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Title: This Creek Doesn't Rise
Review: This story of a young couple's hardscrabble married life in a valley on the NC-SC border could have fit neatly into a novella. While the direct, dramatic opening and follow-on introduction to the Harmons promises a colorful family saga, ad nauseum repetition and details of every mundane activity extended the story beyond interest. It seems like every scoop of grits and every pot of coffee was described. The best scenes are delivered upfront; so, by the middle of the book, nearly everything important has happened. While the major characters, Julie, the narrator and her husband, Hank, are rather flat, the writer's portrayal of them as immature and nave is realistic. The strongest moments features Ma Richards, the mother-in-law. When she leaves Gap Creek, she also leaves a huge space in the plotline. And, she doesn't return soon enough to save `Gap Creek' from being a tortuously slow, morbid story with an unfulfilling ending.
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