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Appalachian Odyssey: Commentary on Charles Frazier's Cold Mountain |
| Section: BOOK WORLD / COMMENTARY |
| Author: Edward Hower |
| Publication:
The World & I Online |
| Issue Date: 1/1/1998 |
| Size: 2,313 Words, 13,735 Characters |
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More people may have read about Charles Frazier's haunting historical novel, Cold Mountain, than have read the book itself, though it has sold well over half a million copies and has had a long run on the best-seller list. The author, who used many folkloric themes in his book, has himself become something of a folk hero to hopeful writers everywhere.
Frazier, after some world travels and failed attempts at fiction writing, gave up an academic career at age 46 to have one last try at a novel. To write, he often retreated to a cabin in the Appalachians of North Carolina. This was the area through which his great-great uncle, W.P. Inman, had traveled after deserting from the Confederate army in 1864 to return to his fiancée. For five years Frazier fleshed out his ancestor's story, emerging with a work of fiction that was both a genuine literary treasure and an overnight popular success--a very rare combination these days.
Reviewers have compared the author to Shelby Foote, Michael Shaara, and Ernest Hemingway. Charlie Rose has interviewed Frazier on PBS. The novel has gone on to be nominated for the National Book Award and will doubtless garner nominations for other literary prizes [be nominated for/win the National Book Award, and/or the Pen Faulkner Award and/or the National Book Critics Circle Award -- nominees and winners are announced in Novem...
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...ality. Of all the book's fascinating characters, Ada and Ruby stand out as the most compelling--strong, resourceful women who embody the independent spirit of the Appalachians that Inman longs so passionately to rediscover.
Charles Frazier's literary debut deserves all the attention it has received. Cold Mountain will surely rank as one of America's very finest works of historical fiction.
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Publication Details
(The World & I Online) |
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The World & I Online is a
comprehensive academic resource that encompasses a broad range of
articles by scholars and experts in the areas of Global Studies,
Liberal Arts, Fine & Applied Arts, General Science, and Spanish.
Originally published monthly in print as The World & I, our site
includes the complete contents since 1986 and continues to publish
a new issue online each month. |
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