Aphillbilly, Is it a good book? I've heard of it but never seen it at the library.
Any comments?
__________________ Few take the trouble to understand or to view the American scene with perspective. And we Americans love to find ourselves guilty of something. However, it is never I who am guilty, but those other Americans, the past or present government or the other political party. Americans almost never find other countries guilty. It is always ourselves or our fancied influence in other countries. Louis L'amour
Everyone seems to think it is pretty good book. I have tried to like it, I really did, but I found it b o r i n g. Yet to be honest, I'm a pretty harsh critic of literature though. As has been noted before I have a fairly decent library. Yet one of the side effects of owning so many books, reading so many books, is you just lose patience with anything less than the best.
When I was young I would finish any book I started. No matter how dreadful. I maintained that masochistic tendency for many years. Eventually though I realized there are just so many books one can read in a lifetime. Cold Mountain was one of the books I tried to read and failed. Yet even if I fail, I keep the books in the hopes that later I may read it with new eyes and enjoy it. I’m not sure if that makes sense or not. I got two copies of it (estate sales are great sources of boxes of books) and would gladly give you one if I knew how.
THanks Aphillbilly, I've only heard of the book and yet to see it. W/ your reply I'll probably pass on searching it out. I know you're well read & figured I ask.
THanks again, just saved me some $!
__________________ Few take the trouble to understand or to view the American scene with perspective. And we Americans love to find ourselves guilty of something. However, it is never I who am guilty, but those other Americans, the past or present government or the other political party. Americans almost never find other countries guilty. It is always ourselves or our fancied influence in other countries. Louis L'amour
Zou the critic says: I only finished the book because I was involved in a challenge to do so. I won, by the way, because my challenger did NOT finish! It was very slow. The author is in love with his own voice. If you're looking for "war" you won't find it. Lots of description. I'm interested to see what they do with the movie -- they'll have to goose the story quite a bit to make it screenworthy!
I too, found it a bit boring, but still managed to read it twice. The first time I read it I was not as interested in Civil War so I read it again recently. It still was not as interesting as I hoped it would be. It is more of an incredible journey type of story and really has very little to do with the war. Not a whole lot of action. I much prefer the writing of Bernard Cornwell. He has a uncompleted series call the "Starbuck Chronicles". I found them very entertaining. I am hoping he will finish the series. I actually E-mailed him on his website to encourage him to do so. Incidentally, I just finished another one of his books today. "Redcoats" It is about the revolution, and was also hard to put down. I love reading any Civil War fiction, so if anyone has any suggestions I would be grateful. I am looking forward to seeing the movie anyway. I hope it plays up here. "Gods and Generals" didn't make it here. I managed to see it it Chicago though. (Only a couple thousand miles from here.) I found it a bit dissapointing, but will be giving it a second chance this weekend, as I am renting the DVD. I will be baking up a batch of hardtack to go along with it as I know how long it is, and the kids will want some munchies. LOL
I read the book and loved it. I was happy as a pig in mud when I found out they were going to make a movie of it. I went to the theater yesterday to see Mystic River with my wife and daughter. One of the previews was of Cold Mountain. I gripped the arm rests and started panting and salivating immediately. My wife now knows what we will be doing over the Christmas holidays. HOWEVER; there is something that bothers me. The previews showed a horrendous battle scene which appeared to be the crater to me. Its been a while since I read the book, I do not recall ANY battles in the book. I believe it opened with the main character in the hospital ruminating about life in general and deciding that it would be a far better thing to do to go home to his fiance. The book recorded Inman's journey from Virginia to his home in Tennessee.
I absolutlely adored the book and will be really upset if they mess with the plot anymore than they apparently already did by adding a battle that wasn't in the book. Never the less with a cast like Nicole Kidman, Renee Zellweiger and Jude Law, how can you go wrong?
See Bill, they goosed the story to make it more interesting.
I read in the reviews that Cold Mountain was based on The Odyssey. I'm not classically educated so I can't comment on this, and which characters in C. M. represented which characters in T. O., other than Inman is Odysseus. That would make Ada Penelope I guess!
The Coen Brothers "O Brother where art Thou" was based on the Odyessy as well. And that was one heck of a funny movie and had great music to boot. John Goodman was the cyclops. Who is the Cyclops in Cold Mountain? I remember Inman had quite a tussle with a couple of hard cases on the way back to Ada.
However, there is a book out by Howard Bahr called the Year of Jubilo, which basically is moodeled after Cold Mountain. A confed vet coming home to his love kind of thing. I loved Bahr's first book "The Black Flower" based on the Battle of Franklyn. "Jubilo" was horrible to me. THAT one I found slow, tedious and boring. Cold Mountain was terrific by comparison. I thought Cold Mountain stood well on its own. I remember when I bought it, I was disappointed that it basically picked up at the end of the war, but I found myself rooting for Inman all the way. I was a bit annoyed at the ending; which I will not divulge if any of you have not read it yet.
Hey Bill, did you pick that "Black Flower" up at the source? I remember that we had the option of going to meet the author, buy the book, and tour something or another, but I needed toothpaste worse than another book so I skipped out on that shore trip.
Regarding the ending of "Cold Mountain," Frasier's excuse was "that was the way it happened." It was based on one of his relatives. As a fiction writer myself, I know what a lame explanation that is.
Maybe I ought to read "The Odyssey" and then read "Cold Mountain" again, and find the Cyclops, Circe, and all the rest.
CivilWarTalk.com -
A free and friendly Civil War community. 
I remember Inman had quite a tussle with a couple of hard cases on the way back to Ada. 
Linear Mode
