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1 out of 5
by
Luthien
from
The United States | Jun 25, 2007
Considering the widespread acclaim this book and its subsequent film adaptation have received, I'm reluctant to write a negative review. Still, a dissenting opinion at least makes for an interesting read.
This was absolutely the most boring book I have ever read. It took me about a year to finish it, because every time I tried to pick it up, day or night, I was asleep in minutes. Though the descriptions of the picturesque mountainous landscape are often beautiful, I fail to see the point. I can't understand why the lovers at the center of the plot even like eachother, and in general I find the characters' motivation for doing anything completely inexplicable. I don't wish to spoil the story (such as it is) for any would be readers, so I'll refrain from posting plot details. Suffice it to say that the entire plot hinges on a series of events that conveniently take place, but seem to have no basis in reality. Why, for example, did the protagonist undertake his long journey in the first place? This is, to my mind, never made adequately clear. Consequently, instead of rooting for the characters, I end up thinking, "What a bunch of morons!"
19 people found this review helpful
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5 out of 5
by
Heidi
from
Chicago, IL | Aug 28, 2007
You've probably seen the movie made from this book.
It was a fine movie. It won Oscars.
But it cannot begin to capture the truly spectacular parts of this story because they are not the surface level narratives that make it onto the big screen.
Before you can truly appreciate the quality of this book, you need to be familiar with at least Homer's Odyssey, Dante's Inferno, and parts of the Bible. You need to be on guard for a depth of symbolism and complexity of foreshadowing and allusion that will boggle your mind.
I always knew the movie didn't really get the book, but when my dad (who has not read the book) referred to it as "a chick flick" because he thought of it primarily as a love story (which it is, but not that kind), then I really realized what one misses when one has not read the book.
9 people found this review helpful
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5 out of 5
by
Tyler
from
The United States | Oct 3, 2007
I really shouldn't like this book as much as I do. A historical romance? Come on.
Frazier's prose is in the tradition of that poetic backwoods style that you might find in some Faulkner or in the films of Terrence Malick and David Gordon Green. Definitely the product of a learned man trying to sound like he's from the sticks, equal parts Old Testament fire-and-brimstone and rootsy colloquialism. His story is ambitious in its attempts to convey feelings of the grandeur of America, smouldering passions that impossible distances can't dull, and the world-weariness felt by every generation as soon as it realized the scope of evil in humanity. And, honestly, he pulls it off.
Yes, this is kind of crowd-pleasing fiction, but it's one of the best things to wind up on any kind of bestseller list in recent years. Sometimes you need to read something like this. Maybe.
6 people found this review helpful
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5 out of 5
by
Ali
from
Garner, NC | Oct 18, 2007
Is it long? Yes. Does it sometimes take entire paragraphs or chapters to describe the scope of the landscape? Yes. Is it entirely worth it? Yes. This book is best described as an epic...for those that felt it was too long or boring, have you ever read The Odyssey? The comparison is made for a reason. This is not a book you take to the beach and read on vacation...this is a book you pick up on a rainy day when you call in sick in the middle of the week. This is a book that becomes like a return to an old friend when you reaquaint yourself with it. This is a book that took me close to a year to read as well, because I chose to walk away from it for a month sometimes and return to it when I needed a moment to escape from current times.
I never saw myself falling in love with a Civil-War era book about a soldier, and maybe it was the love story or maybe it was because I am from the area in the book that is described with such fervor and passion and affection for the land I grew up in that it brings a bit of nostalgia for my childhood back when I pick it up. In any case, it is a masterpiece. After finishing it, I sighed with bittersweet feelings. Bittersweet because I assumed Frazier had waited so long to write because he had one true novel in him, and his debut would be his only book. Boy was I wrong. I'm now reading Thirteen Moons. I bought it in June and am just short of halfway through. I am cherishing this one, too!
Sidenote: If you haven't read the book, I guess the movie is ok. If you have read it, don't bother watching the movie. It will ruin the image in your head. Also, I hate that it was filmed in Europe when the book takes place here.
11 people found this review helpful
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5 out of 5
by
Kristen
from
Anchorage, AK | Dec 2, 2008
Just loved this book. I always enjoy books that do a good job of creating atmosphere through descriptive writing. This book is one of the best of that sort. The story itself is enjoyable, but what I liked even more was the detailed description of life in the civil war era. We have the idea from many movies and books that the south in the Civil War was all plantations and cotton, lovely ladies and dashing gentlemen. This south is something that Margaret Mitchell simply did not acknowledge, and it is probably much more true to what the majority if southerners lives were like during the time.
My one complaint is that you do wonder why Inman and Ada were so drawn to each other. They don't have much of a relationship before he leaves, but they do seem very much devoted to each other. My assumption is that perhaps relationships were just much different in that time period. People didn't "date" for a year, then live together for two years, and then maybe, just maybe, decide to get married. People courted, then decided fairly quickly whether their intended would make a satisfactory marriage partner. There was more to it than mere love - financial and physical survival were much more a part of the equation.
Particular highlights to me in the book were the time he spent with the "goat lady" on the mountain, and the sad plight of the girl whose husband is dead, baby is sick, and livestock are almost gone.
I have to say something about the movie. I saw it before I read the book, and I enjoyed both, but for entirely different reasons. I enjoyed the movie mostly as a star-crossed love story. The book I enjoyed for it's descriptive narrative as much as for the story.
6 people found this review helpful