About the Author

Charles Frazier lives in North Carolina, where this novel is set, and where he and his wife have been developing a horse farm for the last five years. He has taught in universities, written travel books and had one short story published. COLD MOUNTAIN, his first novel, is based on stories of his ancestors' experiences during the Civil War, handed down through the generations.

Reviews

A remarkable first novel, a romance of love, of friendship, of family, of land. Frazier has inhaled the spirit of the age and breathes it into the reader s being' - Erica Wagner, The Times Cold Mountain is a heartbreakingly beautiful story, elegantly told and utterly convincing down to the last haunting detail - John Berendt'Full of graphic, unflinching details, striking concrete images and lyrically precise descriptions of the natural world, this wonderful novel presents the terrible, discordant reality of life in a war. Profoundly moving, it raises all the big questions - Christina Patterson, Observer

An audiobook read by an author is not the same as one read by an actor. Compared to a professional reader, Frazier is a dud. He does no character voices, not even distinguishing by gender; no accents; and few if any distinguishable changes in pace, intensity, etc. In fact at times he stumbles, though the editing process has obviously eliminated any major problems. About the only personality he adds to this recording is a few old-fashioned pronunciations, which may be deliberate, or may be personal idiosyncrasies. Still, the reading works. Frazier has a soft, pleasant and sensitive voice that communicates emotion apparently without effort. Clearly, there is an intangible working here. Knowledge by the author of every nuance of the work (seven years in the making) and knowledge by the listener that this is coming from the horse's mouth makes the reading, though lacking in intensity, nevertheless engrossing and finally emotionally powerful. Highly recommended.‘Preston Hoffman, Shelby, NC

Rich in evocative physical detail and timeless human insight, this debut novel set in the Civil War era rural South considers themes both grand (humanity's place in nature) and intimate (a love affair transformed by the war) as a wounded soldier makes his way home to the highlands of North Carolina and to his prewar sweetheart. Shot in the neck during fighting at Petersburg, Inman was not expected to survive. After regaining the strength to walk, he begins his dangerous odyssey. Just as the traumas of life on the battlefront have changed Inman, the war's new social and economic conditions have left their mark on Ada. With the death of her father and loss of income from his investments, Ada can no longer remain a pampered Charleston lady but must eke out a living from her father's farm in the Cold Mountain community, where she is an outsider. Frazier vividly depicts the rough and varied terrain of Inman's travels and the colorful characters he meets, all the while avoiding Federal raiders and the equally brutal Home Guard. The sweeping cycle of Inman's homeward journey is deftly balanced by Ada's growing sense of herself and her connection to the natural world around the farm. In a leisurely, literate narrative, Frazier shows how lives of soldiers and of civilians alike deepen and are transformed as a direct consequence of the war's tragedy. There is quiet drama in the tensions that unfold as Inman and Ada come ever closer to reunion, yet farther from their former selves. BOMC and QPB selections; paperback rights to Vintage; rights sold in Germany, the U.K. and France; film rights sold to Lynne Pleshette. (June) FYI: Frazier's great-great-grandfather was the source of this story about a Civil War soldier who deserted and walked home.