Julie, you would’ve loved feminism

This book was different in that most of it was sad. I did enjoy reading about the historical part of it and it was very descriptive.

I rated this 5 stars because of the way it was written and the twists in this couple's story. But if I have to rate the characters in this novel, I would definitely rate Julie 4.5 stars and her husband Hank only 1 star. This couple is two different souls who just hurriedly tied the knot without even has the slightest idea about each other. Hank was just strong in physique but not on the inside because of how he easily snap and breakdown during problems.

I know that other reviews on this book were not that good but for me, I enjoyed reading it. It showed us that marriage is not pure bliss and that couples must be headstrong and should help each other in times of struggles. And before I could forget, I was really amazed that a man written this because of how he portrayed women/wives stronger than them, guys.

Found this at a Little Free Library, and what a find! Its genre is kind of a “backwoods survival by a plucky woman and her almost-equally-plucky husband around the turn of the 20th Century.” Similar works might include “Cold Mountain” (book and movie, the latter with a well-deserved Oscar for Renee Zellweger), “Winter’s Bone” (book and movie the latter of which has well-deserved accolades but, to my mind, unacceptable Oscar snubs for Jennifer Lawrence and John Hawkes), and “Heartland” (1979 movie set in my home state of Montana in 1910, starring Rip Torn and Conchata Farrell, in her finest hour, an Oscar-worthy performance to my mind), all of which depict courage, strength and determination in the face of the most terrible of conditions.

Julie Harmon, the narrator, is the middle (but most responsible) daughter in a family living in Flat Rock, a small community in the mountains of North Carolina. The book starts out with the illness and death of Julie’s brother Mesenier, after a grueling trip up the mountain to fetch a doctor. Gives you an immediate flavor of the kind of environment the family must endure on a daily basis. At age nineteen, Juliee meets Hank Richards, falls in love, and hastily marries him, and they move across the state line to Gap Creek, in the mountains of South Carolina. And all this is just the preamble to what follows.

Julie and Hank have been raised in harsh conditions, so they tend to weather whatever the world throws at them. But DANG, it’s an avalanche of severe challenges. For one, they come across an abandoned house, which they fix up, and meet the owner, Mr. Pendergast, with whom they share the space. He situation tuns tragic when he dies and the house partially burns down. But any way you look at it, the couple’s existence is subsistence, mostly with crops, canning and knowledge of cooking with very little. There is a vivid description of the killing and butchering of a hog, reminiscent of similar scene in the above-mentioned “Heartland.” Their tenancy at the house remains precarious throughout, and there are several instances of nefarious individuals who take advantage of them. The weather is extreme and their marriage is challenged again and again by the stresses of existence. Throughout all of this, it is obvious that Julie is the stronger of the two, and she not only puts up with his wanting to give up, but actually boosts him and makes him stronger and a better partner. A local preacher befriends them, and eventually the couple finds comfort, solace and strength in the church community. Julie has an ambivalent-at-bestr relationship with Hank’s mother, “Ma Richards,” but comes to respect and befriend her. To complicate things, Julie becomes pregnant and suffers thorough unspeakable hardships throughout it, including delivery of her child alone. And this is just a summary! And there ain’t no happy ending either, folks.

Despite what may seem to be a depressing work, I found Mr. Morgan’s writing to be deeply evocative, not only in his descriptions of the hazards facing these characters (whom I cheered loudly throughout), but also in the joy of nature. Here’s an example:
“The trees was thinner at the ridge top and their limbs had already been stripped of leaves. I looked right up through the lightning shapes of the limbs to the blue sky…Through the gray lightning of the limbs I looked right into the deep sky.
“Now it was the strangest thing to look deeper and deeper into the blue. Most times you look into the sky and just see haze and blue. Unless there is clouds and you look past the clouds. But this time I looked into the clear sky and saw the DEPTH in the sky. I looked past the clear air into the furthest miles of air, and still deeper where the air was thinning out to nothing. I looked until I could see nothing but emptiness, out toward the stars, though I couldn’t see the stars in daylight.”

I greatly enjoyed this book, and indeed I have obtained its sequel, “The Road from Gap Creek,” narrated by Julie’s daughter Annie. Looking forward to more struggles, pluckiness and adaptation to a changing world. Five stars for “Gap Creek,” highly recommended.

This book alone managed convince me to ignore Oprah's Book Club. The situation was interesting enough but I decided that Robert Morgan should not try to write from a woman's perspective. In my opinion he got it all wrong. Not worth recommending and i can't figure out why so many people loved it.

I loved this book, the imagery was amazing. The newlyweds and their progression through life working a farm under the watchful eye of the owner who is elderly. The flood was frightening and saving the animals was so important and yet they lost so much. The relationships between the characters was good, the old man was interesting and his death made me cry. Julie worked like a dog, even being pregnant. They learned and lived and loved and then lost so much that they needed to start over. This is a book that stays with you and you think about it for a long time. The end gave you hope and yet made you wonder why.

this is a horrible book the man who wrote it is so sexist and classist I cannot believe anyone would read this utter filth I could tell what was going to happen from the very begining it was so bad I could not finish it it is the worst if they would let me I would give this peice of trip the zero stars it deserves

Good story, just didn’t like the ending.

Well, that was depressing... Julie has a hard life, and in this book, it only gets harder. Really. Nothing. Ever. Gets. Better.

4.5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

This is Appalachian literature at its best. Robert Morgan gets the language. He gets the grit and determination of hill people. He gets the love of a spouse who is willing to forgive the worst. He gets the time these people lived. He just gets it and it’s unfortunate so many people who read this book didn’t. I’m so glad I finally got around to reading this one.

Set in the Blue Ridge Mountains along the border between North and South Carolina, Julie’s narrative gives us a raw, brutal and sometimes gut-wrenching description of Appalachian life at the turn of the century. It’s a story of a quickly decided marriage and a move based on nothing but the two lover’s need to strike out on their own. The grueling challenges they face become the measure of their personalities. Julie, ever the optimist, seems to thrive on the hardness of her existence, while Hank, morose and sullen, sinks into despair. The author describes in rich detail how the land influences their lives every step of the way, finally driving them to return to the mountain to start over. Some of the unending paragraphs of description and inner thoughts become an excuse to skim, and at times the plot seems an endless account of daily life. Even when the sister visited, I expected more drama, but none developed. The flood scene and Julie’s trial of delivering her own baby are crisis moments but the book never has a major crescendo moment. I did enjoy how Robert Morgan showed the force religion played in the lives of the mountain people and the fact that through all the young couple’s struggles, they stayed together and seemed to grow closer, changing to meet one another’s needs. Don’t read this book for a thrilling, unable-to-put-down read, but instead read it for a lesson on tenacity and determination. Believe me you won’t ever complain again how hard your life seems.

I was so taken away with this book. I LOVED the protagonist Julie. She was so tough, so physically and mentally strong, and so devoted to her life. I loved watching her learn and grow. And even though it was hard to read about parts of her marriage, I appreciated how young she was and what she was willing to do to survive in the time that she was born. It ends abruptly, but considering the kind of book that it was, I don't think the author had any intention of a neat and tidy conclusion.