Reviews for Gap Creek: The Story of a Marriage

The average rating for Gap Creek: The Story of a Marriage based on 2 reviews is 3 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2008-07-31 00:00:00 Russ Davis I loved this book. I selected it to read because my public library's website said that if you liked "These is My Words", you would like this one. However, between requesting it from there and starting it, I read some Goodreads reviews and thought, ugh, I picked a bummer. Not so! In that light, I want to address some of the negatives I read on this site from other readers. This book is, indeed, written by a man. And it is told from a young woman's perspective. But I found the author to be extremely insightful, and I'm sure if he had used a woman's penname I would never have guessed his gender. Not only does he grasp what it is to be a woman, he has the naïveté of what it is to be a newlywed, young woman, down pat. He also understands how women perceive men, and how the actions of a husband affect a wife. And he showed insight into how one grows in the beginning of marriage. So, as far as I am concerned, the author's gender is not a problem. Another issue I noticed in several reviews is that some readers feel this book is depressing. Now this is going to sound harsh, but it's how I feel. Either they are reading from an unsophisticated, naive or very young perspective, or they read the Cliffs Notes version and didn't get everything out of it they should have. Yes, the main character is this novel faces some terrible times. That's life, and it was certainly how life was during the 19th century for the average working person in the mountains of America. People on farms then, and similarly now, dealt with death on sometimes a daily basis, at least in some form. And at that time, illness was terrible and people died from things that don't kill normally healthy people now. What apparently was lost on these readers is the strength and perseverance of the main character, Julie. Julie is a powerhouse of courage and hope. She gets handed lemons in life, and she makes lemonade every time, even when she doesn't feel like it. She delights in the small joys of life - such as the blueness of the summer sky and frost on morning grass, and birds in the trees. When she reaches that point that a trial is over, she feels cleansed or strengthened. And no matter what happens or how bad things get, she never gives up, and always clings to hope - whether for herself or for someone she loves. And the book ends with that very sentiment - hope. The last of the concerns expressed by other readers I want to address was the graphic details of some of the events, such as a hog killing and butchering. I did not feel it was indulgent. It was graphic, but why wouldn't it be? I'm not sure hog butchering is something you can effectively sugarcoat. And I doubt that the average reader would grasp what a chore it is for a woman to help with hog killing and butchering without some details. Like other events in the book, it's explained in a manner that makes the reader understand it, and in a way that I think a woman who had to go through it might actually explain it. I'll wrap up by saying one of the things I loved about this book is that it is not terribly romantic, at least in the traditional sense. I don't like books (or movies for that matter) that are fluff. Real life is about people hanging onto each other and relationships through what is described in wedding vows - for better or for worse, in sickness and in health. Julie falls in love with her husband just like so many women do. He is physically attractive to her, he appears to be strong in character, and he appears to be ready to do anything in the world to make her happy. But when he disappoints her, and when life is rough, and that "sickness" and "worse" come into play, they learn how to hang onto each other, and how to make a life together - in spite of differences and difficulties. If you need fluff to make you happy, this book is not for you.

Review # 2 was written on 2009-01-24 00:00:00 Mark Seymour 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.