Cold Mountain did not catch my eye at all like Mudbound certainly did.  I found myself just barely getting through each page.  The beginning of the book started off pretty well, but that quickly changed.  I had really high hopes for Cold Mountain because I enjoyed reading the first book so much.  Now, I did not dislike all parts of this novel.  Some parts really caught my eye and I then thought that the rest of the book would be easier, but I was disappointed because that was not the case.  I have to admit at some points I was confused.  Some moments I even had to reread parts of the book that way I knew what was going on.  My mom and sister even had to read the book to me that way I could get it done in time.  I do not know if it was just me or did the book seem to drag on longer than it really needed to?

I thought that the author, Charles Frazier, was very detailed at times that were not always needed, but other times I enjoyed the abundance amount of details he gave.  Frazier really made Inman seem like an amazing character and a real one as well.  Just I could not really find myself connecting with him throughout the novel.  A character I started off disliking I found myself liking more as the story went on was Ada.  She seemed very stuck up and rude at times, but soon I realized that was just the way she was raised and educated.  The love that they had for each other was astonishing.  Inman fighting so hard to get back to the one person he loved was very heroic I thought.  And the way Ada trying so very hard to get her fathers farm back on track and dealing with her love being gone and fighting in a war was so crazy to me.  She just seemed to be a very strong character to me.

One of the main things I noticed throughout the book was empathy and pity.  At times I thought Frazier was trying to make me, the reader, feel bad for Inman and Ada.  If that was the case, he sure did pull it off with me.  That was the only feeling I felt while reading the book, was pity and empathy.  I felt bad for Ada having to work so hard and hide her feelings about Inman being away.  I felt bad for Inman for having to fight in such an awful war and being away from his love so long.  At points it made me feel annoyed because I was feeling so bad for these made up characters that Frazier had created.  Frazier definitely had me feeling bad for them throughout the whole novel.

I would have to say I really honestly did not enjoy this novel as much as I did Mudbound.  It had its ups but it had way more downs in my opinion.  I would not say that I would read this book again because it was really hard for to get through it the first time.  I am very proud of myself for making myself read it, but I also feel that my blog about it is not as strong.  I tried to do my best with how I understood the book, but I do not know how well I succeeded.  I hope that when we talk about it in the classroom I will understand it more or we will all be confused together.  Honestly, both work for me.

Mudbound definitely collected dust on my bookshelf before I ever decided it was time to crack it open. I am not going to lie. I expected a cliche book about the divided south that I would never typically read. I expected a dull novel that I would never even dare to think about buying at Books A Million. I expected to hate every single printed word. That is also probably why I put it off until the last possible moment to read it. However, when I finally got around to reading it, I was pleasantly surprised with the story that came within the yellow cover. It was not about some ole country boy and his farm. I did not continue to read it because my grade depended on it. (Although that is why I opened it.) There were times when I thought I had read for only five minutes, yet I saw the sun setting outside my bedroom window. Although, during the tougher parts, I would put off reading those scenes for days. Mudbound captivated me from beginning to end. I felt like I was rooming with Henry and the girls in that tattered shack that they called home. I was experiencing Pappy’s devil-like actions. The six characters that shared their inner thoughts with me became apart of my busy summer. I lived in two worlds this summer: mine — the one that took me to the Outer Banks and Maryland University — and their’s. I truly enjoyed the tale that Hillary Jordan told and the messages that came with it.

Jordan created many themes within this 324 paged book. One theme was silence (the inability to speak), which is shown literally towards the end when Ronsel Jackson had no tongue and less literally when Jamie could not share the things he encountered during the war. The role of women was also shown throughout the book. For example, when Hap broke his leg and tried to forbid Florence from working in the fields to avoid the shame it would bring him. Racism is a more dominant theme in the novel. Racism appears as a flashing neon light in Mudbound, like during the violent scenes such as Ronsel’s tongue being cut off. These showings of racism are easier to reject and disagree with. I can easily recognize how wrong something is when I have to brace myself before reading on. However, the subtle showings of racism are much harder to distinguish. Mudbound showed how the entire system was constructed to keep blacks on the bottom of the food chain. Racism like this sneaks its way into cultures and is just as destructive as the former type. In today’s society, the latter method is used more to manipulate people. Pure violence would raise red flags and show the public that something is astray.

My favorite character was Ronsel Jackson. I enjoyed the tales of him at war. I am assuming that Hillary Jordan wasn’t involved in World War II, but she sure as hell seemed like it. It was the most realistic war story I have ever read. Kudos to you, Jordan! Ronsel’s journey enthralled me. His hopeless romance for the German girl had me turning pages. I cried tears of joy when I read the scene of Ronsel becoming an educated man, despite his loss of tongue.

Overall, I think Mudbound was a very excellent book and I would definitely read it again. I am not very fond of reading, but I found myself wanting to read on when the book came to an end.  I was interested with every page and towards the end I felt like my heart was beating faster because I was just so eager to turn to the next page. The part at the end of the novel when the KKK comes after Ronsel and Jamie tries to rescue him but fails really had me at the edge of my seat while reading.  I honestly did not think I was going to enjoy the book as much as I did but I was very wrong.  I am glad that I gave the book a chance because it is easily now one of my favorite books i have ever opened.

 

 

Hey fellow classmates!  My name is Malerie Wratchford and I recently just turned seventeen.  The biggest thing there is to know about me is I absolutely love basketball.  I have been playing since I was about six and my love for the sport only grows stronger the longer I play.  A fun fact about my basketball career is that the first game of my junior year I tore my ACL.  Therefore, I had to watch/coach my junior season which was very difficult for me.  I am just letting you guys know that so if you hear me complain about it in class you won’t get as annoyed.  I am the oldest out of four siblings, three girls and one boy.  My favorite food is chicken nuggets and I am obsessed with Chickfila.  My favorite subject is English so I guess that means I am really going to enjoy this class.  I am super excited for my senior year, but I am also very nervous for what my future holds.  I am excited to learn amazing new things in this class, to hopefully make new friends and laugh with the old ones!

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