Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier
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Book Reviews of Cold Mountain
Book Review: Not really about "the war"; Not really supposed to be.
Summary: 5 Stars
I want to say for the record - I'm not a "love story" reader. However, this is one of the best ways to describe this book. Not just a love between two people, but the love of a place.
I read this book when it was first published and to this day, it has touched me like no other literary work. I read through some of the 1-star reviews with interest as well as the opinions of many other reviewers who found fault after fault - the plot, the historical accuracy and so forth down to the punctuation (no marks to set off dialogue) and whether or not Ada could have prevented her sole remaining cow from going dry while the chickens ran feral and the gardens grew over with weeds, etc. etc. bleh bleh bleh.
In fact, when I came to one review titled, "The South Lost, Get Over It," after laughing out loud, I knew it was time, after all these years, to weigh in.
Essentially, "Cold Mountain" is a classic love story set against the backdrop of the Civil War - not a story written to gain the approval of historians. No, it is not a book about the Civil War. Although in my opinion, Frazier does an excellent job of depicting the reality of the effects of the war on rural communities in the south.
Further, it's the story of a man's long and difficult journey home. It has all the elements of a great adventure driven by the prevailing theme of an undying love and overall, it is one of the most heartbreaking books I've read - not just because of the love story, i.e., the love between Ada and Inman, but if you have ever been far away from a home you love, and felt you might never get back, it is a sinking and sickening feeling that Frazier gets across to the reader with amazing skill.
It's not a book I'd recommend to just anyone. I can see how many would be "bored" or frustrated. I think it's a story to which one may have had to have had certain parallels in their own experiences in order to appreciate. Does that make sense? :p
Janey (Long Live the South!!) Jonze
(Just Kidding....)
Book Review: More than just a 'heroe's quest'
Summary: 5 Stars
I started reading this book four years ago, during winter break, and put it down fifty pages in, swearing that I would finish reading it as soon as projects, homework, and life let up. During the four years that I let the book sit, those fifty pages haunted me. I'd already seen the movie, knew how it would end up, more or less - but what I wanted to know was what Frazier said about it. What was the lesson about life, the aphorism I could pack up and take away with me at the story's end? When I finished reading it this time, I found it.
Some people say that this is just a regular old 'heroe's quest': man sets out on a journey to return to the woman he loves, and encounters a lot of obstacles and temptations (think: The Odyssey) along the way. And sure, Inman comes across as a hero; flawless, brave, repentant, ever-loving.
But the real hardships for him happen on the inside. His problem is not that he's being shot at during his journey home, his problem is that he himself has done shooting. Killed. That he himself has participated in the war machine, taken lives, broken some part of himself. The real question - for Inman at least - is how to recover his damaged soul. How can you love or be loved after you've done the unthinkable?
Dealing with that question, providing some sort of answer, consolation, hope, is what this story does best. If you've ever done something you think was irrevocably wrong, think you've ruined whatever chance at happiness you may have had, hurt your beloved, hurt yourself, wasted years: no matter what you've done, there is some sort of redemption for you. You can 'grieve endlessly for the loss of time and for the damage done therein. For the dead, and for your own lost self,' but in the end you can overcome it,. you can find a purpose, you can become whole again. The most powerful message of the book, the one that makes this book worth reading, that might, if you're hurting, put you back on track, is this: 'People can be mended.'
Book Review: Cold Mountain
Summary: 5 Stars
Even rustic Cold Mountain, NC feels the cold embrace of the Civil War and most of its young men answer the call to fight. Some of the more hardened stay behind and form the Home Guard, which amounts to nothing more than a group of violent men intent on delivering their own brand of justice to those they call outliers, deserters of the war.
This is the story of two people in Cold Mountain who meet, are separated by the war, and meet again, both drastically changed by the hardships they've endured. Inman, a Confederate soldier, walks away from the hospital where he's being treated for a near-fatal wound and begins his long journey to reach Ada, the one woman he hopes can save him from his despair over humanity. Ada Monroe is a socialite whose preacher father took her to the isolated backcountry of Cold Mountain, NC. When Ada's father dies shortly after the war begins, she finds herself alone and destitute. To her rescue comes Ruby, a homeless young woman who lives her life relying on natural signs. Ruby teaches Ada many life lessons, foremost of which, how to survive on her own.
While working his way back to Ada, Inman encounters every sort of danger imaginable, from men intent on killing him to wild animals. Ada encounters her own hardships, from starvation to hard living. The two work toward one another, physically and mentally, and when they meet have reached the point where their lives can merge into something truly beautiful.
Cold Mountain is a fascinating read; filled with historical and geographical information wrapped around a beautiful love story. Frazier's style is eloquent, lyrical, and mesmerizing. He uses unique phraseology relative to the time of the story and delivers characters the reader does not soon forget.
Book Review: A Dark Look on Humanity
Summary: 5 Stars
The juxtaposition of the two tales of Ada's development of her farm and Inman's journey back to her, bring out the cruelty of humanity. Ada can sit on her porch reading literature and eating warm meals while Inman walks miles through cold mountains, days without food and being subjected to unspeakable cruelties. Eventually, the cruelty of man will reach Ada and this is an important point. I found myself thinking how trivial my life is as a civilian, complaining about the stupid war in Iraq and completely ignorant of the suffering of our service men and women serving there. The message for me is how futile war in general is and how hard it is for civilians to appreciate the sacrifices made. A telling point of the story is when Inman walks by the large plantation houses and thinks how he has suffered so the slave owners can keep their way of life. The story is powerful and dark. At times I thought I could not continue reading the book, but I'm glad I fought through it.Book Review: Looking forward to reading again
Summary: 5 Stars
This award winning story takes us back to the waning years of the Civil War in the lands east of Tennessee. The story uses two action fronts to relate the struggle of one ex-confederate soldier, Inman, to reach his beloved Ada. Both are struggling just to survive. He must cross hundreds of miles of rugged terrain on foot while simultaneously avoiding those who would kill him for desertion while Ada must learn how to survive on the farm she inherited from her recently deceased father. The vocabulary and descriptions in Cold Mountain are so very rich and full of colorful imagery that it is sometimes easy to mistake the prose for poetry. And though recently published, I'm sure that this passionate novel will constitute a welcome addition to the canon of American literature. Highest recommendations.
If you saw the movie, disregard it. Doesn't even compare to this work of literature.