An amazing read!

The story is set at the end of the US Civil War. Inman, who has endured four long and bloody years of fighting and has lost sight of its purpose, sustains what should have been a fatal wound but survives. While convalescing in a military hospital, knowing he'll be sent back to fight as soon as he's able, he decides to go AWOL and embark on a long walk back to Cold Mountain and to Ada, a woman he scarcely knows but with whom he shared some brief yet special moments before departing for the front. Ada, for her part, has been left adrift after her father's death, living on a farm in the shadow of Cold Mountain. She is well-educated for a woman of that era but lacks the practical skills for survival. Enter Ruby, a young woman recommended by Ada's neighbors to assist on the farm and set things in order. The two quickly become friends and develop a mutual respect.

The chapters alternate between Ada and Ruby's life on the farm and Inman's arduous journey back home and to his heart. We learn about Ada, left alone on the farm after her father's passing, not knowing how to manage on her own yet unwilling to give up and return to an easier life cared for by relatives in Charleston. It's fascinating to witness how Ruby, a young woman herself, takes charge and turns things around, and what they interestingly learn from each other.

Inman's journey is equally captivating as we see the people he meets along the way. To me, each situation he encounters is an opportunity to learn, a teachable moment, a nugget of wisdom about various aspects such as a person's true nature, cruelty, trust, killing, survival, comfort, protection, love and hatred, and the unwavering desire to return to one's heart, to shed the guise of a man forced to continue killing when he's lost faith in the reason behind it and simply return to love and a good and true life. His journey is made more difficult by the Home Guard, whose duty is to hunt down deserters like Inman and return them to the fighting. We learn of a group of these men who have gone rogue, losing sight of their intended purpose for something more malicious and self-serving, and the role they play in Inman's journey.

The writing is highly descriptive yet incredibly beautiful within that context, and it made me feel deeply for these characters. This is a book that I'll think about for a long time and remember as a true favorite.

A few favorite excerpts-

“Inman thought about the question. He had long since decided there was little usefulness in speculating much on what a day will bring. It led a person to the equal errors of either being dreadful or hopeful. Neither, in his experience, served to ease your mind.”

“Abundance did seem, in his experience, to be an elusive thing. Unless you counted plenty of hardship. There was ample of that. But abundance of something a man might want was a different matter.”

“To Ada, though, it seemed akin to a miracle that Stobrod, of all people, should offer himself up as proof positive that no matter what a waste one has made of one’s life, it is ever possible to find some path to redemption, however partial.”

“The air around the light seemed thick. All the bright objects close to it appeared haloed. Everything in the shadows beyond it was extinguished completely, as if never to reappear. The curve of the girl’s back, as she bent over the table seemed to Inman a shape not to be duplicated in all the time stretched out before him. A thing to fix in mind and hold, so that should he become an old man the memory might be useful, not a remedy against time but nevertheless a consolation.”

“And then she thought that you went on living one day after another, and in time you were somebody else, your previous self only like a close relative, a sister or brother, with whom you shared a past. But a different person, a separate life. Certainly neither she nor Inman were the people they had been the last time they were together. And she believed maybe she liked them both better now.”

“They were both at such an age that they stood on a cusp. They could think in one part of their minds that their whole lives stretched out before them without boundaries or limit. At the same time another part guessed that youth was about over for them and what lay ahead was another country entirely, wherein the possibilities narrowed down moment by moment.”

“That evening moon rose full from behind the ridge, and its light fell so bright as to throw crisp shadows of tree trunks and tree limbs on the snow. The pearly night seemed not day’s opposite but a new variant of it, a deputation.”

Just loved this book.

I always have a great penchant for books that excel in creating a vivid atmosphere through descriptive writing. This book undoubtedly ranks among the very best of that kind. The story itself is highly engaging, yet what I found even more captivating was the painstakingly detailed description of life during the civil war era.

From numerous movies and books, we have the perception that the south during the Civil War was all about plantations and cotton, with lovely ladies and dashing gentlemen. However, this is a south that Margaret Mitchell simply did not recognize, and it is likely a much more accurate portrayal of what the majority of southerners' lives were truly like during that time.

My one minor gripe is that you do find yourself wondering why Inman and Ada were so strongly drawn to each other. They didn't have a particularly deep relationship before he left, yet they do seem to be extremely devoted to one another. My speculation is that perhaps relationships were just vastly different in that era. People didn't engage in the modern pattern of "dating" for a year, then living together for two years, and maybe, just maybe, deciding to get married. Instead, people courted and then fairly swiftly determined whether their intended would make a suitable marriage partner. There was far more at stake than just love - financial and physical survival were integral parts of the equation.

Particular highlights for me in the book were the time he spent with the "goat lady" on the mountain and the tragic plight of the girl whose husband is deceased, her baby is ill, and her livestock are almost depleted.

I must also say a few words about the movie. I watched it prior to reading the book, and I enjoyed both, but for entirely distinct reasons. I relished the movie mostly as a star-crossed love story. As for the book, I savored it not only for the story but also for its richly descriptive narrative.

Ever wonder who it was to live in a remote countryside during the Civil War? How it was to be a solder for the confederacy when your side seemed to be losing? This is one such scenario of what it was like.

In this book, you get to see the war from both sides. Inman, a young man from Cold Mountain, goes off to fight, perhaps for glory. But instead, he is wounded and left to die on the battlefield. Miraculously, he doesn't die. He is eventually picked up and taken to a field hospital, then sent on to a regular hospital where he is pretty much left to recover on his own. When he does, he realizes that the war is not all it was cracked up to be and he doesn't want to face such odds again.

Meanwhile, Ada, whose father was a preacher from Chicago serving the Cold Mountain congregation, is struggling to make sense of her world. Her father dies, and she finds out that her inheritance is pretty much the farm where she and her father lived. A farm that wasn't run as a working enterprise. Pretty soon, the fields have gone wild and the animals are wandering at will. Without training on how to make a go of it, Ada is lost.

This is about their journey: his to get back to Cold Mountain and Ada, who he hasn't seen in four years, and hers to gain self-sufficiency and independence. For most of the book, it's a long, slow haul.

I wish I could say that I enjoyed this book. I was interested in Inman's journey, but not enough to keep reading just to find out what was happening. It was always so dark. Ada's journey was one of growth as she learned what she needed to live and the value of a good friend, but it was also almost always a struggle. Finally, in the last 25 pages, things happen and while there are some uplifting moments, even that was depressing.

I'm not sure how to describe this. It's certainly not a mystery, not a history, nor a romance. Did I learn something, was I surprised, did I cheer on the main characters? No. I disagree with the book's description that this "reveals marked insight into man's relationship to the land and the dangers of solitude," whatever that means. The same with Frazier "shares with the great nineteenth-century novelists a keen observation of a society undergoing change." I just don't get the point.

How long would you wait for your lover, if you knew not whether they were alive, and you yourself had changed almost beyond recognition?

This is a beautiful, understated, unsentimental Odyssey of quiet longing, endurance, and transformation.

"This journey will be the axle of my life."

Inman's journey is across hundreds of dangerous miles, fleeing war and trying to get to where his love lives, four years after they parted.

"She had made her way to a place where an entirely other order prevailed from what she had always known."

Ada's journey takes place within a few miles of her home.

It's no coincidence that Inman's treasured book is a travel book (whereas Ruby "held a deep distrust of travel", even to the shops).

Times are tough, but at least Ada and Inman have confidence in who and what it is they yearn for.

Most of the novel alternates between Ada’s and Inman's separate struggles to survive, with backstory gradually provided by their reminiscences. Each of Inman's chapters involves a dramatic encounter, good or bad, that sheds light on his character, as well as the trials of war and wilderness. Ada is 26, orphaned, nearly destitute, and trying to cope with a little land, but no staff or skill. The varying tempo works well.

Both Inman and Ada cultivate the art of really seeing: Inman is ever watchful, noticing every little sign in nature or people's behaviour that may signal danger (a shadow behind leaves, a blade hidden in a hairdo); Ada learns to see the signs of seasons, weather, harvest, birds, and animals.

The language is sometimes a little archaic, as it should be. Quotation marks are not used, but I didn't really feel their absence: dialog is usually prefaced with a long dash.

Although the backdrop is the American civil war, I didn't feel hampered by my relative lack of knowledge of US history. There was enough background detail to picture daily life, but the politics and the war were external to the characters, and hence to me as a reader.

Inman is a deserter: badly injured, but a deserter none-the-less. He was never a natural killer, is haunted by what he's seen (and done), and doesn't believe in the cause anyway, if he ever did. There are gangs wanting bounty for finding deserters, and desperate men who will kill for any reason and none. Coupled with his inherently peaceful and forgiving nature, repeatedly put to the test, the risks are great.

Pondering the story of a man born blind, Inman asks himself "What would be the cost of not having an enemy? Who could you strike for retribution other than yourself?"

But retribution isn't really his mindset; he's almost too good to be true, given the hardships and dangers he faces, such as stealing food, but leaving more money than it's worth, putting himself in grave danger to help strangers, and avoiding and preventing violence, even when it's not really his responsibility and would be easier to walk away. He's certainly more forgiving than the disgraced preacher, Veasey.

An unexpected pleasure was the underlying thread of the solace to be found in books.

On the very first page, Inman is in military hospital "settling his mind" with a treasured copy of Travels of William Bartram. Throughout the story, he returns to this book, in small snippets, at times of need. When he's reunited with Ada, he reads her an extract.

Ada's relationship with books fluctuates: at her lowest point "the characters seemed to lead fuller lives than she did", and when she's first dragooned into hard labour to make the land viable, she drops the habit of keeping a book in her pocket. However, at the end of the day, reading aloud is a pleasure and a bonding experience for her and Ruby. We glimpse the privilege of opening someone's eyes to the joys of powerful stories.

Another, seemingly irredeemable, character finds salvation in music, starting off with a handful of standard fiddle tunes, but making his own instruments and composing a large repertoire of moving pieces. "The grouping of sounds... said something comforting to him about the rule of creation,... a powerful argument against the notion that things just happen."

At least as important as the relationship between Ada and Inman, and possibly more interesting, is that between Ada (educated, city girl, now alone in the country) and Ruby (an illiterate who was an almost feral child). She comes to help Ada, not quite as a servant, not - initially - as a friend, let alone equal, but Ruby takes charge of instructing in the sense of educating Ada and even telling her what, when, and how to do. "To Ada, Ruby's monologues seemed composed mainly of verbs, all of them tiring" and "Ruby made a point of refusing to tackle all the unpleasant tasks herself." Ada puts up with this because she realises that "Ruby would not let her fail", whereas a hired hand might just walk away.

There are moments when you wonder how far Ada and Ruby's friendship will go: when Ruby puts Ada's bracelet on her own wrist - but then puts it back again; when Ada slips a ring on Ruby's finger - which Ruby takes off. The latter is just after Inman has returned, and Ruby has said "We can do without him... There's not a thing we can't do ourselves." But when she realises Ada loves Inman, she backtracks completely, and tactfully contrives to leave them alone.

Inman draws strength from his devotion to and memories of Ada. He occasionally looks at other women (water is a recurring theme), but it's all very chaste. Even when the young widow who's just lost her child, asks him to share her bed without touching, nothing happened nor did he really want it to.

Then there's Ruby's estranged, good-for-nothing father, Stobrod, and Ada's role in handling and healing their relationship.

There is mythical power in names. Ada's education was academic and theoretical: she knows the names of almost none of the plants and animals, and that is part of her helplessness in her new situation. In contrast, Ruby has an encyclopaedic knowledge of such things, and thus she takes the lead in survival.

Ruby is also guided by signs that Ada's preacher father, Monroe, would have dismissed as superstition. Ada "chose to view the signs as metaphoric... a way of being alert" so that "she could honor them". But a hundred pages later, she writes to her cousin in Charleston about how field work has changed her, "Should a crow fly over I mark it in all its details, but I do not seek analogy for its blackness... I suspect it is somehow akin to contentment." It's worth noting that the first chapter is titled "the shadow of a crow" and the last "spirits of crows, dancing".

Twenty pages from the end, it was so tender and understated and perfect that I had to pause. I was sure it would end badly, and I couldn't bear it.

The reunion of Ada and Inman is wonderfully, but unsentimentally, done. He finds her, dressed like a man, hunting turkeys, rather than in the fine skirts he'd remembered. She doesn't recognise him, so he apologies and walks away. When she does recognise him (by his voice), there are no dramas, just tentative steps towards an unknown present and even less certain future. "No previous formula of etiquette seemed to apply." Even when left alone, they're unsure what to do - so Inman reads a passage from Bartram... and then does the washing up! But eventually they talk, "to rewrite even a shard of the past" as lover do "before they can move forward paired". Eventually, "The world was such a lonely place, and to lie down beside him, skin to skin, seemed the only cure."

Then they plan their future. "Their whole lives stretched ahead of them" but also "youth was about over for them and what lay ahead was another country entirely, wherein the possibilities narrowed down moment by moment." It's all too good to be last. Inman is shot by Teague's gang. Ada gets to him in time to hold him as he dies.

This is a horrible symmetry with much earlier mention of what happened to Ada's own parents, who met and loved when young, were separated for years, and joyfully reunited, but only very briefly, before one of them died.

The epilogue compensates for the tragedy of Inman's death by showing Ada and her daughter living happily with Ruby, Ruby's husband, their children, and Ruby's reformed father. However, without that, the final scene would be touching and, slightly ambiguous, which I think I prefer.

The quiet stoicism, solace in literature, and connection to the soil, reminded me of one of my two favourite books, Stoner.

The almost literal saving power of books in the midst of turmoil and deprivation is something Jeanette Winterson stresses in Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal?

The harsh beauty of the mountains, coupled with love and longing, reminded me a little of Brokeback Mountain. The similarity of title may be a factor, too.

* "The first smear of foggy dawn and [he] waited for the world to begin shaping outside."

* "Nature... sometimes calls attention to its specific features and recommends them for interpretation."

* "Educated beyond the point considered wise for females" but "impractically for the demands of an exposed life".

* "Though not a childless couple, they had retained an air of romance in their marriage, as the barren often do."

* "The foul country... was vague and ominous in the moonlight."

* "He would like to love the world as it was... Hate took no effort other than to look about."

* "When it became too dark to read and the air turned blue and started to congeal with mist."

* "Celebration had been a lacking feature of her life since survival had such a sharp way of focusing one's attention elsewhere."

* "She had lived so long as to have achieved a state of near transparency."

* Gypsies had "a fine honesty in their predatory relationship with the rest of mankind." I know what he means, but...

* "Dying there seemed easier than not... Inman had seen so much death it had come to seem a random thing... it no longer seemed dark and mysterious. He feared... he might never make a civilian."

* "The easement of maiden, spinster, widow", though if your knowledge of anatomy is "to a degree hypothetical", your fantasies may focus on fingers, wrists and forearms.

* A path "so coiled and knotted he could not say what its general tendency was... He felt fuddled and wayless."

* "Marrying a woman for her beauty makes no more sense than eating a bird for its singing."

* "The pain settled to a distant noise, like living by a river."

* In a dead man's clothes "he felt he had donned the husk of another life... as a ghost must, occupying the shape of the past to little effect."

* "A suggestion of trees as in a quick sketch, a casual gesture toward the form of trees... as if there were no such thing as landscape."

* "The sentimentality of finding poignancy in the fall of leaves, of seeing it as the conclusion to the year and therefore metaphoric."

If you love this book, or think you may read and love it in the future, avoid the the 2003 film starring Jude Law, Nicole Kidman and Renée Zellweger.

It's not that it's an awful film (though the acting, accents, and very fake-looking snow and scenery are pretty poor), and it's not the many (very many) tweaks they made to the plot (some are inevitable with any adaptation from one medium to another).

No, the problem is that it seems to miss the entire point and atmosphere of the book. By a long, long way. There are some gory battle scenes, but in general, it's a sunny romance. The sun is shining far too much of the time, even in Inman's dangerous travels, most of the hardship is soft-focus, the power of the landscape is mostly missing, and the power of books is sidelined. Inman's Bartram is important, but only because, in the film, it was Ada's parting gift, so it's a memento from a lover, rather than something separate, but more profound.

I am giving the book a rating of 3.5!

The edition I read has a golden circle embossed on the cover, proudly declaring it to be a “National Book Award Winner.” The blurb further entices, claiming it to be “an authentic American Odyssey—hugely powerful, majestically lovely, and keenly moving.” Can you blame me for starting the book with extremely high expectations?

Anyway, the plot is set against the backdrop of the American Civil War. Our hero, Inman, a Confederate soldier, is severely wounded in the fighting. Disillusioned with the war, he deserts and sets off on a perilous journey back to his home in the Blue Ridge Mountains, where his beloved awaits. Along the way, he must endure the harshness of nature and the even more dangerous Home Guards. He receives help from kind souls, whether they are slaves or those managing to survive on their own.

Inman is a decent fellow. While he can kill when necessary, he doesn't relish it. I liked him, but he was rather predictable. Most protagonists of war novels seem to be cut from the same cloth - men who are good at their jobs but dislike or are even disgusted by bloodlust.

Alternating with Inman's adventures are the chapters on Ada Monroe, his lady love. Ada, a beautiful, educated, and pampered daughter of a late preacher, is in a quandary. She has no idea how to run their dilapidated farm. With all the men off at war and no farm laborers left, a young girl named Ruby becomes her savior. Ruby is no servant; she helps Ada on her own terms and makes her work on the farm as well. Together, they turn the place around.

I really liked the character of Ruby. She is a tough, no-nonsense person who has had to fend for herself since childhood, as her drunk father failed miserably in his responsibilities. She is quite a contrast to the sophisticated and educated Ada. But Ruby understands survival and the tricks of running a farm.

There are quite a few interesting characters in the novel, both good and evil. I'll mention two - Sara, a young widow who selflessly offers help to strangers, and Stobrod, Ada's father, the irresponsible drunk who goes to war and returns a changed man, seeking redemption through music.

I wasn't overly impressed with the chemistry between Inman and Ada. However, I did like one thing about them - both seek shelter and solace in books. Inman finds comfort in a travel book throughout his journey, while Ada is an avid reader.

The description of nature plays a significant role in the narrative. The flora and fauna, their beauty and harshness, are described in detail. Some parts are wonderful, but at times it can be a bit拖沓. As the name suggests, the mountain is almost a character in the novel.

I appreciate the author's reference to the injustice suffered by the Native Americans.

I do acknowledge that the author has tried to create something splendid. But there is a gap. Some parts of the book are good, but reading through others can feel like a chore. I wish the author had kept some descriptions a bit simpler. In my humble opinion, simplicity and brevity can lead to elegant writing.

This book is not a fast-paced adventure. As many other reviewers have said, you need to have a lot of patience to enjoy and appreciate it.

I would recommend this book to readers who don't mind a slow-paced read and a bit of verbosity.

This, in my estimation, is one of the masterpieces of American fiction.

I am surprised to be saying this, because I read it after I'd seen the film, and my expectations were not particularly high.

Cold Mountain is the Odyssey retold in many respects. It vividly depicts the horrors of violent expeditions far from home and the even worse horrors of violence at home.

It is a story of the Civil War as it affected those who were marginal to the state and had least to gain from the war, namely the hard-scrabble farmers of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

The assessments of war as benefiting only the wealthy and as a virus carrying violence into every pore of the social world are truly powerful.

It is a beautifully written work of fiction. From the finely honed descriptions of the topography, botany, and zoology of the Blue Ridge Mountains to the lovingly detailed descriptions of the preparation of Appalachian food, and to the brilliant evocations of loss, loneliness, and the resilience of those directly caught up in the violence of war as well as those who wait for them to come home, every aspect is meticulously crafted.

It is a work that not only tells a compelling story but also offers deep insights into the human condition during times of war and conflict.

After reading Peter's review of this book, my curiosity was piqued, and I was eager to explore it myself. I approached it with a new perspective, one that focused on the connections between Cold Mountain, Homer's Odyssey, and Shakespeare's works. This new angle proved to be a real eye-opener, as it added a fascinating dimension to the story that I might not have otherwise appreciated.

I simply adored this book. The difficult journey home for Inman, which formed the core of the story, was both heart-wrenching and inspiring. His longing to return to Cold Mountain and to Ada, the woman he hoped to marry, drove him forward through the horrors of war. Meanwhile, Ada's life also underwent a dramatic transformation. From a high society lady, she was forced to become a farmer and take on the arduous manual labor required to maintain the family farm. She was joined by Ruby, a pragmatic and hard-working woman who pushed Ada to rise to the challenge. Together, their lives changed in ways they could never have imagined.

The development of the characters and the plot was truly outstanding. I was completely enthralled from beginning to end. I would highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a captivating and thought-provoking read. And a big thank you to Peter for the excellent recommendation.

Set in 1864, near the conclusion of the American Civil War, Inman has been deeply traumatized by his harrowing experiences on the battlefield. After sustaining a wound, he abandons his hospital bed and embarks on a perilous journey home to North Carolina's Cold Mountain. His aim is to reunite with Ada Monroe, a woman he met prior to leaving to join the Confederacy. Ada, who had once led a privileged life, has seen the war take a heavy toll. She is now left to fend for herself on her father's farm.

Inman undertakes a journey of hundreds of miles on foot, encountering a diverse assortment of people along the way and constantly trying to evade the Confederate Home Guard. Meanwhile, Ada's life undergoes a transformation with the help of Ruby, a woman well-versed in working the land. The storyline seamlessly shifts back and forth between Inman and Ada, adding depth and complexity to the narrative.

The book, while somewhat slow in its development and episodic in nature, compensates with its well-developed and highly believable characters. I envisioned Ruby as a person of mixed-race, although this is not explicitly stated. This perception, I believe, enhanced my appreciation of the story. One of the book's primary strengths lies in its writing. Frazier has a remarkable gift for words, vividly describing the beauty of the natural environment and its profound impact on the characters. I thoroughly enjoyed the setup of the two connected characters, each grappling with their separate challenges, and the author's portrayal of their unwavering motivation to live, even when it would have been easy to surrender.

However, it should be noted that there are dark and disturbing scenes in this book, involving harm to both people and animals. The novel is loosely based on the author's family history, and Frazier does an outstanding job of evoking the era. He vividly shows the horrible impact of the war, how it tore families apart, and how people yearned for a sense of stability. The last quarter of the book is truly a brilliant piece of writing, leaving a lasting impression on the reader. Overall, I would rate this book a 4.5.

This is quite possibly the longest it has taken me to finish a book of this length. Maybe not ever, but at least since I got back into reading a lot about 10 years ago.

I think an ongoing reading slump had over the past year had a lot to do with it. But I also think the way the book is written was part of it, too.

Whatever the reason... I am thankful it is over and that I don’t have to carry it around anymore!

So, your first thought is probably that it must be a bad book if it took that long to read. I can say that I do not think it is a bad book at all. It has many colorful characters and interesting anecdotes.

If you really like historical fiction – and specifically Civil War era historical fiction – I believe you will enjoy this book.

However, I am only giving it 3 stars because, for me, I never wanted to read more than a few pages at a time, and I was never all that excited to pick it back up.

Could be a side-effect of the aforementioned slump, but I really think I would have had a similar response if I was not slumping.

I am not sure I can easily put into words exactly what it is about the way it is written that made me less than motivated to get into it.

It was just so heavy and wordy – maybe it is like when you eat something that is very rich so you can only eat a little at a time and need a break between mouthfuls.

I get the impression that many others that read this had an experience similar to mine.

Should you read it? It is hard for me to recommend a book that I was not very motivated to read – even with the result being that I did like it okay.

Just be prepared to get mired in it for a while if you end up with an experience like mine. But, hopefully in the end, you do find something about it to enjoy.

Cold Mountain, Charles Frazier

Cold Mountain is a remarkable 1997 historical novel penned by Charles Frazier. The story commences in a Confederate military hospital near Raleigh, North Carolina. Here, Inman, a soldier, is recuperating from battle wounds sustained during the American Civil War.

Inman is thoroughly tired of fighting for a cause that he never truly believed in. After heeding the advice of a blind man and being deeply moved by the death of the man in the adjacent bed, one nightfall, he makes a fateful decision. He decides to stealthily slip out of the hospital and embark on a journey back to his home in Cold Mountain, North Carolina.

The novel chronicles the lives of Inman (Jude Law) and Ada (Nicole Kidman). Despite their inner longings (like most people), their life destinies are intertwined with war and bloodshed. Inman's long journey towards Cold Mountain has been compared to the "Odyssey" of Homer, especially those parts where he encounters mythical and alluring characters on his arduous path back home.

First read on November 30, 2000 AD. The Persian translation by Mahdi Qarache Dagi was published in Tehran by Peik Publishing in 1999, in 382 pages, with ISBN 9643280195. The subject matter pertains to the stories of American writers in the 20th century.

The date of digitization was 12/04/1400 Hijri Shamsi. A. Sharbiani.

The movie is more boring and tedious than I can bear.

I couldn't manage to finish it.

However, I think the movie is important and worthy of being watched.

Maybe it has some hidden meanings or values that I haven't discovered yet.

Although the first impression was not good, I should give it a chance and try to understand it from different perspectives.

Sometimes, a movie that seems uninteresting at first may turn out to be a masterpiece after a second viewing.

So, I will not give up on this movie easily and will wait for the right time to watch it again.

I did not like it at all.

Although the story has an interesting structure and pretext, it is overly intellectualized. As a result, it becomes extremely difficult to care about the characters.

It gives the impression that Frazier is more preoccupied with showing off his intellectual prowess rather than crafting a truly gripping work of fiction.

The excessive intellectualization detracts from the emotional connection that the reader should have with the characters and the story.

Instead of being engaged and invested in the lives and experiences of the characters, the reader is left feeling detached and uninterested.

It is a shame because the initial concept had the potential to be a great work of fiction, but the execution failed to deliver on that promise.

Overall, I was disappointed with the story and would not recommend it to others.