Pre-numbered label used for registration.
This book is written in great detail with interesting characters. The story goes back and forth between 2 main characters. The first is a sorely wounded Civil War deserter named Inman who spends much of his time struggling to return home, facing obstacles to return to a beloved woman he hasn't seen in years. The second is the beloved Ada, who after the death of her father, struggles to transform the land upon which she lives into a self-sufficient farm.
Couldn't put this book down--read it in 2 days. Recommend you read the book before the movie. The movie by the way was well done for the most part, with excellent performances by many of the cast.
This is a 2nd copy (will keep one to re-read another time) and is now off on a Bookray journey!
Here are the Bookray members:
Carpediva-CA
GlasgowGal-UK
MissBagpuss-UK
(pass llios-FL-has her own copy now)
Jarrett622-VA
dolphinlover-IA
Michaeljl-OR
Bestaunt-NY
smvillers-WI <---has book now
chivers-Brasil


As you finish the book, send PM to next reader on the list for their address.
Happy Reading
>(:::)

got it. thanks 'bug! will read and pass it on as soon as i can!

hmmm, an interesting read. very well written, and it did give me some desire to see the movie. while i was in it, i was really IN IT, and i grew to care about the characters and what their ultimately fates would be.

i have to say, though, i found their ultimately fates to be disappointing, and truthfully, after all was said and done, i was slightly disappointed in the book too, given all the advanced hullaballoo. if it hadn't been heralded as an such an impressive award winner, "astonishing" and "extraordinary" i never would have judged it as such after reading it cold. for me, it was just a well-written love story set in the south, no more, no less.

of course, i think 'casablanca' is way overrated as well, so maybe it's just me. ;)

sending of to GlasgowGirl.

Received today in the mail.

I really struggled with this book. Reading "Cold Mountain", at times, felt like climbing a cold mountain!! In the end I just didn't care what happened to the characters, and didn't even think the "love" element of the story was over-blown enough to make you feel the characters even cared if they saw each other again. This is definitely no "Gone With the Wind"! I thought the writing was mediocre, and, to me, it read like Thomas Harris' "Hannibal" which just smacked of being written with the film rights in mind as opposed to being written as a novel. Funnily enough, it did make me want to see the film as I think as a movie it would make a good "view", however, it just didn't make a good "read" for me.

In the end I just couldn't get "into" the book, and like carpediva, if the book hadn't been heralded so much, then I wouldn't have rated it as "outstanding" or "extraordinary" after reading it myself.

I already have MissBagpuss' address, so this will be in the post to her towards the end of the week.

Thanks ladybug01 for starting the bookray.

Released on Friday, April 09, 2004 at BOOKRAY in n/a, n/a Controlled Releases.

CONTAINS COMMENTS WHICH GIVE AWAY THE STORY - do not read unless you already know the ending.

in one respect i can appreciate the comments made by the previous journalers - the two central characters are at first almost completely unsympathetic, and in the case of Inman so much so that i also really did not care what happened to him.

having said that, for me the beauty of the book was not in the relationship between Inman and Ada, but was in the hundreds of other secondary characters who crossed their path. each chapter was like its own short story, with a beginning, middle and end, its own set of characters, its own set of circumstances, creating a series of snapshots of life which i thoroughly enjoyed. Inman was an almost impassive observer, making his way through the world yet remaining strangely detached from it, encountering kindness and hostility, gentleness and violence alike, always remaining devoid of feeling or sentiment no matter what the circumstances.

i also suspect this lack of feeling on Inman's part was deliberate from the author's point of view. in the final chapters, just as i finally started to care about what happened to Inman and be interested in him, just as he finally starts to interact with the world around him and behave like a human being, he is killed. that, for me, forms the tragedy of the story.

i agree that the novel was slow to get started, and a couple of chapters in the middle dragged slightly at times, but for the most part i thoroughly enjoyed it. now i need to go and see the movie....

Released on Wednesday, April 21, 2004 at Bookray in BOOKRAY, Bookray Controlled Releases.

now on its way to the next person on the list....

This was at the PO this morning. It'll be a couple of days before I can start it as I'm about 1/4th the way through another book. Thanks, MissBagpuss!

June 3. This entry contains *spoilers* in the last paragraph.
First of all I can understand why someone from the UK or even other parts of the US might have trouble reading this book. It contains alot of regional references to plants and other things.

I live in the Blue Ridge Mountains. I felt the authors writing at a visceral level. I lived half way up a mountain and know what he was talking about. It's very hard to put into words. But I could feel the sense of timelessness he was trying to convey. I used to say, only half-jokingly, that these mountains are so old that if you listened, they would speak to you.

I wasn't too happy with the way the story ended however. Lifes not fair and only the good die young and maybe that's partly what his story is telling. For Inman to have come so far and through so much to die how and when he did.... I hated that. The only satisfaction I got from the ending is that he took out Teague and most of his bunch with him. Frazier never did say how Ada got on after all that, though from the epilogue one could assume that she'd made peace with it all.

I highly recommend this book to everyone and I'm giving it a 10.

I'll be mailing this on to dolphinlover as soon as I have an addy. I'll be out of town from this Sat (June 5) through the folling weekend (June 13) so if I don't get this mailed out before I leave it'll have to wait til I get back.

Received today. I will read it promptly and pass it on.

Not my cup of tea. Mailed to Bestaunt on July 20

Sorry to have kept this so long. Passing on.

Passing along to smvillers. Enjoy the book

Received the book in the mail today. Will read and pass on ASAP. :)