Cold Mountain

Cold Mountain is a novel by Charles Frazier, and was the latest pick "book club" pick in my tight circle of friends.  It is said to be "Whitmanesque" (James Polk, The New York Times Book Review) and "as close to a masterpiece as American writing is going to come these days" (Fred Chappell, Raleigh News & Observer).  I found it to be depressing and at the end of the novel I felt cheated.  But maybe that is what the author intended.

This novel is a story about two main characters trying to survive in the South during the Civil War.  Inman is a Confederate soldier, who does not support the cause and just wants to get back home to Cold Mountain.  There he hopes to reunite with his the object of his affections, Ada.  Ada is the daughter of a pastor, who was raised in a city and brought up to be a woman of society in the South.  Her father moved them to the rustic, far removed Cold Mountain, where she is completely out of her element.  She meets Inman and takes an interest in him, as well.  After he is drafted to go to war, her father passes away leaving her to fend for herself on their plot of land with no clue how to survive on her own.

The book intertwines their journeys.  Inman as he defects and tried desperately to get home; Ada as she does not really even attempt to figure out how to survive and is eventually saved by a young woman named Ruby, who teaches her how to survive on her own.  The journey for Inman is perilous, it is fraught with danger and constant struggle, but he is full of goodness.  He spends his journey helping strangers when needed and doing his best to repay those who help him.  There is not much redeeming about Ada, she seems spoiled and weak as she allows Ruby to lead her.  Regardless, because of Inman's incredible character the reader hopes that he will arrive safely and they will be reunited.

I won't give away the rest.  Suffice it to say that the novel was very gloomy and violent.  I felt the author used descriptive language that sets the mood to be depressing, which made the book difficult to pick up each day to read.  I did really like Inman's character and also Ruby.  When I finished reading the book, I was not happy with it and felt that it had been a waste of time.  Upon further reflection, maybe that is just what the author intended. 

I caution you to read at your own risk.  I had intended to watch the movie starring Jude Law and Nicole Kidman, but I could not bring myself to watch it.  My time is limited enough that I did not want to waste any more of it on such a depressing story.

(not so) Happy Reading!