Reviews for This Rock

The average rating for This Rock based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2010-04-10 00:00:00 Paula Fischer I could hardly put this book down, but at times found it sad and a bit depressing. It ends well enough, but this isn't one of those books in which the main character is fully triumphant at the end, and definitely isn't a "feel good" book. It is more about the struggle to find oneself and one's calling, and the many failings we often take in doing so. I do love this author. The other couple books I read by him so far, Gap Creek and Brave Enemies, are love stories about the relationships between man and woman. This, too, is a love story, but not in the same sense. It is more about the love of family, particularly between two very different brothers and their mother. Also like the other books I have read by him, this book is about our humanness. It reaches into what it is to go through life, our relationships, our spirituality, and how we reconcile our lives at the end of each day. Morgan, like the other books I have read from him, has written this one in vernacular, which I love if well done. He clearly has a talent for it. The prose in this book are simple but evocative. The imagery is strong and clear. Morgan not only can make you see what he sees, but also summons richer responses, such as colors and sensations brought on by strong emotions, or memories kindled by scent. I can certainly recommend this book. I love the other two I've read from him more, but This Rock is another good one.

Review # 2 was written on 2014-06-26 00:00:00 Marsha Mann Not his best work. While Gap Creek and Greatest Pleasure were gripping and breath taking accounts of life in 1920s for young adults in North Carolina's hills, This Rock is scattered and anti-climactic. The book is written from the viewpoint of both the main character, Muir, and his mother, Ginny. Both Muir and his older brother Moody struggle toward uncertain futures after the death of their father, both making many mis-steps along the way. Morgan's writing has become formulaic and tired, much like Nicholas Sparks works. Morgan's bias toward Christianity and Pentecostal sects are well-worn and unresolved. While this telling of Morgan's theme has a somewhat gentler ending, it also seems to rush to a stop after skidding through some rather tight turns, leaving me somewhat puzzled.