The Road from Gap Creek: A Novel

by Robert Morgan

Overview

The next generation of family from the bestselling Gap Creek confront economic uncertainty and wartime in rural Appalachia in this "moving, lyrical saga" (Kirkus Reviews, starred review).

One of America's most acclaimed writers returns to the land on which he has staked a literary claim to paint an indelible portrait of a family in a time of unprecedented change.

In a compelling weaving of fact and fiction, Robert Morgan introduces a family's captivating story, set during World War II and the Great Depression. Driven by the uncertainties of the future, the family struggles to define itself against the vivid Appalachian landscape. The Road from Gap Creek explores modern American history through the lives of an ordinary family persevering through extraordinary times.

"This novel shines with a subtle brilliance . . . Morgan has produced another stellar novel, one with greater depth, diversity and complexity than Gap Creek." ―Minneapolis Star Tribune

"[Morgan] delivers another powerhouse novel of his people, with their virtues and failings, wins and losses, loves and sorrows." ―Daniel Woodrell, author of Winter's Bone

"Once again, Robert Morgan's true landscape is, as with all great writers, the peaks and valleys, the long and winding paths, of the human heart. What a writer, and what a novel!" ―Ron Rash, author of Nothing Gold Can Stay

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781616203429
Publisher:	Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill
Publication date:	04/08/2025
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	353
File size:	2 MB
Age Range:	9 - 12 Years

About the Author

Robert Morgan is the bestselling author of numerous works of fiction—including the Oprah Book Club selection Gap Creek—and non-fiction, and is also an established poet with fourteen collections to his credit. Born in Hendersonville, NC, he teaches at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY, where he is Kappa Alpha Professor of English.

What People are Saying About This

author of "Winter’s Bone" Daniel Woodrell

“In The Road From Gap Creek [Morgan] delivers another powerhouse novel of his people, with their virtues and failings, wins and losses, loves and sorrows.”

author of "The Ragged Way People Fall Out of Love" Elizabeth Cox

“Robert Morgan remains the consummate storyteller . . . This book must be read for its broad, sagacious wit as well as for its power to convince us of extraordinary courage seen in ordinary life.”

author of "The Bartender’s Tale" Ivan Doig

“Robert Morgan returns to us with a much-awaited sequel to Gap Creek and the fate of the next generation of its unforgettable characters, now facing the tolls of World War II and the changing of their pocket of America. Oprah adored the original, and in this further telling in their distinctive voices, you will see why.”

Editorial Reviews

“Once again, Robert Morgan’s true landscape is, as with all great writers, the peaks and valleys, the long and winding paths, of the human heart. What a writer, and what a novel!” —Ron Rash, author of Nothing Gold Can Stay

“In The Road From Gap Creek [Morgan] delivers another powerhouse novel of his people, with their virtues and failings, wins and losses, loves and sorrows.” —Daniel Woodrell, author of Winter’s Bone and The Maid's Version

“Morgan pens an eloquent story of stoicism and pain, endurance and courage, ending as all life will, with death and birth. A moving, lyrical saga from a time so distant, yet so near.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

“Robert Morgan returns to us with a much-awaited sequel to Gap Creek and the fate of the next generation of its unforgettable characters, now facing the tolls of World War II and the changing of their pocket of America. Oprah adored the original, and in this further telling in their distinctive voices, you will see why.” —Ivan Doig, author of The Bartender's Tale

“This novel shines with a subtle brilliance . . . Morgan has produced another stellar novel.”—Minneapolis Star Tribune

“Robert Morgan remains the consummate storyteller . . . This book must be read for its broad, sagacious wit as well as for its power to convince us of extraordinary courage seen in ordinary life.” —Elizabeth Cox, author of The Ragged Way People Fall Out of Love

From the Publisher

“Once again, Robert Morgan’s true landscape is, as with all great writers, the peaks and valleys, the long and winding paths, of the human heart. What a writer, and what a novel!” —Ron Rash, author of Nothing Gold Can Stay

“In The Road From Gap Creek [Morgan] delivers another powerhouse novel of his people, with their virtues and failings, wins and losses, loves and sorrows.” —Daniel Woodrell, author of Winter’s Bone and The Maid's Version

“Morgan pens an eloquent story of stoicism and pain, endurance and courage, ending as all life will, with death and birth. A moving, lyrical saga from a time so distant, yet so near.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

“Robert Morgan returns to us with a much-awaited sequel to Gap Creek and the fate of the next generation of its unforgettable characters, now facing the tolls of World War II and the changing of their pocket of America. Oprah adored the original, and in this further telling in their distinctive voices, you will see why.” —Ivan Doig, author of The Bartender's Tale

“This novel shines with a subtle brilliance . . . Morgan has produced another stellar novel.” —Minneapolis Star Tribune

“Robert Morgan remains the consummate storyteller . . . This book must be read for its broad, sagacious wit as well as for its power to convince us of extraordinary courage seen in ordinary life.” —Elizabeth Cox, author of The Ragged Way People Fall Out of Love

Reviews

Morgan (Brave Enemies, 2003, etc.) returns to western North Carolina and the Richards family saga. Deep in the Blue Ridge Mountains, along the Green River, under Mt. Cicero, Hank and Julie Richards move their family from Gap Creek to a small, hardscrabble farm. There, they endure the Great Depression and World War II, stoically facing death and disease, hope and triumph. It's Annie, their younger daughter, who narrates, harking back to the family's trek from Gap Creek to Green River, road "froze as stiff as chalk," and ending her story as a grown woman birthing a daughter, realizing "having your own baby makes you feel connected...taking part in the future and with the people that come before you." Recreating the rural mountain South not yet 100-years past, Annie tells of Old Pat, a purebred German shepherd given to her brother, Troy, as payment for summer work. She offers stories of Muir and Moody Powell, twins from a nearby farm, one ambitious to preach, the other preferring to gamble and run moonshine. She remembers tramps and hobos, Julie offering at least fresh milk and cornbread even if cupboards were bare. The novel begins in 1943 with Troy's death, a casualty in a bomber crash in England. Julie's shattered, "sealed up her thoughts and grief inside her and she wouldn't let any of us touch it." But even the dead live in the soulful narrative. Troy, gentle, artistic, is home on leave and must put down Old Pat after she's horribly maimed by a firecracker. A tortured misfit stands in church to claim Troy's death is God's retribution, and the family sits silently. A troubled veteran, the new husband of Troy's former fiancee, drags her away from Troy's post-war burial at gunpoint. Morgan pens an eloquent story of stoicism and pain, endurance and courage, ending as all life will, with death and birth. A moving, lyrical saga from a time so distant, yet so near.

Kirkus Reviews