∎ Download Gratis Cold Mountain Charles Frazier 9780802142849 Books

Cold Mountain Charles Frazier 9780802142849 Books

Download As PDF : Cold Mountain Charles Frazier 9780802142849 Books

Cold Mountain Charles Frazier 9780802142849 Books

I originally purchased this novel because it was required reading for a grad class I was taking on Civil War literature. What was the instructor thinking? What was the AUTHOR thinking?

I don't see how other reviewers could be bored by this. I was livid. Yes, those who criticize the author's poor wording and lousy literary technique are correct, but how does that compare to an historical novel about the American Civil War that somehow forgets to include 6 million black people?

Wait. Make that five thousand, nine hundred, ninety-nine. There IS that moment when a slave tosses (wait for it...) a WATERMELON off the back of a wagon for our starving protagonist. Then he is gone again, and we are left focusing on white folk, as the writer clearly believes we should be.

On the surface, this is a love story about a po' Southern lad who is dragged away from his beloved in order to go to war, and returns, half-starved, AWOL, and lovelorn.

The overriding message, however, is that neither the Union nor the Confederacy was right or wrong. The whole thing was a terrible misunderstanding that could have been averted. This is pure claptrap, and for more than one reason.

First, the war was not a misunderstanding. The Northerners in Congress tried to end slavery as Britain did, by compensating the slave owners in order to set them free without financial loss. The slave owners wouldn't sell; there's no misunderstanding in that.

Second, since the war WAS about slavery, (not just in terms of right and wrong, but also in terms of whether the south would remain feudal, or whether it would advance, and the slaves join the workers in the north) unless you truly believe that slavery should have been permitted as long as southern white power brokers liked it, there IS a right side, and there IS a wrong side. If there was ever a war in American history worth fighting and dying for, this one was it, and the writer instead makes it sound senseless and meaningless.

I puzzled over what to do with my copy of Cold Mountain. I have never believed in book-burning, no matter how distasteful the material. If I gave it to charity, some poor fool might read it and be wrongly persuaded. Finally, I realized its true potential: I saved it for my history lectures and when I told students that any historian who tries to tell the story of the Civil War without mentioning black people was not to be trusted, I threw this book on the floor, HARD. It woke the students up quite nicely, and the abuse I heaped on this book--bought with my own money, after all, not the school district's--makes me feel much better.

If you want to toss a few bucks at a book that is badly written and historically misrepresentative, this should be its ultimate destination. On a frustrating day, you have something to throw, something to stomp on, something to mutilate. If you don't want to buy an item for that purpose, I'd advise you to save your money and for Civil War history, stick to Shaara and Foote...but never, no never Charles Frazier.


Tags : Cold Mountain [Charles Frazier] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. <div>In 1997, Charles Frazier’s debut novel <I>Cold Mountain</I> made publishing history when it sailed to the top of <I>The New York Times</I> best-seller list for sixty-one weeks,Charles Frazier,Cold Mountain,Grove Press,0802142842,Historical,Literary,Love stories,Man-woman relationships,United States - History - Civil War, 1861-1865,United States;History;1861-1865, Civil War;Fiction.,United States;History;Civil War, 1861-1865;Fiction.,1861-1865, Civil War,AMERICAN HISTORICAL FICTION,Civil War, 1861-1865,FICTION Historical General,FICTION Literary,Fiction,Fiction - Historical,Fiction Historical,Fiction-Literary,GENERAL,General Adult,Historical - General,Historical fiction,History,United States

Cold Mountain Charles Frazier 9780802142849 Books Reviews

Although there is plenty of action in this novel, the pace is slower than most "action novels" because of the author's vivid descriptions of environment, people, weather, etc. The chapters alternate between one main character and another main character, which just serves to keep one reading longer than usual, to get to what's happening "meanwhile." Believable characters and some plot twists. There is some violence, as it is set in a violent time -- the American Civil War. This is the first of Frazier's books I have read, and I will be looking at more.
Cold Mountain is my favorite book of all time! I've read it at least 7 times, and just wanted to have the audio version. I didn't describe the mood, above, because there isn't just one mood throughout the book. It takes you on a journey that you'll want to go on forever. The author has done his homework on colloquialisms, traditions, and history, and I ended up filling the margins and blank pages in the back with notes - I had to look up so many of the words and phrases! Each time I read it, I learn a little more, and see things from a slightly different perspective. I feel almost the same way about his second novel, THIRTEEN MOONS, which I've read 4 times so far. I'm sure many Charles Frazier fans are breathlessly awaiting his 4th novel (not so crazy about his 3rd novel, which is totally different).
Inman is a Confederate soldier and he is not very happy about it. After a hospital stay for a wound, he decides to leave the military life and return home. Maybe he will reunite with Ada; he hopes so. He is, however, aware that his decision will be opposed by a few groups. The establishment military will try to capture him. Inman feared more the bands of common criminals operating under flags of pseudo-patriotism, like the Home Guard, that would like to capture him. Some would turn him over to the Confederate Army; some would turn him over to the federal Army. Some would kill him for fun.

Inman sets off on a long foot journey; a horse would both require care and attract attention. The journey could take months. Each chapter is a story of a character that Inman meets along the way. Some characters reappear in later chapters, but each chapter could have been written as a short story.

One entertaining part of the reading experience with this book was that I had to use a dictionary, frequently. This well researched book uses vocabulary of the time to describe things that are no longer in common use. I did not know what “mast” was (p 83). The phrase “where the horse was taken from between the thills and put in a stall” (p.201) stopped me. What are thills? Even the supplied dictionary was sometimes not helpful; either there was no definition or the definition given made no sense in context. Further research gave me the answer and I liked the challenge.

There is an interesting style of writing with complex sentences that provoke several thoughts from just one sentence.
“The man had a big round head which sat unbalanced on him like God was being witty about making the insides of it so small. Though he was nearly thirty according to Stobrod, people still called him a boy because his thoughts would not wrap around the least puzzle. To him, the world had no order of succession, no causation, no precedent. Everything he saw was new-minted, and thus every day was a parade of wonders” (p. 262).

Inman’s need to walk and hide at the same time takes him through forests, along ridges, over and through streams and rivers. He walks through seasons and observes changes. For the nature loving reader, this book is a delight with is detailed, informed description of terrain. Not only is central character Inman alone, the object of his journey and desire, Ada, is also initially alone. She remains in one place, becoming a self-taught gardener by necessity caused by war, until joined by Ruby. Ruby’s existence prior to meeting Ada was a lonely one. Here we also find great passages describing living in the woods, alone, from about the age of three. Although she and Ada live together, Ruby has no words to spare for Ada unless they have profit and meaning. The lone, self-reliant existence is reinforced. Characters living alone give rise to internal dialogue and philosophical interpretation. Ada did this from an educated background; Inman was more self-taught. Ruby was common sense survival driven. Resultant commonalities and differences were shown, not explained. Great writing.

There is much more to write about how great this book is, but other reviewers have done a great job. I just wanted to add my observations. Are there any negatives? Only if the reader does not like very detailed descriptions of nature; even then the writing is great, it just doesn’t move forward as fast. I believe this to be a must read book for anyone who loves and works with literature.
I originally purchased this novel because it was required reading for a grad class I was taking on Civil War literature. What was the instructor thinking? What was the AUTHOR thinking?

I don't see how other reviewers could be bored by this. I was livid. Yes, those who criticize the author's poor wording and lousy literary technique are correct, but how does that compare to an historical novel about the American Civil War that somehow forgets to include 6 million black people?

Wait. Make that five thousand, nine hundred, ninety-nine. There IS that moment when a slave tosses (wait for it...) a WATERMELON off the back of a wagon for our starving protagonist. Then he is gone again, and we are left focusing on white folk, as the writer clearly believes we should be.

On the surface, this is a love story about a po' Southern lad who is dragged away from his beloved in order to go to war, and returns, half-starved, AWOL, and lovelorn.

The overriding message, however, is that neither the Union nor the Confederacy was right or wrong. The whole thing was a terrible misunderstanding that could have been averted. This is pure claptrap, and for more than one reason.

First, the war was not a misunderstanding. The Northerners in Congress tried to end slavery as Britain did, by compensating the slave owners in order to set them free without financial loss. The slave owners wouldn't sell; there's no misunderstanding in that.

Second, since the war WAS about slavery, (not just in terms of right and wrong, but also in terms of whether the south would remain feudal, or whether it would advance, and the slaves join the workers in the north) unless you truly believe that slavery should have been permitted as long as southern white power brokers liked it, there IS a right side, and there IS a wrong side. If there was ever a war in American history worth fighting and dying for, this one was it, and the writer instead makes it sound senseless and meaningless.

I puzzled over what to do with my copy of Cold Mountain. I have never believed in book-burning, no matter how distasteful the material. If I gave it to charity, some poor fool might read it and be wrongly persuaded. Finally, I realized its true potential I saved it for my history lectures and when I told students that any historian who tries to tell the story of the Civil War without mentioning black people was not to be trusted, I threw this book on the floor, HARD. It woke the students up quite nicely, and the abuse I heaped on this book--bought with my own money, after all, not the school district's--makes me feel much better.

If you want to toss a few bucks at a book that is badly written and historically misrepresentative, this should be its ultimate destination. On a frustrating day, you have something to throw, something to stomp on, something to mutilate. If you don't want to buy an item for that purpose, I'd advise you to save your money and for Civil War history, stick to Shaara and Foote...but never, no never Charles Frazier.