COLD MOUNTAIN by Charles Frazier 

(Vintage Contemporaries/Random House)

Best for: older teens and adults

READ...

Cold Mountain is the story of a man and a woman, and the journeys they make.

The man, Inman, is an injured Confederate soldier who slips away from his hospital bed, intent on returning to the mountains of North Carolina and the woman he loves. Along the way he avoids vigilantes, receives help from strangers, and has a series of bizarre encounters.

The woman, Ada, is a cultured and stiff young woman who came to the mountains with her preacher father. When her father dies, Ada is abandoned by her servants and must learn not only how to feed and cloth herself, but who she really is outside of her father’s shadow. Her journey is helped by the unlikely friendship she forges with a mountain woman named Ruby.

Frazier skillfully weaves the stories of Inman, Ada, and Ruby together, bringing these three searching souls closer together in body and spirit. He has a visual style that clearly places the characters in their surroundings. Frazier’s language easily captures the language and emotions of his characters, and moves the story along without plodding.

At times Cold Mountain is difficult to read. It never avoids the grim horrors of war and the cruelties of humanity which have torn Inman apart both physically and emotionally. (Thus there are many sections too violent or otherwise inappropriate for younger readers.) Yet even in a brutal time there are people who retain hope and kindness, and as Inman travels between the ruthless and the gracious he’s able to begin opening the window to his heart again.

Just as remarkable as the physical trek that Inman makes through towns, farms, and mountain trails is the passage that Ada makes from being spoiled and lonely to self-sufficient and loving. Left alone with her father’s farm, Ada knows nothing about laundry, gardening, cooking, cutting wood, or any other task ahead. She knows she doesn’t belong to society any longer—yet doesn’t belong to the mountains either. With the guidance of Ruby, a woman filled with lore and superstition, Ada finds her place.

One concept that continues to surface in Cold Mountain is that people are not who they seem to be, and are not even in fact who they believe themselves to be. Inman feels he has lost his soul, yet displays more kindness, patience, and levelheaded wisdom than any other character. Ada thinks of herself as educated, while she lacks the brains to feed herself and wash her clothing. Veasey says he’s a man of God, but is openly eager to sin. Teague claims to uphold the law, yet deals cruelly with the innocent. Throughout the book you’ll find characters who deceive themselves while clearly acting in a different, and many times opposite, manner. Perhaps only Ruby is honest with herself and others. She is poor and has no proper education, yet realizes she deserves respect and value—and acts on these beliefs. In the story it at times seems beyond comprehension that people can be so blinded, but I doubt the exaggerations are far from the truth for most of us even today.

Cold Mountain is currently being made into a movie starring Jude Law, Nicole Kidman, Renee Zellweger and a cast of excellent actors. Hopefully it will capture the heart of the story and be true to the difficult ending.

THINK...

• Consider the contrasts between Ruby and Ada. Ruby has never known love, while Ada has known love to the point of being spoiled. In what ways has this hurt each of them? How do their flaws help their friendship?

• Part of the beauty of the friendship between Ada and Ruby is their ability to treat each other as equals. Society would say that Ada is the better woman of the two as she is educated and cultured while Ruby is neither. Yet without Ruby’s wisdom and skills Ada will not survive. They put aside their prejudices about the other and form a partnership that serves both women. What are specific lessons we learn from these women, and how can we apply these lessons in our own lives?

• Inman forms a loose relationship with a former preacher named Veasey. For all of Veasey’s claims to being a man of God, he quickly reveals himself to be an immoral and selfish fool. Contrast Veasey to the moral but mostly Godless Inman. What is in the heart of each man? Where does Inman get the wisdom that Veasey cannot find?

• Relationships take many forms in Cold Mountain, and each has it’s own theme. Ada and Ruby demonstrate respect and equality. Ada and Inman paint the uncertainties of love and the strength it has to heal. How would you characterize other relationships, such as the one between Ruby and her father, Ada and her father, or Ada with the other mountain people?

LIVE!

When Samuel began to search for a new king for Israel, God directed him to the home of Jesse (1 Samuel 16). Samuel was sure he could choose the new king based on his appearance. God had other plans. 1 Samuel 16:7b says, “The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” (NIV)

In Cold Mountain the actions of a man or woman display the attitudes of the heart. What about in your own life? What do people see on the outside? What do you believe to be true about yourself? And, most important of all, what do you think God sees when he looks at your heart? What is the truth about you? Consider how to become, like David, a man or woman after God’s own heart.

If you liked Cold Mountain, you might also enjoy: 

The Last Sin Eater by Francine Rivers (Tyndale)

Christy

This classic follows young Christy Huddleston as she leaves her life of society and becomes a missionary teacher to poor mountain children. Her journey brings her danger, friendship, love, and an awareness of truth. A truly beautiful story based on the life of Marshall’s mother.