Book Review: Gap Creek

Usually, I avoid Oprah's book club picks like the plague. This is not because I don't like Oprah, but because her book selections are usually very dark and depressing. Though I enjoy such books, I try to find them on my own. That way, if they stink, I only have myself to blame! Well, I stumbled onto Gap Creek on audio while at the library and didn't know that it was one of Oprah's choices. Once I started to listen to it, I was completely entranced and got the paperback so that I could read it even when I wasn't in the car. Now, I can see why Oprah chose it and have to give her kudos for finding such a superb read!

Gap Creek takes places in the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina where Julie Harmon lives with her mother, brother, father, and three sisters. The book opens with the death of Julie's brother which is then followed by the death of her beloved father. Julie was always a hard worker around the house and was assigned the chores that were usually given to men. One day while she is working outside, a handsome man drives by in the his carriage and the two begin courting. Hank Richards and Julie Harmond quickly fall in love and though Julie is only 17, they become married and move to Gap Creek where they will tend to the cantankerous Mr. Pendergast. Though their love for each other is strong, their responsibilities weigh heavy on them and their relationship. When Julie becomes pregnant, it seems like a blessing but as her pregnancy continues events occur that jeopardize their happiness and safety.

When I discussed this book with someone else who had read it, we both commented on the fact that the novel is character driven and though there are plot points, none of them matter as much as the development of the characters and their relationship. In many ways, it reminded me a great deal of Carolyn Chute's The Bean of Egypt Maine which is an ultimate favorite of mine. Though the books are set in different time periods and in different parts of Appalachia, they have a great deal in common. Both are relationship based and describe not only those between two people but also between families and (possibly most importantly) between people and the land. The story is hard to read but that is only because the people in it are hard and their lives are difficult. There are no true heroes or heroines and the novel doesn't leave you with a warm fuzzy feeling, but I think those are the strengths of the book and not weaknesses. I would certainly recommend it to anyone who is sick of happy endings, cliched characters, and hackneyed plots and wants something more real. Bravo, Oprah, Bravo.

-DLP