Rating: 
Summary: Gap Creek
Review: The best book I have had the pleasure of reading in years!!!! Robert Morgans insight into life in the late 1800's, keeps you interested and afriad to put the book down!!!!
Rating:
Summary: Believable Protagonist
Review: Wow, I was really suprised by this novel. First, it's one of the best books Oprah has recommended in a long time. Second, I read it in almost one sitting. I was up all night and a book has not caused me to do that in a long time. Robert Morgan is an excellent poet and this is the first fiction that I've read by him. Not only is the protagonist a fully realized character, she's one that you want to believe it. This is a very well-written novel, with not 1 word too many. The author maintains focus, voice, point-of-view, and tone throughout. It's a definate buy, highly recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: Compelling story
Review: I loved this book. It is hard to believe this was written by a man. The childbirth scene from Julie's point of view really rang true for me. The dialogue was enjoyable. I found myself caring about these people and what would happen to them.
Rating: 
Summary: Gap Creek - Yes and No
Review: I put off reading this book for my book club until the last minute - I feared it would be derivative of "Cold Mountain" and didn't want to ruin my memory of that fine book. Turns out, about the only similarity was that it was set in the mountains of Western North Carolina and it depicts country people going about their business of survival. Oh yes, and there's a hard working female character named Julie that resembles "CM's" Ruby.Morgan has received praise for a tour de force. It's a good book and has earned him a seat in the respected author category, but at no time did I feel like I was reading greatness. While many readers object to the excessive hardships reaped on Julie, I didn't have a problem with that - sometimes life just runs in some pretty bad spells. But I did have real problems believing that Julie was only 17 in the face of all that hardship. Her patience and tactical position in a confusing marriage was just too mature for a teenager - and smacked of modern day pop psychology - it was all his mother's fault. She didn't fight with her husband because he expected her to since that's how his mother acted. She ignored him to gain power. He was depressed so she tried to build up his masculinity and therefore make life more pleasant for herself. This is just too much for me to believe in one so young. I also didn't feel real deep, tender love coming from her to him, mostly just astoundingly good sex (although the bit where he hits her and calls her a heifer and she gets excited was just plain disappointing to read - C'mon Morgan!) She had plenty of normal teenage resentment to all the work her family expected of her but then suddenly "poof" it would vanish and she'd be generous and good natured again and ready to pull another load of wood out of the frozen woods. Only at rare moments with her sister Lou did you get a sense of her being a normal, dreaming young girl. No doubt she worked hard, but in those times in her class she was the norm and her pampered, vain (and characatured) youngest sister the unusual one. Her marriage bothered me the most, and not because after the wedding her wonderful, broad shouldered husband became angry and depressed and sullen (complete with a hint of unfaithful flirting with the younger sister.) The cardboard suitor turned into the cardboard oaf. What didn't sit right was that he all of a sudden switched and turned into a really decent, loving, gentle, compassionate man with no warning. We're talking Poster Husband here! The birth of their child, with Julie's near death child-bed fever removing her from the nurture loop, suddenly galvanized him into being loving and responsible and peaceable. Why, now he could even make his harpy of a mother hold her tongue and turn sweet and kind and every woman's dream mother-in-law. All of his frustrated, simmering anger was dissipated. Wow! I would have been more comfortable with Hank being portrayed as we humans are at our best - a continuum of mistakes and learning and more mistakes and more learning. The sudden cure didn't ring true. While others comment that the book just ended and they were disappointed, I actually thought the conclusion was the best part of the book, even if it was a bit of a wrap. Julie and Hank had their year away from home, fraught with hardship in order to learn all their hard lessons and were now returning to family and their future. Sort of an intensive internship of adulthood and they know that they can survive. Hank would now be employable once away from Gap Creek, there would be plenty of support and community, and the young couple were now truly coupled and loving (remember that last lovemaking scene before they left the house?) And Julie's new pregnancy was just plain old life affirming! No, in the end I saw them climbing that mountain with the peak within reach and from thereon out, an easy descent. So while I appear to tear up the character depiction, I did like the book. I understood her feeling of numb tiredness when the baby died (although I saw the baby dying plot coming at conception.) I could picture the rooms and the clothing and the smells and the natural scenery very clearly. I felt the treacherous flood waters and her cold, overworked hands. My knees hurt from all the floor scrubbing (and I secretly wished Julie would come on over to my house sometime - I'd give her some jam in return.) And call me strange, but the most disturbing, damn "life ain't fair" moment for me was when the cow died. That was just too much for a body to bear!
Rating: 
Summary: Big disappointment
Review: I have been a Robert Morgan fan since reading his collection of short stories, but I put this book down before I was halfway through. Although spouse abuse might have been acceptable in those days, Morgan didn't make it acceptable in my mind. I just plain didn't like or care about Hank. Eventually I found Julie tiresome because she just seemed to take his slaps and name calling in stride, going to on to scrub out one Aegean stable after another.
Rating:
Summary: Triumph over adversity
Review: I was really touched by this book. You see the narrator and her husband grow from children to adults in just a year. The circumstances of the book are bleak, but the overall effect is inspiring.
Rating:
Summary: A very moving read!
Review: I agree with some of the other reviews on this book that it is a great story! I had a hard time putting the book down once I started. Julie and Hank went though the toughest times one can imagine, in this day and age, while living in the Southern Appalachian Mountains during the late 1800's . But no matter what Julie remained strong even though Hanks depression. She was an amazing woman who was truly inspiring. This was a very moving story and I would encourage everyone to read it if you enjoy historical ficition. I also want to agree with another rewiewer from GA,USA, that "Fair And Tender Ladies" by Lee Smith is another truly great read.
Rating:
Summary: MISLEADING SUBTITLE
Review: The subtitle "Story of a Marriage" is misleading. This is the story of the FIRST YEAR of a marriage, and what a disatrous first year it was. Very beautiful descriptions of the mountain country of North and South Carolina. Well depicted insights into human nature and human emotion. Aesthetically beautiful and evocative descriptions of mother nature using language of the people where the story is set. I found the series of misfortunes that befall the newlyweds a little too much. Especially where they give their money and property away, not just once, but twice. The descriptions of slaughtering hogs and dressing turkeys and chickens were a little more information than I need. Julie, the narrator, scrubs a lot of floors too. Julie's descriptions of lovemaking with her new husband were pleasant, not lurid, with humor too, especially when their bed collapses in earshot of their old man landlord. I found it confusing that Hank, the husband, was so capable a person when first introduced and became so inept as the story progressed. This seemed somewhat incongruous. He had little resilience to come back from the troubles that visited.
Rating:
Summary: Captivating
Review: I loved most everything about this book, although I hated the ending. I felt like the author simply stopped writing instead of giving his readers a decent ending to the book. I would have felt much more satisfied had Hank & Julie found a home of their own and settled in. I really needed that to happen and felt like I was left hanging. On the whole though, I loved the book, especially the savory descriptions of Julie's old fashioned cooking. I appreciated how the author wove meaningful insights into his writing and found myself laughing out loud at Julie's unspoken comments to herself. Definitely a good read.
Rating:
Summary: Over-rated ¿ OK book, but not deserving of the praise.
Review: I found this book to be quite over-rated. The writing was simplistic and lacking in depth. Many people consider Hemingway's writing style simplistic, but there was depth of meaning beneath his unadorned manner of writing. Oprah has performed a valuable service for the public by encouraging reading through her book club. However, this book is like a good TV show. It may be 'good', but in the end it's still only TV. Also, I have a problem with the accuracy of the author's depiction of turn of the century Appalachia. He displays some knowledge of the area (poke is a local term for sack or bag), but I felt overall many details were suspect and lacking in complete credibility. For readers seeking a touching and more accurate picture of the time and locale, I suggest THE EDUCATION OF LITTLE TREE by Forrest Carter. His account is true and the writing is exceptional, in a sublime way. It was a 1991 Abby Award recipient.
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