Beautiful writing and storytelling are the hallmarks of this piece. The author has crafted a narrative that is not only engaging but also incredibly detailed. Every sentence seems to be carefully constructed, painting a vivid picture in the reader's mind. It is truly a pleasure to read. While the level of detail may seem overwhelming at first, it is well worth taking the time to fully immerse oneself in this story. The more you read, the more you will discover, and the more you will be drawn into the world that the author has created. So, sit back, relax, and enjoy this beautiful work of art.

I liked the story, but the writing itself frustrated me to some extent. At the beginning, it was difficult for me to get into the story. I couldn't remember anything of what I was reading and it took about 70 pages. After that, I wanted to give up, but I caught the thread at a certain moment and continued. It's not a long book, but it took me a long time to finish.

This is a historical fiction set during the Civil War. It tells the story of a wounded soldier in battle and his desire to return to the woman he loves.

The real gem of this book was the journey of this soldier, Inman, back home and the unforgettable characters he met along the way, especially Pastor Veasey and Odell. I appreciated how the love story between Ada and Inman was not described as syrupy, but rather was full of understanding and tenderness.

A young girl named Ruby will appear as the savior of Ada. Ruby is not a servant. She helps Ada in her own conditions and makes Ada work on the farm too. Together, they would put that place in order and take care of each other. I liked the character of Ruby. She is a tough person who has had to fend for herself since childhood.

There are quite a few interesting characters in the novel, both good and bad. I would mention two others, Sara, a young widow, a girl in fact, who would altruistically offer any help she could to strangers, and Stobrod, Ada's father, an irresponsible drunk who went to war and came back a changed man - a man who would be redeemed through music.

This book is not a fast-paced adventure. You have to have a lot of patience to enjoy the book and appreciate it. And it's extraordinary that this story was based on the history of the author Charles Frazier's family.

Some things were not very well explained at the end of the book and I had to guess and assume why certain situations had occurred. The writing is cold, gray, but not without deep and interesting thoughts.

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

Phenomenal!

Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier is an extraordinary novel that takes the reader on a hard and unrelenting journey. It follows the lives of two young women, Ada and Ruby, who are meant for completely different lives, and a man, Inman, who struggles against all odds to get home from the war.

Inman, a deserter of the Confederate army, is wounded in battle and nearly dies. After miraculously recovering in the hospital, he decides to walk away and make his way home to Cold Mountain and the girl he has been thinking of for the past four years. His journey is filled with Homeric elements, an Odyssey of his own. Along the way, he encounters a diverse cast of characters, some helpful and some harmful.

Ada, raised in Charleston and educated beyond what was considered wise for females, finds herself ill-prepared for the demands of an exposed life. She has traveled the world with her father but lacks the practical skills needed to survive on a farm.

Ruby, on the other hand, has been raised basically on her own. Her father, an inadequate fiddler and lover of liquor, was absent for most of her life. Ruby has learned to forage, kill, and provide for herself. By age 10, she knows the mountains intimately and has whipped men single-handed in encounters.

The girls, Ada and Ruby, become each other’s teacher and helper as they work together to keep the farm going. Ada has much to learn from Ruby, who is practical and hardworking. Ruby teaches Ada how to make clothes from sheep’s wool and plan for the survival of the farm.

Ada and Inman have a connection that grows stronger as Inman makes his way home. Their relationship is tested by the hardships of war and the distance between them.

Frazier’s prose is eloquent and beautiful, and the slow pace of the novel is meant to be savored. The sense of the natural world and the agony and disappointments of war are presented with great earnestness. Without spoiling the ending, it is a perfectly handled conclusion to a long and persevering journey that defines what is meant by home, freedom, and love.

This review was penned in the late nineties, solely for my own consumption. It lay hidden among my possessions until today, when I chanced upon the journal in which it was written. I have transcribed it word for word from all those years ago, with square brackets denoting some additional information for enhanced readability. It is one of my lost reviews.

There is so much to discuss. What holds the most significance? Well, Frazier's novel appears to be a throwback to the American naturalist movement, integrating elements of historiography. He has crafted a narrative where all the hindrances and assistances during Inman's journey are elemental, even when they involve humans. From the goat lady to Teague, from snowstorms to the river escape, all the forces ranged against Inman are forces of nature.

Inman, the weary soul, prevails.

However, Frazier then constructs a feminist awakening story with Ada, in which the natural forces are newly discovered and assume a power evoked through the acts of using, naming, cataloging, and learning. His unifying image is that of birds. For every emotion, every moment, a bird serves as an illuminating image. The falcon, the heron, the buzzards, and the crows are all crucial to Cold Mountain. And the ending is fitting. Inman's death, Ada's life, and their daughter provide Cold Mountain with perfect symmetry. It would be a travesty if it fails to win the Pulitzer.

Is it long? Indeed, it is. Does it sometimes require entire paragraphs or even chapters to vividly describe the scope of the landscape? That's a resounding yes. But is it entirely worth it? Absolutely! This book can best be characterized as an epic.

For those who think it's too long or boring, have you ever delved into The Odyssey? The comparison is not made lightly. This isn't a book you casually take to the beach and breeze through on vacation. Instead, it's a book you reach for on a rainy day, perhaps when you call in sick in the middle of the week. It's a book that, upon reacquainting yourself with it, feels like a reunion with an old friend. I, too, took nearly a year to read it, as I would sometimes set it aside for a month and then return to it when I needed a momentary escape from the present.

I never imagined myself falling in love with a Civil-War era book about a soldier. Maybe it was the captivating love story, or perhaps it was because I'm from the very area described in the book with such intense fervor, passion, and affection for the land where I grew up. Picking up this book brings back a hint of nostalgia for my childhood. In any event, it's a masterpiece. After finishing it, I let out a sigh of bittersweet emotions. Bittersweet because I initially assumed Frazier had waited so long to write because he had only one true novel within him, and his debut would be his sole offering. Oh, how wrong I was. I'm now engrossed in Thirteen Moons. I purchased it in June and am nearly halfway through. I'm savoring this one as well!

Sidenote: If you haven't read the book, the movie might seem okay. However, if you have read it, don't bother watching the movie. It will shatter the beautiful image you've created in your mind. Also, I loathe the fact that it was filmed in Europe when the book is set here.

I really liked the fact that this is a book that should be read slowly. I had the opportunity to see the movie first, and having lived in a wet country myself, it really enhanced the visuals for me. At times, I found myself thinking of Faulkner. It wasn't so much the convoluted story lines, but rather the descriptive nature of the narrative. Charles Sutpen and Inman come from the same culture, and yet we still see a few remnant elements of the South that are unwilling to let go of the War.

Perhaps Inman's remaining hold on sanity is Ada. As his days of aimless wandering stretch out in front of him, seemingly endless and precarious, his connection to her grows stronger. His vision of her becomes the center of his being. The differences between them stem from opposite beginnings. She is pulling herself to grow, to become an adult, with the help of Ruby, a recipient of consequence and consequences. Inman, on the other hand, is pulling himself to put one foot in front of the other, to remain an adult, not reverting to childishness, and maintaining empathy and compassion for others in the face of exercising and exorcising a brutally strong will to survive. He sees himself as damaged goods, while she sees the harvest.

"Ruby said that she did, and Ada asked if Ruby thought Stobrod had written the song. Ruby said there were many songs that you could not say anybody in particular made by himself. A song went around from fiddler to fiddler, and each one added something and took something away, so that in time the song became a different thing than what it had been, barely recognizable in either tune or lyric. But you could not say that the song had been improved, for as was true of all human effort, there was never advancement. Everything added meant something lost, and about as often as not, the thing lost was preferable to the thing gained, so that over time we'd be lucky if we just broke even. Any thought otherwise was empty pride."

I truly liked this book. It requires patience, but it is well worth it. The story is rich and complex, and the characters are well-developed and engaging. The descriptive language brings the setting to life, and the themes of love, war, and survival are explored in a thought-provoking way. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good historical novel.

A tragic, but beautiful, U.S. Civil War story.

It was a time of great turmoil and division in America. The Civil War had torn the nation apart, and families were divided.

In a small town in the South, a young couple, John and Mary, were deeply in love. But John was called to fight for the Confederate army, and Mary was left behind, waiting and praying for his safe return.

John saw many horrors on the battlefield, but he always thought of Mary and their future together. One day, in a fierce battle, John was severely wounded.

Mary received word of John's injury and traveled to the hospital where he was being treated. She arrived just in time to hold his hand as he took his last breath.

Although their love was cut short by the war, it would always be remembered as a beautiful and tragic story.

I truly loved the book. It was filled with captivating stories and vivid descriptions that transported me to another world.

However, when I watched the movie adaptation, I was completely blown away. The movie was not just good, it was truly awesome.

The filmmakers had managed to bring the story to life in a way that exceeded my expectations. The visuals were stunning, the acting was superb, and the overall production value was top-notch.

Every scene was carefully crafted to capture the essence of the book and add an extra layer of excitement and drama. It was like seeing my favorite book come alive on the big screen.

I would highly recommend both the book and the movie to anyone who loves a great story. They are both unique in their own ways and offer an unforgettable experience.

Every now and then, you stumble upon a book that is written with extraordinary beauty. This particular one had that effect on me, and it has remained with me ever since. It is a book that I would wholeheartedly recommend to anyone. I was overjoyed when my husband took as much pleasure in it as I did.

However, I couldn't bring myself to watch the film adaptation. The casting was completely different from how I had envisioned the characters in my mind. I much prefer to stick with the original book and let my imagination run wild with the vivid descriptions and engaging story.

The power of the written word in this book is truly remarkable, and it has the ability to transport the reader to another world. It is a literary gem that I will cherish and continue to recommend to others.

I truly have a great enjoyment for Frazier's way of story telling. Right from the very first page, the words seemed to fade away and the story vividly came to life before my eyes. It strikingly reminded me of Cormac McCarthy's unique writing style. So, if you happen to be a fan of McCarthy, there is a high probability that you will also have a liking for Cold Mountain.

This book has been constantly on my mind throughout this week. Perhaps I was a bit hasty when I reached the end previously, so I decided to go back and re-read it in order to update my rating. Without a doubt, this book definitely deserves a 5-star rating! It is a captivating and engaging read that keeps you hooked from start to finish. The characters are well-developed and the plot is full of twists and turns that keep you on the edge of your seat. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a good story.

You're not going to believe what happened to me!

I started reading "Cold Mountain" on the recommendation of Julie. I was so excited that I immediately downloaded it and began reading at around 4 in the morning.

The story was moving along quickly, and I was really enjoying it. But then, suddenly, I was done.

To my horror, I realized that I had fucked up and downloaded some kind of abridged movie adaptation. It was only about 50 pages long!

Now, the problem is that I already know everything that happens in the story. I can't just start reading the real book because it would be too weird.

I'm going to have to wait for about a year before I can try reading the actual thing.

Gah, I'm so angry with myself. This is definitely the worst thing that has ever happened to me.

I feel so disappointed and frustrated. I was really looking forward to reading the full and unadulterated version of "Cold Mountain", but now I have to wait.

It's going to be a long year, but I guess I'll just have to be patient and try to forget everything I learned from the abridged version.

Hopefully, when I finally get to read the real book, it'll be just as amazing as I expected it to be.

Cold Mountain was truly and absolutely beautiful. Charles Frazier has crafted a masterpiece that vividly captures the country of America,展现出它的美丽与腐败。

Cold Mountain follows a war-ravaged Confederate soldier named W.P. Inman. While recovering from a wound that everyone thought was fatal, Inman makes the bold decision to desert his regiment and embark on a perilous journey to Cold Mountain in pursuit of Ada Monroe, the woman he deeply loves. Along the way, he encounters numerous challenges, especially from the Home Guard, who are tasked with finding deserters and Federal sympathizers.

Ada Monroe is a city-bred woman, brought up by her father in Charleston and now living in Black Cove. When her father dies, she is left with a farm in a horrible state of disrepair. Fortunately, a stranger named Ruby comes along and assists Ada in managing the farm.

This book is like reading The Odyssey, only set in America. Inman's epic journey back to Cold Mountain is filled with trials and obstacles that he must overcome. The war has taken a heavy toll on Inman, and he often resorts to violence when confronted with various situations, using his trademark LeMat's pistol with an underbarrel shotgun. Inman's long service in the war has left him lost and devoid of purpose. He didn't support the war and killed for a cause he didn't believe in.

Inman's perilous journey home can be seen as a form of ascension. His neck wound is a symbol of his inner turmoil. As he travels, his wound heals to varying degrees, depending on his current situation.

When Inman finally reaches his destination at the Cherokee village on Cold Mountain with Ada, he has achieved redemption. There, with Ada by his side, he is able to transcend the corruption and evil of war. After four long years of war and fighting, he longs for the soft touch of someone who cares. In a way, Ada, his true love, is his separate peace.

However, when they travel back to the farm, Inman's peace is shattered. He is ambushed by a young member of the Home Guard and is killed. Although I was so angry when I read this part that I wanted to throw the book across the room and find Mr. Frazier to slam his head into a car door, I later contemplated Inman's death. How could a man so war-torn and spiritually damaged possibly find happiness again? How could one live a life of peace when all they know is war and death? I realized that Inman's death was his TRUE ascension. His separate peace lies in another life, and a part of him lives on through the daughter he and Ada have.