Friday Book Report: Gap Creek by Robert Morgan

Published in 2000 by Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill; written by Robert Morgan, Gap Creek tells the story of a hard working woman during the late 19^th Century and the beginning of the new millennium. 

Julie Harmon is a hard-worker.  Growing up in Appalachia near the turn of the 20^th Century, many chores that would be considered “man’s work” are thrust upon Julie at her families homestead.  She watches her baby brother die in her arms, she stays up with her father while he battles and eventually succumbs to lung sickness.  She chops wood, tends the cornfields and helps slaughter hogs.  Through it all she keeps on working, working so hard she’s unable to stop.  After her father’s death, she meets and falls in love with Hank Richards, and at seventeen she marries and begins her new life in Gap Creek, a small town where her husband finds work as a mason. 

Julie and Hank soon discover that calamity is everywhere, and even in the small town of Gap Creek, they cannot elude fires and floods, lawyers and conmen and drunks and peddlers who come calling in hopes to prey upon the young and newly married couple.  Their strength and resolve is tested repeatedly, and they must find a way to lean on each other, their faith, and the generosity of others to survive the harsh winter and their first year of marriage.

Reading Gap Creek was almost like experiencing one of Julie’s many chores throughout the book.  It was often hard work to get through, and in sections it’s so depressing and full of misfortune you're almost expecting something even worse to happen a few sentences later.  Morgan does a good job of depicting life on an electricity-free farm at the turn of the century, but I felt he could have done better in developing his main characters.  The story is written from Julie’s point of view, but I felt I probably could’ve better connected to the characters if Morgan had written in the third person.  We only really saw what Julie felt, and in turn I think that underdeveloped the relationship between her and Hank.  There is very little dialogue between the two, and we never really get an accurate description of how much they love each other, despite all the struggles and hardships they go through.  Instead, we get page upon page of detailed description of wood-cutting and hog butchering.  I can appreciate that the hard work that Julie has to do is part of her character, and that it makes her stronger but I don’t think we needed to know exactly how to butcher a hog.  I wanted to know more about what the characters thought and felt with each other, and how they were able to grow closer as a married couple. 

The bright spot in this book comes from the character of Preacher Gibbs and Julie’s rededication to her faith.  Morgan paints a brilliant picture of how a young woman like Julie can accept the harshness of her life and have a new covenant with the Spirit at the same time.  Where many would turn away from their faith after all the hardships Julie goes through, Julie finds peace and welcomes her relationship with the Lord.  I was impressed that Morgan was able to depict just how much faith can mean to someone when they really need it most.  I wasn’t expecting this book to be a faith inspired novel, but it was surprisingly pleasing to see that if someone like Julie with all the misfortune and bad luck that has plagued her can still turn to her faith, then so can we. 

It’s hard to rate this book.  It was so depressing and melancholy at times, I felt like reading this drained me.  But then again, there are parts that are revitalizing and uplifting despite all the wrong that happens.  The ending was a little bit of a letdown to me, it just sort of ended without any real clear-cut conclusion or finality to the story of Hank and Julie.  Perhaps an epilogue revealing what their future held would’ve helped the ending.  I’d probably give this book a grade of C+, if only because of the monotonous chore descriptions and all the misfortune with no real breaks for the couple.  It’s not a happy ending sort of book, but it’s not a sad ending either.  It’s just kind of so-so.  I don’t know that I’d read it again, but I don’t think I’ll be able to forget it either.