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Interesting thread--to see one of my favorite books, "Cold Mountain" listed, was sad. There isn't a better descriptive voice for the Appalachian's than what I heard in the book, or a more deflating one for the Confederacy short of Gone With The Wind. (People reading GWTW never seem to notice MMitchell's scathing view of the Confed South). My attachment to the ridges themselves may have a lot to do with it, "looking up the rows of blue ridges to that bulk which is Cold Mountain." Makes me want to head up to Blowing Rock right now..."that the Cherokees called the Cataloochee, the mounting rows of grey ridges." I hear words like "scarp" and "ivy" for the mountain laurel, old terms that my grandparents used, and realize that Frazier took many pains to get it right.

One quibble, though...there were chestnut trees back then, and Inman needn't have starved. In November there should have been plenty on the ground to eat. The chestnuts provided mast for everyone.

They've got some good music lined up for the movie, Ralph Stanley will be featured, but my hopes for that movie are low. They've filmed it in Romania. *Romania*! And they cast the ingenue part -- Aussie Nicole Kidman as Ada. Ada was dark and much younger than Kidman. Jude Law as Inman, way too British Pretty. This is going to be Gone With The Amazing Mr. Ripley.

Romania? Nicole Kidman? Unbelievable.

I rarely watch movies of the books I've loved. Always so dissapointing.

One book I couldn't get through was "Confederacy of Dunces". (you reminded me of it) I'll admit it was too esoteric for my brain!

Do you read Lee Smith?

Interesting thread--to see one of my favorite books, "Cold Mountain" listed, was sad. There isn't a better descriptive voice for the Appalachian's than what I heard in the book, or a more deflating one for the Confederacy short of Gone With The Wind. (People reading GWTW never seem to notice MMitchell's scathing view of the Confed South). My attachment to the ridges themselves may have a lot to do with it, "looking up the rows of blue ridges to that bulk which is Cold Mountain."

Agree. The first 50 pages were actually the toughest, and it gets better and better. There are some pages in that book that I will return to for the rest of my life -- of course, I grew up in WV. It's a great book.

I loved Cold Mountain, the book. But was shocked when I heard the movie was to be filmed in Romania and that Nicole Kidman, an Aussie, would play Ada, and that Jude Law, a Brit, will play Inman. What were they thinking?

Course, everyone said Vivien Leigh was too British to play Scarlett so I suppose those Hollywood types are thinking history will repeat itself.

I also loved Seabiscuit but fear Hollywood will ruin that story too.