| Cold Mountain |
| Cold Mountain is the novel by Charles Frazier which tells the story of a confederate solider, Inman, who is seriously wounded in the Civil War, but instead of healing and heading back to the front line, decides to desert and head back to North Carolina and his beloved, Ada. Meanwhile, Ada struggles to live in the farmhouse she inherited after her father dies.
The book bounces back and forth, focusing on Inman for a chapter and then Ada for a chapter - showing how they each are learning to live with their new lives. She, a woman all alone on a farm far from the city life she grew up in. He, a wounded solider given a second chance at life after beating the odds and recovering from a horrible war wound. I found Ada's story the more compelling of the two. She makes a comment late in the book along the lines of saying how her father worked hard to keep her a child, and to an extent, she let him. Ada's story is one of a woman finally growing up learning how to be an adult. Self-reliant and independent. After Inman has finally returned to Ada, Ruby, a young woman who comes to help Ada on the farm and becomes Ada's teacher on how to be self-reliant, remarks to Ada that she doesn't need him (Inman). Ada's reply perfectly sums up how the character has grown. "I know I don't need him. I think I want him." Inman's tale is also interesting and entertaining, but it seemed to lack the emotional punch that Ada's tale did. Inman met plenty of interesting characters and had plenty of adventures on his long walk back to Cold Mountain, but I didn't see the same changes and growth that I saw in Ada. There is some emotional payoff for Inman towards the end where he makes some observations about how war and time has changed him; it just didn't have the punch that I saw with Ada. Frazier's writing is eloquent and moving. He has a knack for creating wonderful supporting characters and situations. He completely pulls you into the South around the time the Civil War is wrapping up and gives you a keen sense of how America was going to change because of the war. The book starts slow, but it turns into an excellent read. Full formed characters in believable settings, all handled with beautiful prose. Cold Mountain comes highly recommended. |