Gap Creek [Import] [Hardcover]

Robert Morgan (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 324 pages
• Publisher: Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill; Audiocassettes edition (1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1565122429
• ISBN-13: 978-1565122420
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (390 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,060,916 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

241 of 252 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant!, November 23, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Gap Creek: A Novel (Hardcover)

This is a novel about a very poor young couple living in the Carolina mountains after the Civil War and their hard, hard lives. The work of day to day living back then was mind-boggling! The characters go through many trials and tribulations - fire, flood, extreme poverty, deaths of loved through and clean up after a flood; childbirth. This book reminded me of the book "Christy" and "Strangers in the Forest". Very realistic, very well written, amazing to us modern day folk. I only wish it had been longer, I hope there is a sequel featuring the young couple.

53 of 54 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Wonderful Insight Into Early Appalachian Life, February 1, 2000

By 

Elizabeth Madison (Clarksburg, WV) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Gap Creek: A Novel (Hardcover)

Gap Creek is a story of growing up, letting go, facing hard adversity, and overcoming loss. The life Julie and Hank lived was common at the turn of the century in 1900. When my relatives were young, their families had a smoke house, lived off the food from the garden, canned food for the winter, washed and boiled their clothes, and many other ways of life this book brought alive to me. It gave me a true appreciation for my ancestors' struggle just to maintain daily existence. Gap Creek teaches us a lesson too......hard work, faith, and endurance can see us through any hardship, just as Julie and Hank learn in the end. The book was well written.....Morgan's descriptive style made me either hungry, or wanting a cup of coffee just by the way his writing brought the smells to life! I thought the book was a very accurate depiction of Appalachian life in the late 1800's. I am so glad I lived through this turn of the century instead of that one! Julie's strength is to be admired. All in all, a very enjoyable read

177 of 196 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Don't quite see what all the fuss is about, January 19, 2000

By 

Melanchthon "melanchthon" (USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Gap Creek: A Novel (Hardcover)

This book was OK. Based on the recommendation of the book in "what we're reading" on this site, I had it on the pile of books "to read sometime" by my nightstand when Oprah chose it (and being a big Oprah fan, I immediately read it). One positive thing is that the heroine, Julie, is extremely likeable. However, there were plot elements that didn't make sense to me (if she is such a hard, tough, nononsense person, then how does she make the silly mistake that seems to trigger a chain of ruin in her and her husband's lives?) and the litany of one disaster after another was a little hard to take. Another plus was the detail in which farm work is described (very realistic if you've ever seen a hog butchered, by the way, or cleaned a turkey yourself). However, the only character that seemed to have any subtlety was the the heroine. Her husband, mother-in-law, and sisters are all flat characters that seem to have only one major character trait (negative) a piece. I didn't see what the point of the marital infidently scene was, since it doesn't contribute additional information to the characterization of the husband or the heroine and it doesn't seem to play any role in the plot (which is pretty one-toned, if you asked me). The very limited character development in this book "didn't bring me anything but down," sadly: Julie is a hard worker when we meet her and that doesn't change, but every time she has a moment of happiness, it's crushed. Nonetheless, these experiences don't seem to have any effect on her.

In short, the book is OK and I did read it all the way to the end, but I'm not sure it really rated the bestseller status that Oprah's selection is sure to give it. I'll have to read Oprah's website and find out why she selected it.