Carole´s Monday: Cold Mountain

Author: Charles Frazier

Title: Cold Mountain

Genre: Historical Fiction, Romance, Classic

Format: paperback

Pages: 449

Published: January 1, 1997

Where I got It: My shelf (Gift)

Summary: 

Cold Mountain is a novel about a soldier’s perilous journey back to his beloved near the Civil War's end. At once a love story & a harrowing account of one man’s long walk home, Cold Mountain introduces a new talent in American literature.

Based on local history & family stories passed down by Frazier’s great-great-grandfather, Cold Mountain is the tale of a wounded Confederate soldier, Inman, who walks away from the ravages of the war & back home to his prewar sweetheart, Ada. His odyssey thru the devastated landscape of the soon-to-be-defeated South interweaves with Ada’s struggle to revive her father’s farm, with the help of an intrepid young drifter named Ruby. As their long-separated lives begin to converge at the close of the war, Inman & Ada confront the vastly transformed world they’ve been delivered.

Frazier reveals insight into human relations with the land & the dangers of solitude. He also shares with the great 19th century novelists a keen observation of a society undergoing change. Cold Mountain recreates a world gone by that speaks to our time.

Review:

One of my absolute favorite books. I felt it was time to revisit it since I haven't picked up this book since 2016.

This story is about WP Inman and Ada Monroe. They find love but due to war he puts on the uniform to fight for North Carolina. He may not believe in the cause, but it would be cowardly to not join. After he is injured horribly, he decides to walk away and go back home. The war is nearly done anyway and he can't take one more moment on the frontline. At the same time as his perilous walk, we also follow Ada. She was born and raised to be a lady. She only knows how to do frivolous tasks, so with her father gone and the money drained because of the war....she is struggling to survive. In walks Ruby who trains Ada to be a farmer.

This book always gets me. It is so tragic. I know how it ends, but I always have hope. Maybe it'll end differently this time!

I always wish that these two have more time together, but that is the tragedy. They are apart for so long, but I wish we had more scenes with them. Sighs. 

The format is always wild to me, but I've grown to look past it. It works for this story for some reason. Maybe I am blinded by love of the story and characters? 

What else to say?

The way the author describes our scenes is beautiful. It is majestic in a way. 

Yes, this is a love story but it is also shows a different side of the war. It really dives into the true human element. War makes monsters of us all. It may start with a noble cause but it can destroy everything and everyone. Along with the war and love element, the book does poke at deep issues at the time like racism, sexism, human rights, society, male/female gender roles, and etc.

All-in-all, this book always leaves me breathless and in tears. Now I have to watch the movie. Sigh. ;) 

5 stars from me of course. 

Favorite Character(s): Inman and Ruby

Least Favorite Character(s): Teague and his crew. 

  

Challenge(s):

- Romance Reading #12 (MC's name starts with 'M')

The Cat who saved books by Sosuke Natsukawa

Original title: 本を守ろうとする猫の話

Series: The Cat Who... (#1)

Format: 220 pages, Hardcover

Published: September 16, 2021 by Picador

Fiction/library

Well this was a lovely little book. Very short, but packing a lot.

Rintaro inherits his grandfather´s bookshop. He is still in school, a minor, and now without family. He is a recluse who loves books. Then comes a talking tabby who tells him he needs to save books. Magical labyrinths, and making the first real friend ever.

Lovely, I can´t say if well translated, but it felt like it was. It was just perfection in its very short form.

Grandpa used to say it all the time: books have tremendous power. But what is that power really?

Natsuki Books was a tiny second-hand bookshop on the edge of town. Inside, towering shelves reached the ceiling, every one crammed full of wonderful books. Rintaro Natsuki loved this space that his grandfather had created. He spent many happy hours there, reading whatever he liked. It was the perfect refuge for a boy who tended to be something of a recluse.

After the death of his grandfather, Rintaro is devastated and alone. It seems he will have to close the shop. Then, a talking tabby cat called Tiger appears and asks Rintaro for help. The cat needs a book lover to join him on a mission. This odd couple will go on three magical adventures to save books from people have imprisoned, mistreated and betrayed them. Finally, there is one last rescue that Rintaro must attempt alone...

Other Birds by Sarah Addison Allen

Format: 290 pages, Hardcover

Published: August 30, 2022 by St. Martin's Press

Fiction/own

It has been ages since I read this author, I like her magical realism books. Though here the magical realism, well it was so real so...well I have to doubt things a bit. But here there clearly are ghost.

Zoey moves into a flat. She has her own problems, horrid family. Her mum died long ago. She befriends other in the building, all with their own ghosts. And then of course someone dies the first day too.

Old secrets are slowly coming to light and all these strangers will become friends

Trying to make it shirt. Good book. Very lovely

Between the real and the imaginary, there are stories that take flight in the most extraordinary ways. Right off the coast of South Carolina, on Mallow Island, The Dellawisp sits—a stunning old cobblestone building shaped like a horseshoe, and named after the tiny turquoise birds who, alongside its human tenants, inhabit an air of magical secrecy.

When Zoey comes to claim her deceased mother’s apartment at the Dellawisp she meets her quirky and secretive neighbors, including a young woman with a past, two estranged middle-aged sisters, and a lonely chef, and three ghosts. The sudden death of one of Zoey's new neighbors sets off a search that leads to the island's famous author and to a long-estranged relative of the sisters.

Each of them has a story, and each story has an ending which hasn't yet been written.

Best of March

Here are our bests from March!!!! 

Best Book of the Month:

Blodeuedd - The Cat Who Saved Books by Sosuke Natsukawa

"This one gets best book because it was a well written story."

Carole - The Collected Regrets of Clover by Mikki Brammer

"Such a powerful book. 100% recommend."

Best Movie of the Month:

Carole -  Nosferatu (2024)

"Creepy....weird....odd....but oh so good."

Blodeuedd - Paddington in Peru (2024)

"Best movie. Saw Paddington 3 in the cinema :D"

Best TV show of the Month:

Blodeuedd - Ghosts (s2)

"I watched s2 of Ghosts and now Netflix have no more cries!"

Carole - Ghosts (s4)

"Is the season over? I need more! I'm not ready for the season to end!"

Best Cover of the Month:

C's pick:
Sooooo pretty! Even prettier live!

B's pick:
It also gets best cover cos look what a cutie