Cold Mountain in The Complete Idiots Guide to the Ultimate Reading List

Oct 19, 2007 Amanda rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: own, civil-war, national-book-award

Four years after he left to join the war, Inman is hospitalized with an injury. Knowing the South is losing the war and knowing he may be killed for desertion, Inman decides to go home to Cold Mountain and to Ada, his sweetheart he left behind.

Back home at Cold Mountain, Ada's father, the local pastor, has passed away. Originally from the city, Ada is unprepared to fend for herself and her farm without help. Enter Ruby, the feisty girl who teaches Ada how to survive and work the land.

What I like Four years after he left to join the war, Inman is hospitalized with an injury. Knowing the South is losing the war and knowing he may be killed for desertion, Inman decides to go home to Cold Mountain and to Ada, his sweetheart he left behind.

Back home at Cold Mountain, Ada's father, the local pastor, has passed away. Originally from the city, Ada is unprepared to fend for herself and her farm without help. Enter Ruby, the feisty girl who teaches Ada how to survive and work the land.

What I liked:

I loved that this was a Civil War era novel with a slightly different perspective. Granted, the only Civil War novels I've read are The Killer Angels and Gods and Generals , but this novel wasn't about the fighting, the war, or which side was in the wrong. It is about people. People trying to survive and find a place in a country that was rapidly changing.

I loved that he interspersed a bit of Native American folklore and history into a bit of the story. He does it a lot more in Thirteen Moons but it works well here. One of my ancestors walked the Trail of Tears and it provided such an interesting glimpse into a country where all the native peoples were rounded up and forced to leave. It's mind boggling the atrocities that have happened in the past.

I loved that it showed that the war was felt not just on the battle fields but all over the country. The war gave quite a bit of unscrupulous people the excuse to rob and terrorize innocent people.
There's a movie with Toby Maguire and Jewel called Ride with the Devil that shows this as well. It's something, I think, that is overlooked a lot in the history books.

And I love how it feels like a modern Odyssey re-telling. I was talking to a friend about the movie, before I read the book, about how the story is like the Odyssey, with Inman just trying to get home to Ada and all the trials and tribulations he goes through. And at one point in the book, Ada and Ruby are reading the Odyssey which I think was pretty interesting.

What I didn't like:

I never really connected with Ada. I appreciate the changes her character goes through but I never really sympathized with her. Not like I did with Ruby and Inman.

And the book was really slow going with me. I'm not sure why. The writing is beautiful and the story was pretty good but if I hadn't wanted to know how it ended, I may have not finished the book.
...more

Like · see review

Jul 15, 2008 Tara Lynn rated it liked it

Shelves: booklist-for-2008

To be honest, this had to be one of the few books that actually made me enjoy the merits of the movie far more than the novel. Thirteen Moons was also good, but I feel that Frazier's writing lacks the dialouge necessary to make you empathize with the characters and their plot. ...more

Like · see review