to the top of The New York Times best-seller list for sixty-one weeks, won numerous literary awards, including the National Book Award, and went on to sell over three million copies. Now, the beloved American epic returns, reissued by Grove Press to coincide with the publication of Frazier's eagerly-anticipated second novel, Thirteen Moons. Sorely wounded and fatally disillusioned in the fighting at Petersburg, a Confederate soldier named Inman decides to walk back to his home in the Blue Ridge mountains to Ada, the woman he loves. His trek across the disintegrating South brings him into intimate and sometimes lethal converse with slaves and marauders, bounty hunters and witches, both helpful and malign. At the same time, the intrepid Ada is trying to revive her father's derelict farm and learning to survive in a world where the old certainties have been swept away. As it interweaves their stories, Cold Mountain asserts itself as an authentic odyssey, hugely powerful, majestically lovely, and keenly moving.
Although the plot is compelling on its own, I loved the passages describing the wild mountains of North Carolina. I spent the summers of my childhood in a mountain retreat in NC, and the descriptive passages of the deserter's rugged homeland brought back memories. He longed for a homeland that was threatened by the Civil War; many of those same mountains are still there, but could be easily laid to waste by developers but for national park/forest designations.
This book is an soul-searching study of humanity during the Civil War.
Inman is a Southern soldier left to die in a field hospital- who decides that he wants to live and not be cannon-fodder for a cause he doesn't understand. He escapes from the hospital and begins a long walk home- hiding from both the South and North soldiers. The people he meets are both helped by him and help him in turn. Some of the interactions are heartwrenching, some humorous. The whole time he's walking, he's thinking of home, and a girl he met just before leaving for battle...
From being a comfortably-kept, lovely daughter of a preacher, Ada is moved from her genteel home on the east coast to a small farm community for the sake of her father's health. After a brief reprieve from his illness and coming to terms with the rural environment, Ada is suddenly left on her own when her father dies. Unable to cook or fend for herself, and now in the dire straits of the war, she fights a losing battle with her own hunger and ineptitude. Beaten by a rooster, hungry and totally lost as to what to do, she is met on her own porch by Ruby... another hungry soul- but one who knows how to make do with every opportunity.
Between the two of them, the women strike up a relationship for survival that turns into a deep friendship.
The story winds through the lives of the people surviving through the ravages of the final days of the Civil War, as Inman and Ada dream of their earlier lives in a more abundant, gentle time, and as their own paths draw together again.
The story is engrossing, poignant, and has a sort of justice to it, with a bittersweet ending.
(The movie, while good,and well-acted, does not do the book adequate justice.)
Inman is a Southern soldier left to die in a field hospital- who decides that he wants to live and not be cannon-fodder for a cause he doesn't understand. He escapes from the hospital and begins a long walk home- hiding from both the South and North soldiers. The people he meets are both helped by him and help him in turn. Some of the interactions are heartwrenching, some humorous. The whole time he's walking, he's thinking of home, and a girl he met just before leaving for battle...
From being a comfortably-kept, lovely daughter of a preacher, Ada is moved from her genteel home on the east coast to a small farm community for the sake of her father's health. After a brief reprieve from his illness and coming to terms with the rural environment, Ada is suddenly left on her own when her father dies. Unable to cook or fend for herself, and now in the dire straits of the war, she fights a losing battle with her own hunger and ineptitude. Beaten by a rooster, hungry and totally lost as to what to do, she is met on her own porch by Ruby... another hungry soul- but one who knows how to make do with every opportunity.
Between the two of them, the women strike up a relationship for survival that turns into a deep friendship.
The story winds through the lives of the people surviving through the ravages of the final days of the Civil War, as Inman and Ada dream of their earlier lives in a more abundant, gentle time, and as their own paths draw together again.
The story is engrossing, poignant, and has a sort of justice to it, with a bittersweet ending.
(The movie, while good,and well-acted, does not do the book adequate justice.)
I read this book twice - it was excellent!!
Great read! A bit different from the film, but just as compelling. Presents a bit more of Inman's experience, plus Ruby is a black woman (but of a similar character).
This is one of the few books that I've started that I just couldn't get through. It gave me nightmares. The writing style wasn't easy to me...it seemed as if the author was being crude for the sake of being crude. Now, I know things in the setting of the story were difficult and were crude, but I thought the story could have been written better. Crudeness can be used to emphasize, rather than in everything just for the heck of it!
This is one of those books I've had on my shelf for several years and finally decided to read. I saw the movie version of this when it first came out back in 2003 and remember really enjoying it but for some reason I kept putting off reading the book. Anyway, glad I finally got around to it...excellent novel all around!
It was written with alternating story lines taking place during the last days of the Civil War. The first tells the story of Inman, a disillusioned Confederate soldier who fails to die as expected after being seriously wounded during the battle of Petersburg. Inman decides to desert from the hospital in Richmond and walk back to Cold Mountain in North Carolina and his sweetheart, Ada. The second story line is Ada's, a Southern belle who is totally unprepared when she finds herself all alone on the family farm after her father dies.
Inman's story was very captivating and gripping as he travels through the South trying to make it home. Always on the lookout for the Home Guard, who will kill deserters on sight, he encounters people who were both kind and evil. He narrowly escapes death on several occasions and with the help of some of the people he meets, eventually makes it back to Cold Mountain and Ada who has managed to survive and prosper with the help of Ruby who teaches her how to manage the farm. But Inman arrives in the middle of a crisis for Ada and Ruby which leads to an ending that some readers have disliked but an ending that was probable given the perils of the world being devoured by war.
This novel has been described as an American Odyssey which I feel is very apropos given the great descriptions of Inman's long journey home. It is written with eloquent prose and is one of those novels that is meant to be savored and read slowly to get the full experience. I would highly recommend this one!
It was written with alternating story lines taking place during the last days of the Civil War. The first tells the story of Inman, a disillusioned Confederate soldier who fails to die as expected after being seriously wounded during the battle of Petersburg. Inman decides to desert from the hospital in Richmond and walk back to Cold Mountain in North Carolina and his sweetheart, Ada. The second story line is Ada's, a Southern belle who is totally unprepared when she finds herself all alone on the family farm after her father dies.
Inman's story was very captivating and gripping as he travels through the South trying to make it home. Always on the lookout for the Home Guard, who will kill deserters on sight, he encounters people who were both kind and evil. He narrowly escapes death on several occasions and with the help of some of the people he meets, eventually makes it back to Cold Mountain and Ada who has managed to survive and prosper with the help of Ruby who teaches her how to manage the farm. But Inman arrives in the middle of a crisis for Ada and Ruby which leads to an ending that some readers have disliked but an ending that was probable given the perils of the world being devoured by war.
This novel has been described as an American Odyssey which I feel is very apropos given the great descriptions of Inman's long journey home. It is written with eloquent prose and is one of those novels that is meant to be savored and read slowly to get the full experience. I would highly recommend this one!
Critically wounded and severely disillusioned by the fighting at Petersburg, Inman - a Confederate soldier - turns his back on the carnage of the battlefield and begins the treacherous journey to his home in the Blue Ridge Mountains and to Ada, the woman he loved before the war began. As he attempts to make his way across the mountains, through the devastated landscape of a disintegrating South, Inman comes into intimate and sometimes lethal contact with a variety of different people. Slaves and marauders, bounty hunters and witches - people who are both helpful and malign.
At the same time, the intrepid Ada struggles to revive her father's derelict farm. She had once lived a fairly affluent life - now her circumstances have been reduced to subsistence level by such a brutal war. Ada is learning to survive - and hoping to eventually thrive - in a world where all the old certainties have been irrevocably swept away.
As it masterfully interweaves both Inman's and Ada's stories, Cold Mountain: A Novel portrays an era and a landscape that is at once hugely powerful, majestically lovely, and keenly moving.
In my opinion, this was an absolutely brilliant book - a new American classic. The story was evocative of a time that was incredibly harrowing and brutal for everyone - soldiers and survivors alike. It had a reality and a poignancy to it that I found extremely moving. Cold Mountain: A Novel captures the brutality of the Civil War perfectly - I give it a definite A+! This is a book which stands in a class all its own.
At the same time, the intrepid Ada struggles to revive her father's derelict farm. She had once lived a fairly affluent life - now her circumstances have been reduced to subsistence level by such a brutal war. Ada is learning to survive - and hoping to eventually thrive - in a world where all the old certainties have been irrevocably swept away.
As it masterfully interweaves both Inman's and Ada's stories, Cold Mountain: A Novel portrays an era and a landscape that is at once hugely powerful, majestically lovely, and keenly moving.
In my opinion, this was an absolutely brilliant book - a new American classic. The story was evocative of a time that was incredibly harrowing and brutal for everyone - soldiers and survivors alike. It had a reality and a poignancy to it that I found extremely moving. Cold Mountain: A Novel captures the brutality of the Civil War perfectly - I give it a definite A+! This is a book which stands in a class all its own.
Well,I can say I tried...to finish this book.If you go to Amazon's "buy this book",you can read both good and bad reviews.I agreed with the critical one.
A Civil War Soldier deserts after the battle of Peterborough, when the Union blew up explosives in a tunnel. The story covers the harrowing events leading up to his return to his village.
This story was a good historical story, but I found it boring, dull, and depressing. It took me a whole month just to read it! I just had a hard time keeping my interest going on this story. I have the movie of this story and I have seen it, but didn't pay that much attention to it. I thought I would read the story to feel me in on confused parts of the movie, but it was too hard to keep focus on this type of wording in this book. Just not my style of wording and had trouble trying to understand it. The wording was all hick slang.
What I did get out of the story was that Ada had Inman's baby out of wedlock, a girl. I asume that Inman had died in that battle with the young boy on Cold Mountain before Ada found Inman. Ada and Inman didn't get married because he died, which I found disturbing. I think he should have survived.
You know I think the movie left that child out completely, but I am going to see that movie again and pay attention.
This story was a good historical story, but I found it boring, dull, and depressing. It took me a whole month just to read it! I just had a hard time keeping my interest going on this story. I have the movie of this story and I have seen it, but didn't pay that much attention to it. I thought I would read the story to feel me in on confused parts of the movie, but it was too hard to keep focus on this type of wording in this book. Just not my style of wording and had trouble trying to understand it. The wording was all hick slang.
What I did get out of the story was that Ada had Inman's baby out of wedlock, a girl. I asume that Inman had died in that battle with the young boy on Cold Mountain before Ada found Inman. Ada and Inman didn't get married because he died, which I found disturbing. I think he should have survived.
You know I think the movie left that child out completely, but I am going to see that movie again and pay attention.
The history of the war was fascinating for me on this one, and the endurance of the characters was touching, with all they went through.
Both book & movie were good, but the charachters are grittier in the book. There were a few hunting scenes that were hard for me to read, but I overall enjoyed it.
Loved this book!!
Excellent book. If I had to choose between the book and the movie, I'd choose the book.
Great book! Read it before seeing the movie to get the most out of it!
Hailed a masterpiece by critics and made in a major motion picture, Cold Mountain takes place during the Civil War when a confederate soldier, wounded and disallusioned decides to walk home to the Blue Ridge Mountains and the woman he loved before the war. This book interweaves the stories of both Charles and Ada (his love) to show the aftermath of the war and a country forever changed. A true tale of survival.
Read the book. Watched the movie. Both were great. I loved Bette Midler in the movie. But if you haven't read the book, its a must. Great wonderful story. Spellbounding. Loved it.
An enthralling adventure, a stirring love story, and a luminous evocation of a vanished America in all its savagery, solitude, and splendor. Post Civil War era set in the Blue Ridge Mountains.
I loved this book...and it got me through a bus ride through Spain. :)
As good as the movie! Puts you in the "Southern" mode
I liked the book and the descriptions of the toils encountered by the women during the era. The ending was depressing.
***** Very good Civil War story/love story.
A little long at times, but I really enjoyed it.
I thought it was very slow and depressing, but a lot of my friends that liked the movie liked the novel as well.
Didn't like this as much as I thought I would
Cold Mountain is the story of Inman, a wounded and soul-sick Confederate soldier who, like his literary fellow-traveler Odysseus, has quit the field of battle only to find the way home littered with impediments and prowled by adversaries. Inman's Penelope is Ada, a headstrong belle who has forsaken her place in Charleston society in order to accompany her father -- a tubercular southern gentleman turned missionary -- to a new home in the healthy mountain air of North Carolina. Frazier divides the narrative between Inman's homeward progress and Ada's struggle to make it on her own after her father dies, establishing an underlying tension that is at once subtle and irresistible.
A great fictional Civil War story laced with details of life of the
South.
South.
Just like the movie!
An epic love story, set against the background of Civil War-era America. Inman, a Confederate soldeir, makes his way back home to Ada while encountering numerous trials and tragedies along the way. This book is the basis for the Oscar-winning movie "Cold Mountain".
very good,out in movie now.
Civil war era love story. I really enjoyed it.
This is the large trade size soft cover.
Great book, far better than the movie.
Beautiful, evocative and moving.
An excellent, haunting story.
(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
The movie was wonderful-the book is better.
Someday literature classes will study the symbolism in this novel. However, to mee, it was boring with not much happening until the very end.
a great read with amazing characters and a realistic sense of the countryside.
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.
The book is so much better than the movie...still tragic but much better relationship development.
better than the movie.
One of the best books I've ever read and I read 1-2 books a week!
"As close to a masterpiece as American writing is going to come these days."
-Raleigh News & Observer
-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.
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.
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.
Civil War novel on which the movie is based
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.
An absolute MUST READ. I usually don't like contemporary books, but this one is SO beautifully written. Highly recommended.
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.
Loved this story!
Great book. Kept my attention.
The book upon which the movie was based- a southern romantic saga set in Civil War time.
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.
"A soldier wounded in the Civil War, Inman turns his back on the carnage of the battlefield and begins the treacherous journey home to Cold Mountain, and to Ada, the woman he loved before the war began"
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
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.
It is written in a dry, manner-of-fact style. Good story.
Good story and character development. You really start to feel for them and I wished the story had a happier ending.
I loved this book. I saw the movie version first. I've found that when a book is based on a movie it's better to see the movie first and then read the book later. Such was the case here. At the first of the book the story followed the book pretty closely. But as the book went on the story was quite different. In the movie the angst of Inman wanting Ada is portrayed as palpable and he talks about her often, even cries over her. But in the book you don't get that sense of his burning desire. Certainly the author makes us realize he wants her and thinks of her and certainly is trying hard to get home to her. But we see that he is busy just trying to survive in his journey home. Ada is not always at the forefront of his mind. Survival is what is foremost in his mind. So comparison between the book and movie aside I loved the detailed descriptions of Inman's journey and Ada's life on her farm. I could picture everything perfectly in my mind. SPOILER ALERT: even the ending was well written and when Ada and Inman are last together I appreciated that the author did not make the ending so sad as to make me cry. The epilogue finished out the story nicely. I will definitely read more from this author. He did his research well and used old phrases and terms not only from the area, but the area during the civil war. The way the mountain people lived, interacted, behaved and thought made me feel I had gone back in time. I am a sucker for period pieces and stories and was glad this book did not disappoint. Well done. You won't be disappointed with this one.
One of the most acclaimed novels in recent memory, Charles Fraziers 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 splendor. 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 Mountains and to Ada, the woman he loved there years before. His trek across the disintegrating South brings him into intimate and sometimes lethal converse with slaves and marauders, bounty hunters and witches, both helpful and malign. At the same time, Ada is trying to revive her father's derelict farm and learn to survive in a world where the old certainties have been swept away. As it interweaves their stories, Cold Mountain asserts itself as an authentic American Odyssey--hugely powerful, majestically lovely, and keenly moving.
The #1 national bestseller and National Book Award Winner--finally in paperback. A Confederate soldier's trek brings him into intimate and sometimes lethal converse with slaves and marauders, bounty hunters and witches, both helpful and malign, as he makes his way to his home in the Blue Ridge mountains .
The #1 national bestseller and National Book Award Winner--finally in paperback. A Confederate soldier's trek brings him into intimate and sometimes lethal converse with slaves and marauders, bounty hunters and witches, both helpful and malign, as he makes his way to his home in the Blue Ridge mountains .
Inman, a Confederate soldier is wounded and on furlough at a hospital when he decides one day to just walk away from it all. He is healing and he knows that as soon as the doctors let him go he'll be back in Virginia fighting the Federals. Completely disillusioned by war and disgusted with the acts he's witnessed, he wants only to return to his home, Cold Mountain, and to Ada, the one he loves. Ada, a southern belle raised not to work suddenly finds herself in dire straits when her father, the preacher in Cold Mountain, dies. The help leaves and with the war raging in its 4th year there's no men around to hire and run the farm. Ada finds herself wanting to stay regardless and she begins to eek out a living and runs the farm while she waits for the end of the war and the return of Inman.
The book is saga-like in that 'The Road' way, though not as terrifying. The chapters alternate between Inman and Ada. Inman's journey is long, treacherous, and filled with not only sadness but pockets of hope. Ada continues on her chosen path though it is the hardest thing she's ever done. All the while the two think of each other and their reunion - and wonder at how they'll be perceived for all the changes that have occurred.
A richly written book that really captures that essence of America on the cusp of change. Some of the descriptions of injuries and battles can border on pretty graphic, but really they aren't half as bad as others I've read. And the ending, oh the ending. It's not at all what I wanted and I'm sure you'll agree, but it is probably the only way to end this story. I was heartbroken.
The book is saga-like in that 'The Road' way, though not as terrifying. The chapters alternate between Inman and Ada. Inman's journey is long, treacherous, and filled with not only sadness but pockets of hope. Ada continues on her chosen path though it is the hardest thing she's ever done. All the while the two think of each other and their reunion - and wonder at how they'll be perceived for all the changes that have occurred.
A richly written book that really captures that essence of America on the cusp of change. Some of the descriptions of injuries and battles can border on pretty graphic, but really they aren't half as bad as others I've read. And the ending, oh the ending. It's not at all what I wanted and I'm sure you'll agree, but it is probably the only way to end this story. I was heartbroken.
Superbly written. If you watched the movie, it followed the book pretty well. The book is worth the read, you learn so much more about the characters and they are definitely worth knowing.
A little wordy on the descriptions of the landscapes, but that plays into Inman's long walk home. More adventures than recounted in the movie. I love Ruby and her views on men and war. It's a very good book, and works as a love story, an "odessey" and as historical fiction that shows the reader what the civil war meant to individuals - women, soldier, outlier, slaves, families. Details about the home gaurd and some of the crazy-desperate people were really enlightening about a time that we so often aggrandize and only learn about from the history book perspective.
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.
I just could NOT get into this book at all.
The movie was good the book is much better.
Absolutely lovely writing and characterization. A great historical novel.
A classic -- way better than the movie.
This is not the type of book that i usually read,but this was an excellent book.I really enjoyed it.
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...
List $14.95
Book in very good used condtion.
Book in very good used condtion.
I had a hard time getting into this book, but once I got through the first chapter, it was a good read.
Gripping tale of the Civil War sensitively told...
"Cold Mountain" ia a heartbreakinly beautiful story elegantly told and utterly convincing down to the last little detail"
I just saw the movie and loved it but don't think this the kind of book I would enjoy reading. The movie was wonderful!!!
Excellent!
Saw the movie--which was good until the stupid, predictable and annoying ending--but I couldn't get past the first 10 pages of the book. I found the author's style of writing just too pretentious and juvenile to let me enjoy the story. Has he never heard of quotation marks? Would it kill him to let the readers feel as if we're getting into the character's head, rather than telling us what the character said? Hey, it's just my own pet peeve. If you can get past the obnoxious attempt at eccentric prose--and the unsatisfactory ending after being dragged through months these poor character's lives--then go for it.
One of the most acclaimed novels in recent memory, it is a masterpiece 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.
A great love story about a man wounded in the civil war and his struggle to get back home. Was also a very good movie.
Powerful book. A little slow to start, but worth it in the end!
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 Mountains and to Ada, the women he loved there years before. His trek across the disintegrating South brings him into intimate and sometimes lethal converse with slaves and marauders, bounty hunters and witches, both helpful and malign. At the same time, Ada is trying to revive her fathers derelict farm and learn to survive in a world where the old certainties have been swept away.
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.
The story of lovers separated by war (the Civil War) and the equally deep friendship between two women who couldn't be more different.
After seeing the movie, I almost didn't read the book, but I am very glad I did. Terrific story and characters.
Really liked it.
Lots of hype around this book, but I couldn't get into it, mainly because it's a different genre than my usual fare. Everyone else I know loved it, but I can't give it any stars as I didn't complete it.
goes with great movie
Saw the movie, didn't care to reach the movie. Hope someone else will enjoy it.
READ A LONG TIME AGO BUT i DO REMEMBER i LIKED IT A LOT
This is a www.BookCrossing.com book with some underlining but is in good reading shape.
hardback copy
Three of the early Spenser novels. Great to have them in one volume.
"Cold Mountain is a heartbreakingly beautiful story, elegantly told and utterly convincing down to the last haunting detail."-John Berendt
This book I have listed is hardcover, some of the reviews say that it is not, just wanted to clarify.
This book I have listed is hardcover, some of the reviews say that it is not, just wanted to clarify.
The ISBN matches exactly, but this is a paperback, not a hardcover (must be wrong in the system). A good book that mixes human emotion with a Civil War backdrop.
This is not a hardcover book. It's a high quality paperback.
