Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier

 A lot of people have been saying that they are looking forward to my review of Cold Mountain so here it is!

I don't know what really made me choose this book. I purchased it last year at the Sydney Book Fair. I knew when I saw it that I vaguely recognised the title, but I didn't honestly realise that it was the title of a movie that I recognised. The back of the book seemed really interesting, and I like the cover (the cover pictured is the one on my book), it is very mysterious.

When I talked about my reading this book during memes such as 'Its Monday! What are your reading?' and 'Teaser Tuesday', everyone left me comments saying that they really loved it. I have now become one of you - I really loved this book. When I first started reading it, I wasn't as taken with it as everyone else seemed to be, but as the book progressed I felt like had increasingly more vested in the lives in Inman and Ada, and eventually I was swept away by their story.

I think the back of the book describes the story in the most appropriate way:

"A soldier wounded in the Civil War, Inman turns his back on the carnage of the battlefield and begins the treacherous journey home to Cold Mountain, and to Ada, the woman he loved before the war began. As Inman attempts to make his way across the mountains, through the devastated landscape of a soon-to-be-defeated South, Ada struggles to make a living from the land her once-wealthy father left when he died. Neither knows if the other is still alive."

And this is it, the two are preoccupied by their separate existences, moving forward with their immediate concerns in the hopes that they will once again see each other.

I think what I loved most about this book was the way in which the story was told. Each chapter alternates as between Inman's and Ada's perspective. I loved reading about Ada's and then Ruby's life - I kept wondering throughout the book whether if I were in their position I would be able to take up the reins of a farm in the way that they did. Ruby seemed to have a level of self possession I only wish that I could ever have, and Ada tried and tried and learnt and learnt until she came to love the land as much as Ruby. Their story was a story of the bravery and courage of women, and I am sure they are an example of the lives that many women would have had to lead during those times.

I do have to admit though, that it was Inman's story that particularly effected me. What I loved most was how it was written. I love a story that is told not through conversation between different characters, but simply by description - description of the people, description of the situation and description of what passes between them. It was also through Inman that Frazier as able to paint a bigger picture of how the civil war effected people in different ways. as Inman travels through the south, he meets all kinds of people, and those people recount their stories to him. In this way, the story of the civil war's real effect on the population is told, bit by bit, through almost case studies of the lives of the citizens.

This book was definitely a special one, well written, and emotional (I cried at the end).

Summary

What kind of read is it?
Historical and romantic, but most importantly for me, thoroughly detailed and emotional. It takes longer to read than you might expect, being more challenging than you might think.

Do I recommend it?
Yes, very much so. I think it is a wonderful read and a wonderful story.

Do I recommend that you buy it?
With that one, it's hard to recommend to either way. I can see this as a book I will definitely re-read and am grateful that I have on my bookshelf. It's hard to know if other would feel the same though.

Star Rating

6/8 stars

Really enjoyable and well written. I would recommend it.

Originally posted 28 March 2010 Page Turners