Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier
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Book Reviews of Cold Mountain
Book Review: Eh
Summary: 3 Stars
The novel isn't exactly gripping and it definitely is not a light, easy read. At times I had to force myself to read this. The plot is written from the perspectives of a couple: Inman and Ada. Inman gets fed up with all of the death he is exposed to while fighting in the Civil War and embarks on an odyssey to go home while being wounded in the neck. Ada struggles to care for a large estate of land that she inherits from her father while at the same time becoming increasingly tired of the life she leads. Some of the situations described in the book are powerful and memorable, but truth be told, I finished this book three days ago and already forgot most of it.Book Review: Ultimately Left Me Cold
Summary: 2 Stars
Wounded while fighting in the Civil War, Inman, a Confederate soldier, decides to leave the hospital and walk to his home in the Blue Ridge Mountains to find Ada Munroe, the woman he loved before heading off to war. His journey will be an epic one filled with danger, death, and destruction. As he trudges towards her, Ada is in a struggle of her own - a struggle to revive her deceased father's farm and survive in a world brutalized by war.
While it had some good moments "Cold Mountain" ultimately failed to move me. It is very slow paced and at times I wondered when something was going to happen only to realize that plenty had happened including murder but it wasn't exciting enough to keep me interested. Author Charles Frazier does do a good job of depicting how horrible the Civil War was for those who fought it and for those left behind who never knew when soldiers might come and take their homes. In the end there is plenty of violence in the book, but it is written about so matter of factly that there's no emotional involvement for the reader. Frazier does create memorable characters; although Inman is a little too good and resourceful a character and Ada left me cold. Ruby is the standout character - a strong no-nonsense woman. While the focus of the book is supposed to be the love story between Inman and Ada, I felt that it wasn't developed enough and I never felt that the two of them really loved each other. Frazier tries hard by putting in some flashbacks showing how they met and their relationship before the war, but the flashbacks felt awkwardly placed and written. Finally, the ending seemed like a cop out.
"Cold Mountain" had its moments, but ultimately left me cold.
Book Review: If you have a choice, don't bother with this book
Summary: 2 Stars
My summary of this book is "Don't bother." The author decided to pass up on common formatting for conversation (you know, that whole quotes around a spoken sentence), which made it visually hard to read. The word choice was rich, but that didn't quite make up for the glacial pace. The theme is basically two sets of characters who are trying to remake themselves outside of the structure of the civil war. They wander from incident to incident, only slowly growing/changing. I plodded through it, kept afloat by one secondary character (Ruby) and the portrait of characters encountered by the wounded soldier as he traveled. But really, after that long slog through the story, I would have appreciated a slightly happier ending.Book Review: Boring....What is all the Hype about?
Summary: 2 Stars
THIS could have been a good book, but just could not hold my interest. It was boring for all but maybe 100 pages. If this book was edited down, maybe. A good story line and this would probably make a great movie. There was too much babble, i found it hard to concentrate and enjoy. This book has been winning awards???? I know several people who put it down after 100 pages. It is just not gripping, although it could have been.Book Review: Book was given the wrong condition description.
Summary: 2 Stars
Inside was fine. Disappointed as we expected to book cover to be in the very good condition category as it was listed.