Cold Mountain

 

Cold Mountain by Charles Frazer

Set in the waning days of the Civil War, this story is told from two, alternating perspectives. Inman is a Confederate soldier who, after suffering a wound at Petersburg and witnessing the horrors of war for nearly four years, decides to leave his hospital bed and journey home before he can be sent back to the front. He is driven by the hopes of reuniting with the other character, Ada, with whom he sparked a brief relationship before heading off to war. Despite leaving the fighting of the war, Inman's journey is nevertheless full of danger and violence. Instead of dodging bullets from Union guns, he now has to avoid the Home Guard, a group of wealthy planters and other men somehow exempt from military service who have made it their mission to capture -- and kill -- any and all deserters from the army who cross their path. Meanwhile, Ada has tribulations of her own. Her father recently died, leaving her penniless and with a mountain farm that she has no idea how to manage. Enter Ruby, who is as savvy and underprivileged as Ada is clueless and (formerly) rich. Together, they begin to put the farm to work and make plans to survive the coming winter.

I originally picked this book up because I'd heard of the movie version and because it bore a National Book Award medallion on its cover. Generally, the award is a sign of a great book. I'm not sure this was that. It was certainly engaging and drew me in, but, as many other critics have pointed out, the pace of the story is s-l-o-o-o-w. The book probably could have been a hundred pages or more shorter. And, oddly, the climax of the book, which comes very near the end, receives very little ink. It was odd that the moment the entire story built to passed so quickly. It made the ending seem abrupt, as if it were an afterthought. That said, I always find this period of history to be intriguing, and this one taught me something. I hadn't realized the extent of the terror of the Home Guard, which seemed in many ways like a prototypical KKK. If you're in the mood to return to the 19th century, this book will bring you there. But you could easily skip it and not miss much.