Gap Creek: The Story of a Marriage
by Robert Morgan
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Read in October, 2007
recommends it for:
people who think marriage is and always will be hard
The title is Gap Creek: The Story Of A Marriage. I had to keep reminding myself that this was a book of perspective. All books are, but I was so annoyed at the hard, bleek perspective the author chose to give us, that I wanted to shout out loud at the characters. Be nice! Say Thank You! Find a job!
Of course, their life WAS hard...which made their marriage hard. But, mostly, it was their lack of opportunity that made it so unbelievably difficult. Their lack of education and vision a...more
Of course, their life WAS hard...which made their marriage hard. But, mostly, it was their lack of opportunity that made it so unbelievably difficult. Their lack of education and vision a...more
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Read in January, 2008
This book was not so bad but it wasn't as intriguing to me as the other books I read. I don't like to read about any sort of books containing rural background.
I really enjoyed how Julie, the main character just gets things done whether she wants to or not. I, on the other hand, cannot be like her because at home when I'm assigned to do chores, I do them when I'm done with my homework or if I really don't like doing it, I don't get it done at all.
Julie is a hard working woman who, had seen ...more
I really enjoyed how Julie, the main character just gets things done whether she wants to or not. I, on the other hand, cannot be like her because at home when I'm assigned to do chores, I do them when I'm done with my homework or if I really don't like doing it, I don't get it done at all.
Julie is a hard working woman who, had seen ...more
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This is the other book that I blindly grabbed from the library and the librarian tapped her foot and banged her keys on the counter waiting to go home at 6:01 p.m. And I honestly don't know how a book written against everything my English teacher ever taught me got printed, but here it is. And it is a book recommended by Oprah's Book Club. The author (who is a man) is writing from the point of view of a teenage girl. The family is very poor, the Pa is very sick, and one daughter steps up to d...more
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Read in July, 2006
In general, I usually do not buy "Oprah" books since most of them are "downers" featuring disfunctional families or folks with so many problems you come away from the read in need of Prozac. I thought I would attempt one last Oprah book. Unfortunately, it was Gap Creek! Just how may bad things can happen to one character? This novel is permeated with detailed descriptions of difficult and unpleasant chores performed by Julie, the main character, interwoven with the unrelentin...more
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
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Read in March, 2008
I listened to this on audio, unabridged. It was alright. It made me think in an annoying southern accent though.
I don't think I have ever read a book that used the word "said" so much. She said, I said, she said, I said, he said, they said, said, said, said. I'm sure the author did it on purpose for rhythm or something, but I gotta say, it was annoying for me.
Sort of spoilers below, nothing major.
It was the kind of book that made me really hate one of the characters. Hank...more
I don't think I have ever read a book that used the word "said" so much. She said, I said, she said, I said, he said, they said, said, said, said. I'm sure the author did it on purpose for rhythm or something, but I gotta say, it was annoying for me.
Sort of spoilers below, nothing major.
It was the kind of book that made me really hate one of the characters. Hank...more
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Read in March, 2008
recommends it for:
those that fight till they are down and out
This book is about Julie who was the workhorse of her family before she was married. She never experienced love and did all of the hard 'manwork' in her family because her family became ill and couldn't take care of the farm. One day, she meets a man she falls in love with on first sight and marries him right afterwards. Life was not easy as a married woman, but with the love of her husband, they tried to battle off any battle or hardship that came their way. This teaches us to always have hope ...more
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Read in March, 2008
I have been wanting to read this for quite sometime. I am glad I finally had a chance. This book is a really quick read. It chronicles the first year of marriage of a young couple in the mountains of South Carolina (based on the author's grandparents). It is told from the perspective of Julie. Morgan does a good job writing from a female perspective as the couple endures hardship after hardship. I wish he'd spent a little more time developing the character of Hank who vacillates from being selfi...more
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Read in February, 2008
A book about love and marriage, it made me gag. If you love the cute and lovey dovey stories of every oblivious and stupid couple, read this book before I ruin it for you, please. The descriptions of this book were nice, but the overall idea of true love bores the heck out of me. The typical romance and young marriage were, well, typical. Nothing caught my attention, maybe because I'm still a teenager, which just kills me when attempting to read a book along the lines of such a predictable a...more
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I am in love with this sweet book. The main character Julie is only seventeen and she takes the whole of her marriage on her shoulders and carries it without a nasty word. This book is based back then, like in the 1800's probably. The characters are so loveable. It makes me want to go back to when you had to milk the cow and churn your own butter. Or when you met a guy at age seventeen, he walked you home from church and asked you to marry him. You worked for what is now giving so easily, and wi...more
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Read in April, 2008
I can't quite figure out my response to this one - lukewarm? I kept waiting for something.....not sure what. It never happened. There was some great writing in the book - some beautiful sentences, interesting characterization. Plot never built to anything, really. I mean, there was conflict (check) rising and falling action (check) and resolution (check) - just it still felt sort of dull. I can't put my finger on why it wasn't really a great book. It was interesting - I kept reading and f...more
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Read in February, 2008
This is a beautifully written book. Julie's dance through the falling leaves made me feel like I was there. It is so sad that the way of life that was normal to Julie and her family is something that we have totally lost touch with. In today's world of run-away consumerism, it is hard to imagine that two people could live through a bad winter with only one trip to the store. Even fifty years ago, many people raised much of their own food. A hundred years ago, most people outside the cities ...more
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Has a copy to sell/swap
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Read in March, 2008
recommends it for:
girlfriends
After getting partially through this book, I realized I had started to read it many years before but never finished. I wonder why.... I thought it was a really good book. After reading this, I could really appreciate the lifestyle we have nowadays. I enjoy reading about lives in the past and the author really makes things vived and clear so you feel like you are there. I never really appreciated being able to drive over to the grocery store for food as much as I do after reading this book. ...more
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This book exhausted me! One tragedy after another! But it still was an interesting look into the first year of marriage of a poor Appalachian couple. Everything that could combine against them does, but in the end there is a teensy glimmer of hope. I don't think the characters in this book are as well-developed as those in These Is My Words, which is a similar story. Except for Julie, the heroine, everyone in this book seems to be a little flat. I didn't finish the book with any sense of connect...more
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Read in May, 2008
I won't say this book was bad because it wasn't. I can't say I loved it, though, or that I even liked it a lot. I really never grew to like Hank, one of the main characters, and only kept reading because I just wanted to finish the book. The use of poor grammar, dialect, and a story told in fits and starts—while I understand why—distracted me and added to my discontent with the book. Even the final moment, with its tiny bit of resolution and hope, mostly left me hanging. I just wasn't impres...more
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Read in January, 2005
recommended to Linda by:
Oprah Book Clubrecommends it for: Everyone
A young woman marries a man she barely knows and leaves her parental family to eke out an existence at Gap Creek.
I love books about the struggle to survive. Don't ask why, because I haven't a clue. Gap Creek was one such book. It reminded me of The Yearling. The main character's voice had a simple power to it, and her determination, along with her strength to overcome hardship and tragedy, without feeling sorry for herself, was an inspiration.
This book is based on the true story of one o...more
I love books about the struggle to survive. Don't ask why, because I haven't a clue. Gap Creek was one such book. It reminded me of The Yearling. The main character's voice had a simple power to it, and her determination, along with her strength to overcome hardship and tragedy, without feeling sorry for herself, was an inspiration.
This book is based on the true story of one o...more
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Read in September, 1997
A great step back in time. Takes you back to Appalachian country living and all the hard work involved. The author does a great job of describing the landscape, personalities, and daily living they do - from chores, to family quarrels, to childbirth on the kitchen floor. I just love old-time stories. One warning with this author - is he'll always throw in a nasty , unpredicted death in all of his books. I could just slap him for that, but his books are so good that I keep going back.
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I can tell if a book affects me if I am still thinking about it a week later. This one really grew on me. It is story of a really strong woman who keeps moving forward. I have to wonder if the author didn't put a whole life time of struggles into the one year of marriage that this book covers. It just seemed too much and yet I don't question that the poor mountain people in this book had many trials. I don't think I have complained for a whole week since finishing this book.
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Read in June, 2007
I really liked this book a lot, in fact I wished it hadn't already ended. I didn't give it 4 stars because the subject matter wasn't the kind of thing where you'd exclaim, "I LOVED IT," but I really, really liked it for the following reasons: the NC-mountain-language style, the in-depth development of the characters, the story and learning about that period in time, and the themes. Extremely well-written. This book would lend itself to a big discussion.
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