Uhhhhh.... What exactly was the point of what I just read??!!! Oh, there wasn't one???!!! Ok. Just checking. Was this bad? No. Boring at times, yes.

I mean this is a Oprah 's book club read....the praise for it is borderline overwhelming. But, I just can't gush. I can't tell you it was horrid. I'm not going to remember this book. The only memorable moment was the baby death scene. Even that wasn't written extraordinarily well.

The characters were hard to get to know. None were
super likeable
likeable. And, what was up with the baby sister jealousy? Those moments really bothered me.

Meh. 2.5 stars. Not for me.

Actually, did not finish. I got about 13% in and I just couldn't read anymore. It's in the first person, with grammar/language the way a back woods girl might have had. So that in and of itself was getting tiring. It starts out with the girl's little brother dying from some gruesome parasitic worms... absolutely disgusting. Then the dad dies from tuberculosis (pretty sure that's what "lung disease" he had). She meets her future husband and their kiss is a bit descriptive and so idk, got to thinking what if it goes in more detail after they're married

Written in the terse language of the mountain people but woven in poetry, Gap Creek is the story of a life and marriage that not only survives but grows through pain, poverty and terrible loss. I felt as if I’d stepped back in time as I read, but also as if these characters were my people and their lives were mine and my neighbors. Each chapter is a drawing back to a home you never knew you had or left. Every page is a feast for the senses, making the past and the cast of characters come alive.

The subtitle of this book is "The Story of a Marriage." Well, it is that, in the same sense that "Moby-Dick" is the story of a whale. It is the story of growing up, of living a hardscrabble rural life, of learning the ways of the world, of discovering one's own strength, and of coming to terms with grief. Morgan creates a vivid main character, Julie, who is wholly believable and whom I rooted for all the way. I recommend this book.

I finished this book several days ago and I'm still thinking about it. That, to me, is the mark of a great story. I had to keep reminding myself that Julie, the main character, was only 17 years old. The time of her life that we get to see is inspiring and heart breaking.

There are two premises espoused in this book: 1) in order to have a successful marriage, the woman must subjugate her strengths, personality, perseverance, to her abusive, shiftless husband in order to protect his fragile ego and to safeguard against added abuse; and 2) once your abusive, shiftless husband finds god, he will no longer be abusive and shiftless. I hate this book for putting the burden of a "good" marriage on the woman and perpetuating the myths that if the woman just keeps her place of subservience (and her husband finds god) all will be well. I wouldn't recommend this tripe to anyone.

Whoa, times were tough in Gap Creek, South Carolina in 1899-1900.
They went through some things that stressed me out and I had to put the book down, because of their gullibility.
What I liked most about the book was the descriptions of the seasons, the landscape, and the weather.
What I didn't like was the husband.
What I did like was his growth.
What I didn't like was the skeevy sex.
The book would have been a three star with that left out. But some writers feel the need to add it? Or don't know how to write it without the skeevy details?
A few questions about the book: pg 7 was the lemon imported?
pg 179 what happened to the hog meat? (it seemed to disappear and then later in the story reappear)
don't believe the story about the cow.
pgs 279-280 a person could be heard screaming 1.5 miles away in the mountains, especially in 1899-1900 when there weren't plains, trains, automobiles, etc buffering the scream.
I would have liked the book better if I had read it in middle school.
(read for a library book club)
pg. 237 The world would be a better place if people helped each other more. (Julie)

I had read this once before, but when it showed up in the astonishing stack of books my aunt sent me recently I thought it was time for another visit with the Richards family down in the valley. The theme I liked the most in this books is that it doesn't seem to be a good idea for mountain folk to leave the mountains; that's just asking for trouble.

And trouble is just what Julie and Hank get when they move down on Gap Creek so Hank can go to work at a job nearby. Julie, newly married with the secret hope that her days of hard work are done, finds herself working just as hard to keep house for her landlord and new husband. Their trials really begin at hog killing time, and things just get worse and worse as the young couple struggles to deal with fire, flood, famine and a difficult mother-in-law.

Told from the point of view of Julie, I sometimes thought the characterization of Hank and the others in the book was a little sketchy. But then I realized that Julie told her story like a mountain woman would tell it. If my grandmother had ever really sat down and told the story of her life, it would have read very much like the story of Julie and Hank. Not so much tragedy, of course, but it would have been about trouble and working and family. And Grandma would have told it like Julie did, with not so much emphasis of how and why this happened; she would have just said it happened this way.

Reading between the lines is required more with this book than with many others, but there is a subtle Appalachian realism here. Mountain people don't go in for introspection and emotion, really. Perhaps the book would have been stronger with less tragedy and more empathy between the characters, and more revelation about the development of some characters. But I think the author accomplished his purpose, and told "The Story of a Marriage".

Gap Creek takes you back in time to Julie Harmon's life at the turn of the century. She grew up helping her father and mother run their house and farm. Julie watches her brother and then her father die, and is the one the family depends on to care for these two as they are ill. Events take a quick turn after these deaths when Julie meets Hank Richards, and marries at the young age of 17. Robert Morgan takes you through the day to day struggles of life and ends the tale emotionally with yet another death to Julie and her family.

This book was wonderful, but yet I am surprised to see that Oprah chose it as a Book Club pick. It is written more at a Young Adult level and because of the time period the author chose to use language that may have been more domineering to that time of life. For example using was instead of were or vice versa.

Overall this was a very touching, great book.

Good story, just didn’t like the ending.

I was looking at the reviews of this book and it seems that it was either loved or hated, with few in between. I am happy to report that I loved it. It takes place around 1900 in Appalachia, both North Carolina and South Carolina. The story is told by 17-18 year old Julie, who is one of the best heroines ever created. She is hardworking, tough, strong, no-nonsense, and loves the outdoors. She finds joy in small things. She marries for love, though she grows up that first year of her marriage. One thing I remember-and it stands out to me as friends and I have had this very discussion-is how disconcerting it is when Julie discovers that of the two of them, she is the stronger mentally.
There is a scene early on in her marriage where her husband slaps her and calls her a “heifer” when she is duped and naively hands over money. That sort of thing is tough to read, and I wish she had spoken up, and I suppose this was more common during this era, but it bothered me. A lot of readers did not like the description of the hog-killing, or the laying out of a dead body, etc. I appreciated these descriptions because it was true to life in this area of the country, and life and living were tremendously difficult. And I suppose the slap was too.
An excellent read, with a main character who is unforgettable in her strength.

This is a book that I read several years ago. I will give this book 5 stars as I will never forget it and continue to recommend it and loan my personal copy to friends. A story of extreme hardship and survival. If you think you have problems, read this book and you will count your blessings.