Rating: 
Summary: Julie and Hank's first year!!!
Review: Gap Creek is the 14th Oprah book I've read so far. I
enjoyed this book of a couple's first year of a marriage. The reason it didn't get five stars was because of the writing. I know that the main character was supposed to be shown as a hillbilly, but writing like this gets on my nerves. And I fear
that I'll lose my knowledge of proper English.
Julie moves away from her mother and three sisters to begin a life with her husband. This book is plagued by misery, but if you can withstand that, you'll find this book a good read.
This reviewer gives Gap Creek by Robert Morgan
4 stars:)
Rating: 
Summary: Ridiculous!
Review: Annotation-"Gap Creek" is a story based on love and marriage between two very compassionate human-beings. Gap Creek is a story of growing up, overcoming obstacles, and managing life with all hands. This story will open up your heart and take you into a world filled with realities of what married life can turn out to be. Author Bio- Robert Morgan was born and raised in Green River, a small community in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. He studied at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and in 1968 he earned an MFA from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. In 1971 Morgan began teaching at Cornell University where, since 1992, he has been the Kappa Alpha professor of English. Morgan's childhood memories include that of growing up in a small and isolated valley in the North Carolina Mountains are a fertile and constant inspiration for his fiction, which deals with such powerful and formative experiences as attending Pentecostal services, farming, marriage, and fighting disease. Since 1969, Morgan has published four books of fiction, including The Hinterlands (1994) and The Truest Pleasure (1995) named a Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year and a New York Times Notable. (bookbrowse.com) Evaluation- I found the story of "Gap Creek" to be somewhat gory, but at the same time there was meaning and suspense to the story that kept the pages turning. This story is a very realistic way of life early in the 1900's when life was very frightening, and a lot tougher than it is living in today's world. The two main characters Hank and Julie fell in love and agreed to marry. They moved to Gap Creek where Hank got a job at a mill. Julie's job was to take care of Mr. Pendergast's house that he rented out to the couple. Throughout the story many unfortunate misshapenness take place such as Mr. Pendergast dying, Hank losing his job, Julie becoming pregnant, Fires, floods, and many more devastating events that took place. Julie and Hank had to live off of food from their garden, and canned food that had been saved up from the winter. They had to wash and boil their clothes to keep clean and survived on Milking cows to drink from. Life was not easy, but Hank and Julie managed to survive.
This is a story that will open up your eyes and make you look at your life a little deeper. "Gap Creek" teaches us the lessons of marriage that anybody can manage to run into throughout ones life. Marriage is not always just fun and games. Hank and Julie were two lovers who despite their many obstacles always had compassion for each other. All through the many up's and down's. They needed one another to survive and they did just that together.
Rating:
Summary: Ridiculous!
Review: I checked out the audio version and could not get past CD 4. The constant "I said/he said..." drove me crazy. However, the worst thing about it was the unbelievably dreary story line and how unrealistically mature and introspective Julie was. Her character, for all she went through, was actually one-dimensional and predictable. All the book amounted to were detailed descriptions of country life and too many down home southern sayings. It was one trial after another with ridiculous "tough" insights by Julie. This was not realistic! Do not waste your time on this book.
Rating:
Summary: A Remarkable Story
Review: I found this novel to be a wonderful read despite it being a little slow going at the start. Julie Harmon Richards is a young woman, at the turn of the 20th century, learning to deal with life and love in the Appalachian mountains. She marries Hank at the tender age of 17 and begins to learn the true meaning of hardship and suffering. They leave her family behind and start fresh in Gap Creek. Julie and Hank must fend for themselves in every aspect of their lives. They face con artists, death, floods, fire and childbirth. Starvation and loneliness also enter into the picture. Julie has always known hardship and hard work, her work ethic is unbelievably strong. Her unending courage and determination throughout the book inspired me. She grows from a young girl into a young woman at a fast pace during the first year of her marriage to Hank. Her love for him never wavers and in the process her spirituality grows as well. The ending left me wanting more ~ did they ever find the happiness that they so deserved? Will life get easier for this pair who struggled with so much? Mr. Morgan leaves it to us the reader to decipher the true ending...in my mind it's a happy one. They get to start anew.
Rating: 
Summary: Simple and heartfelt
Review: I got this book for Christmas and kept putting off reading it. I don't usually read this kind of book so I wasn't sure if I would like it or not. Surprisingly, I really enjoyed it from beginning to end, reading it in a day and a half. It starts a little slow but its very compelling and simple and the story flows from page one to the hopeful end. This is a difficult book at times due to the hardships she faced and its depressing to see how her life unfolded after marriage. I thought the author did a wonderful job with Julie's voice, it resonated very real to me. This is a woman from a very different time than those of us face now. Her hardwork is very real and descriptive in a way that makes you see how women had to be strong to survive such a turbulent life. Hank was often a very unlikeable character cruel to her at times yet eventually he ended up coming through for her. So these characters were real people to me who did change and grow with time and the pain they suffered gave them strength at the end. This marriage is a real marriage between two kids trying to face starvation, joblessness and being betrayed by others. If you like a simple but deep read, this is the one. Its a great story and a very honest one and shows you how how different life was a hundred years ago. A wonderful read.
Rating:
Summary: The Best book I have ever read!
Review: I have to say it again, this is the absolute best book I have read! A co-worker knew that my family was originally from south-western VA and knew I was looking for a good book! Wow did she get it right! It's a story of Love, Loss, Family, and hardship, as well as a story of surviving eventhough the world around you would just as soon see you fall flat and not make it.
(not to mention it will really make you want a good jelly biscuit! I have read almost all of Robert Morgan's books but this is definately my favorite.
Rating: 
Summary: Not too sure about listening to this on audio.
Review: I know it was supposed to be indicative of the person's dialect and lack of education, but listening to the first person account of a life told through short, choppy, simple sentences got old, real fast. I will, however, give major kudos to Jill Hill (the reader)! She did a fantastic job of making me feel like I was actually listening to Julie (the protagonist) telling her story. So, for that aspect alone, I would recommend the audio version. But, overall, I feel like I would've enjoyed the story more had I just read the book.
Rating:
Summary: Thought provoking!
Review: I read this once before years ago and when I discovered that it is on Oprah's booklist, I decided to read it again. It's beautifully written and I enjoyed it more so the second time around ~~ especially since I had gotten married since the first time I read it. However, like a lot of Oprah's other selections, it is rather depressing. Ok, maybe depressing is the wrong word to use. It is very realistic look at life in the early 1900s when life is still tough and hard, especially for mountainfolks who have no money for medicines and knowledge. Julie is a hardworking woman who meets Hank and agrees to marry him. They moved to Gap Creek where Hank got a job in a mill. They rented a house with Mr. Pendergast where Julie's job is to take care of the house and their landlord. Through a series of unfortunate mishaps, Mr. Pendergast dies, Hank loses his job and Julie gets pregnant. Together, the naive couple struggle to survive the harsh winter ~~ where a huge flood destroyed most of their food crops that they had saved for winter ~~ and together, they find an inner strength they didn't know they had. They basically grew up, as most newlyweds do when they leave home for the first time. It is a realistic look at life. Marriage is not about roses and sweet dreams coming true. It really is a marriage of two minds melding together in spite of obstacles placed in their ways. This is a marriage about survival. They needed one another to survive that first year. And together, they will beat the odds for as long as it takes. I enjoyed it ~~ even the rather descriptive details about farm life and having to butcher your own animals for meals. However, that time wasn't too long ago that we haven't forgotten it. It's a rich look into life that once was and reminds us of how good we have it now. 1-30-04
Rating:
Summary: An all time favorite
Review: The story is sad, sad, sad! The end is redeaming and allows us all a chance to look inside ourselves and find strength
Rating:
Summary: A MUST READ!!
Review: This is by far one of the most memorable books I have ever read. It left such an impression on me that I made everyone in my book club read it as well. I feel it is something every young "over-privledged" child should read as well to know how hard life could be for some. If you haven't read this book...please read it! It's full of hardship, honor and most of all hope!
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