3 member(s) found this review helpful.
I loved this book! So different from most of today's fiction. The author notes at the end: "I tell my students that you do not write living fiction by attempting to transcribe actual events onto the page. You create a sense of real characters and a real story by putting down one vivid detail, one exact phrase, at a time. The fiction is imagined, but if it is done well, it seems absolutely true, as real as the world around us." I say he is a master, if this book is any indication.
3 member(s) found this review helpful.
Wow - this is one everyone should read just to understand how easy we have it today! This is a deeply moving novel, and although it is set in the depths of poverty and difficulty, it offers a glimmer of hope, as well. The characters are intensely drawn.

Angela M. (
ammrx) reviewed on 6/11/2007...
3 member(s) found this review helpful.
Wonderful story of a young married couple. I actually had tears in my eyes at times. Also a rather quick read.

Erin C. (
brandinsp) reviewed on 11/10/2006...
3 member(s) found this review helpful.
This is the second time I've read this book. There are parts and chapters that have stayed in my mind for a few years - it's that good and that memorable. Remarkable story-telling.
2 member(s) found this review helpful.
i read this, because my mother in law loves Oprah, so whatever Oprah raves about, she buys and passes it on to me, for the most part these books do not float my boat, but this one sat in my night stand for a year, and i finally picked it up and tried it... i'm glad I did, as the story was gripping, not a light fun happy book, which is what I like in something I read before i fall asleep each night.. this is a great story of a time when things were hard, and life was full of challenges that required more strength than I would ever have! It was a good book that I found myself thinking about after I read it. I passed it on to my mom and she loved it.
2 member(s) found this review helpful.
The main character is such an inspiration--a strong, principled, woman who triumphs against all odds. I really enjoyed reading her story.
2 member(s) found this review helpful.
Terrific read...makes you appreciate the strength of a loving marriage and working hard.

Marian L. (
sunfish) reviewed on 2/12/2007...
2 member(s) found this review helpful.
This book is a gem. The development of a marriage under hard conditions. The writing is very good. I'd like to read more by this author.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
Hypnotic writing. How could a man possibly write so well from a female POV? And his Appalachian dialect is impecable...not overdone, just real.

Loretta B. (
bellorri) reviewed on 12/5/2008...
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
This book is excellent. The main character is likeable from the start and the flow of the story is amazing. I read it in one day and wanted more. Julie is a strength to be reckoned with as well as a wonderfully compassionate woman. Her trials through life make you want to be a better human being.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
A very moving story. Books like these remind me to be thankful of how comparatively easy modern life can be. Great read!
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
Is there a sequel yet??? I lOVED this story and wanted to know more more more about the characters and their neighbors.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
This book was such a good read. Once I got started, I could not put it down! This book is so simply written, you feel as if you are part of Julie Harmons world. You see her grow as a young woman, as a wife, and as a partner. This is a beautiful story of a marriage- its ups, its downs, and all that's in between.

Lisa J. (
LisaGrrr) reviewed on 12/12/2006...
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
Great book. One of my favorites. I read this book before but re-read and picked up so much more.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
Great Story!
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
A touchingly sweet and honest potrayal of a young marriage.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
Vivid enough to create gutteral responses, this novel sheds the romance of its time in favor of stark reality. The characters are believable, if not likable.
K. K. reviewed on 9/12/2006...
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
I liked it though it started slow. I suspect that some of the references made to household goods didn't yet exist for the time period. However, the pace picked up and the characters were believable. I enjoyed the anticipation of wondering what would afflict this young family next; a bit inspirational in fact.

Katy S. (
KatyS) reviewed on 8/27/2006...
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
Oprah's Book Club selection. National Best Seller, A New York Times Noteable Book, Winner of the Southern Book Critic Circle Award. A starkly beautiful story of a strong young woman prevailing over natural disasters and tragedies, as well a cultural barriers, in the first year of her marriage in the last year of the century.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
Great Story. Hang in there for the end. :)

Charlotte L. (
char78613) reviewed on 2/9/2006...
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
Operah's book club. I loved this book!! A great read about Appalachia. The author draws a vivid picture of life in the mountains, poverty and marriage.
I didn't enjoy this story at all. It as the story of a marriage but not a love story. The writers descriptions of the hard life of poor people in the era was excellent.
Dull, didn't really care about the characters or believe in their love.
I am glad I read this book. Their life was hard. My life in comparison is SO easy. I almost feel guilty! I was amazed at how the male author was able to write from a woman's point of view with such accuracy of emotion.

PATRICIA J J. (
musicowls) reviewed on 7/21/2009...
While it was well written, this book was just plain depressing! One tragedy after another! The description of the main character prepping that dead guy's body for a funeral, I was like, "oh come on!" Like she really would have done that. Will not read more Oprah picks, she seems to always like depressing stories. Not for me
Small town folks living a life they are given not what they would actually want for themselves if they had more choices. Hard working woman is stuck in a marriage of convenience even though she thinks it's love. Making life work no matter what circumstances we are given made me feel for her.
This was a really great book, but such a sad and tragic story. It is about a young girl, 17 years old, has had an already tragic life, seeing her younger brother and father die, gets married, moves away from the only family she has known. It's one tragedy after another until her and her husband have to leave the only home that they have known together after they have built it up from nothing. It really opened my eyes to how times really were in 1900. This book reminded me a lot of Cold Mountain. Very good story.

Kathleen L. (
noisynora) reviewed on 6/1/2009...
Amazing hardships, but a good story about a simpler life and simpler times.

Mary Lynn P. (
mary-lynn) reviewed on 5/26/2009...
From a rocky start to her marriage, Julie manages to hang on to every thread of self-determination, and makes choices that will determine her own future. This story proves the power of God and prayer and fellowship, a great read!
One of the best books I have ever read. This story made me appreciate my lifestyle today.

Judy B. (
jdyinva) - Virginia Bch, VA reviewed on 5/7/2009...
Wonderful, moving story. I had to keep reading till the end. Wish there was a follow-up as I'd like to know what happened to Julie and Hank. The descriptions and character development reads like a poem. Highly recommended.
I really enjoyed this book...could hardly put it down.

Allison O. (
Allieoop) reviewed on 9/17/2008...
Story of a 17 yr old girl living over in western NC in early 1900's, poverty, pregnancy, marriage. Enjoyed this book

Ammie H. (
AmiLu) reviewed on 8/17/2008...
This book was interesting. It is a good, quick read.

Michelle C. (
Shellaree) - ID reviewed on 8/4/2008...
This book is on Oprah Winfrey's book club list.
Julie Harmon works as hard as a man, so hard that at times she's not sure she can stop. People depend on her.

Loah H. (
zuphoto) reviewed on 6/30/2008...
This is one that I read and it was a great love story set back in the day long time ago. Gives a great look into the trials that you would have gone through in the time before we had the car, the store was not close by and you had to be great at gardening and canning. (So forth.)
Zuhoto :)

Sandy R. (
sandy13) reviewed on 6/8/2008...
I found this book and almost didn't read it. It was really a good story.

Cheryl D. (
simsbuki) reviewed on 8/4/2007...
Wow, I really liked this!

Myrna E. (
lacewing) reviewed on 5/15/2007...
This is an Oprah's Book Club Book.

Tammie L. (
tamm) reviewed on 2/25/2007...
Like this. Oprah picks good books.
In turn-of-the-century Appalachia, Julie Harmon marries and faces a hard life of subsistence farming: a constant struggle against not only nature but the unpredictable humans who inhabit her world.
During their first year of marriage, Julie and Hank move to Gap Creek, South Carolina, where a flood that nearly kills them tests the endurance of their relationship.
This book was one of Oprah's Book Clubs' books. When I started to read this book I couldn't put it down. It is a very heartfelt book.
Fabulous book. I couldn't put it down!

Maryanne S. (
mare) reviewed on 7/26/2006...
Great Book! Oprah Book Club!

CHRIS P. (
MaineMan) reviewed on 7/17/2006...
A down-home easy to read book. A heartwarming story of simple hardworking people in a chaotic world. A national bestseller, a New York Times Notable Book, and an Oprah's Book Club selection.

Jeanne M. (
silybum) reviewed on 6/27/2006...
Loved reading this book. I always wanted to lead a more simple, self-sufficient life......but I now realize, after reading this book, I probably wouldn't have survived back then.

Angela N. (
italia) reviewed on 4/11/2006...
I was totally engrossed in this gripping tale of a young wife and her life.
OK read, doesnt seem to reach a real climax

Laurie B. (
Lamb616) reviewed on 4/4/2006...
Oprah's Book Club book
An Oprah book, this is the story of the south and a strong woman who struggled so heard to overcome their problems and save her marriage.
I love this book. The main character is so strong and is a great role model. Reading this book actually has motivated me to work more diligently!

Sherry B. (
redhead) reviewed on 1/25/2006...
very good book
Oprah's book club selection...
Another of Oprah's Club books. The story of a Carolina turn of the century woman - her childhood and marriage through bad times and good. Very good story of another era full of fasinating characters and events.
At first I had a hard time relating to the protagonist, but as the story evolved I began to admire her inner strength and faith in the face of seemingly endless challenges.
Absolutely loved this book!! Outstanding!
Robert Morgan brings every emotion vividly to life in this novel about a young girl, a new marriage and a life of hard work and all the woes that come along with it.
I remember that I loved this book when I read it. The author describes hog butchering and dressing in such detail that I felt like I saw it myself. It's not a gruesome book, but rather a very frank depiction of life in a time when things weren't so easy. I have another of his books on my TBR shelf.

Elaine T. (
MzT) reviewed on 9/21/2005...
Gripping tale of bygone years, suffering, and hope. Notable. Unforgettable.

Lynn M. (
oodella) reviewed on 9/19/2005...
Oh so good...moving, sometimes disturbing. A great read.

Janet B. (
Janetb21) reviewed on 8/31/2005...
This was an amazing book! So moving!
Simplistic and yet so real, couldn't put it down.
New York Times Bestseller; Oprah's Book Club "A starkly beautiful story of a strong young woman prevailing over natural disasters and tragedies, as well as cultural barriers, in the first year of her marriage in the last year of the century." - Loyal Jones