The Truest Pleasure

by Robert Morgan

Ginny, who marries Tom at the turn of the century after her family has given up on her ever marrying, narrates THE TRUEST PLEASURE--the story of their life together on her father's farm in the western North Carolina mountains. They have a lot in common--love of the land and fathers who fought in the Civil War. Tom's father died in the war, but Ginny's father came back to western North Carolina to hold on to the farm and turn a profit. Ginny's was a childhood of relative security, Tom's one of landlessness. Truth be known--and they both know it--their marriage is mutually beneficial in purely practical terms. Tom wants land to call his own. Ginny knows she can't manage her aging father's farm by herself. But there is also mutual attraction, and indeed their "loving" is deeply gratifying. What keeps getting in the way of it, though, are their obsessions. Tom Powell's obsession is easy to understand. He's a workaholic who hoards time and money. Ginny is obsessed by Pentecostal preaching. That she loses control of her dignity, that she speaks "in tongues," that she is "saved," seem to her a blessing and to Tom a disgrace. It's not until Tom lies unconscious and at the mercy of a disease for which the mountain doctor has no cure that Ginny realizes her truest pleasure is her love for her husband. Like COLD MOUNTAIN, the time and place of THE TRUEST PLEASURE are remote from contemporary American life, but its rendering of the nature of marriage is timeless and universal. Praise for THE TRUEST PLEASURE: "Marvelously vivid imagery. . . . a quietly audacious book."--The New York Times Book Review; "Morgan deeply understands these people and their world, and he writes about them with an authority usually associated with the great novelists of the last century. . . . the book is astonishing."--The Boston Book Review;

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Southern, Marriage, Novels, Adult Fiction, Religion

334 pages, Paperback

First published January 10, 1995

About the author

Robert Morgan is an American poet, short story writer, and novelist.

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Reviews

[Rachel M · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would like to convince people that they should read this book. I don’t know exactly how he did this, but Robert Morgan got into the head of a woman and made her seem real on the page. I learned so much about myself in reading about the marriage of Ginny and Tom. She is so passionate about revivalist meetings, and he so adamantly against them. He spends all of his hours working hard on their farm, scheming about how to make every dollar he can. The real-ness of this couple’s Appalachian life together gave me a true sense for what marriage must be like – both why it is a joy and why a constant struggle.
Most of all, Morgan's words were so insightful and quotable. A few that I liked:

“I reckon if people didn’t feel lonely they would get lazy. It is the ache, and the fear of the ache, that gives us starch and keeps us alert and planning.”

“The saddest thing of all was I saw that people couldn’t be any way but what they are. Even when doing right they are apt to be doing something else wrong.”

“And if you think where his strength is, and his greatest fear (for they are close related, wouldn’t you guess?) then you might see if you have been resisting his gifts.”

“Tom saw words as commitments he did not want to make unless he had to. I think he felt any verbal commitment was over-commitment.”

“Like most big things that happen to me, my marriage just seemed to take place on its own. Though I must have made thousands of choices it felt like I didn’t choose at all. Everything come to me.”

“Anger is among the sweetest feelings people know. That’s why they cherish it and feed it and remember it so long. Anger is like a tightening and sharpening of sight. It is the brightest angle from which to look at things.”

[Dee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Robert Morgan, the author of Gap Creek, has written a description of the ordinary life of a family on an isolated North Carolina farm at the turn of the 20th century. It's a story of the nature of marriage. He means to tell the readers that we should look at our beloved every day to discover what he has given, what is positive in that life, not what is negative.

There is a lot of description that some readers may not enjoy, but it is just a wonderful story of an ordinary life that has a lesson to tell.

[LadyCalico · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book after Gap Creek and liked it even more. It stunned me and it haunts me, and I reread Brother Locke's letter and Ginny's ending ruminations over and over. This book made me more appreciative of other people's pain and frailties as we drag along all our shortcomings through the short time we're together on our earthly journey. Gotta read This Rock.

[Kkraemer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a wonderful book.

A simple book about two people who meet, fall in love, marry, have children, have issues, and make a life in the mountains of North Carolina. Written from Ginny's perspective, we learn how to cook, how to minister to illness, how to think about love, passion, and the glory of God. We learn why she loves tent revivals so much, and why she loves her husband. We also learn why she is so restless, and why she hates him for long periods of time.

Mostly, though, we learn about life, the truest pleasure that we have. This is a small book, one of immense pleasure.

[John Benson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This novel is about the marriage of Ginny and Tom who lived in mountains of the North/South Carolina border country at the turn of the 20th Century. Ginny was the widowed mother in THIS ROCK, and this book takes place when Moody and Muir are young children. Ginny and Tom have a volatile marriage, often fighting about religion. Ginny is drawn to Pentecostal type worship while Tom moves between old time Baptist-services or unbelief. When they are not fighting, they are drawn to each other sexually. Most good historical fiction brings out the time period and place well, but this book goes much farther. We find out all about what it is like to live in the North Carolina mountains during that time, but we also share in the intellectual and religious arguments between this married couple, who live in the backwoods of the Carolinas. I found the book very moving in so many ways. It gave me a sense of that place, the time frame, the religious struggles, and the struggles between two head-strong people like Tom and Ginny. A very moving book within a moving series of books. This was the first book in the series, but I read the third book first. They can be read in any order.

[Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Set in rural America over 100 years ago, this is the story of the daughter that wasn't the pretty one nevertheless falling in love with a man 6 years her senior. She's inheriting acreage and the house from her father when he passes but for now he lives with them and eventually their children as time goes on. There was also a religion component with Pa and Ginny being drawn to the revivals and such while husband Tom wasn't a fan...I'm sure it's well researched and accurate to what daily life was like for these families but with so much heavy manual labor and lack of modern conveniences or modern medicine it was sad to me. All work and no play for sure...I know I could never live that life!

[Francine Apollo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this little novel. It was a pleasure to hold in my hand ... published slightly shorter than most books.

This is a story of a family; each of the members of the family have a good sense of themselves. They are hardworking ... they are just trying to survive in a harsh world. The author tells their story in such lovely poetic language.

I just love Ginny; she finds God in nature and cannot understand how people cannot find their joy in religion (chiefly her husband). Her older brother thinks her joy is a gift, though he doesn't feel it himself. He tells her "The special thing humans have is thinking."

Highly recommended. This would make a good book club selection.

[Marjorie Davies · Rating 2 out of 5]

I did not really like this book. Even though I loved the narrator's ability to describe how she feels about things/people and issues in her life, and I felt I really understood her well, I HATED how the book ended. I also was very frustrated with the amount of time her husband and her spent at odds, not talkiing or touching.

[Amy Kailey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Life gives you rotten lemons.

This was a very well written book, once again Robert Morgan hasn't let me down in terms of story-telling and originality. However, that being said, it was actually quite sad, and futile and leaves you feeling that life actually really sucks much of the time. So, an incredible Author, but I wouldn't read this one again.

[Dana · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent book about family, relationships, marriage, faith, willfulness, love, jealousy, heart, and home. Tom and Ginny are characters that make you want to root for them. Not a beach read, but definitely a book you will think about long after you close the cover.

[Sandy Clark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Robert Morgan's style reminds me of Janice Holt Giles'. Simple living in the early 20th century in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. Simple, but not easy.

[Pat Gwyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always love to read about early life in the NC mountains. Robert Morgan is the author of Gap Creek and this follows the same time frame. As the new century begins , Ginny begins a new life as wife and mother. Tom has moved to her family farm which will one day be theirs and though they live a very hardscrabble life they are content. Soon however, we learn the one thing that they do not share is the love for brush arbor revivals where those attending lose themselves in the art of speaking in tongues. Ginny has a need to worship this way and Tom feels it only makes you seem like a fool. This conflict is carried out throughout their marriage and follows the disagreement that Ginny's parents had also faced. The lives of the characters draw you in and the typical joys and disappoints of life are portrayed well.

[Margaret · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books that I have read this year. My first book by this author and I am hooked. Amazing how a male writer can write so well from a woman's perspective. An exquisitely well written book with an insight that is brilliant.

[Zena Ryder · Rating 5 out of 5]

A sad, beautiful, poignant book.

[Diane · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don’t think I’ve ever taken this long to read a book. Partly because of the hours I worked in the second half of last year and partly because it wasn’t the kind of book that I couldn’t wait to read more of. What this book did give me was an insight into a world I have no idea about. I question whether the fact I couldn’t relate readily to it meant it wasn’t the kind the kind of book I couldn’t put down. I think parts were difficult to read because of the content.

Ginny, Tom, Joe, Florie and the rest are not particularly endearing and, as I said, I can’t really relate to any of them. But I look at my life a little differently and it has caused me to look at my privilege a bit closer.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

i really liked 'gap creek' by the same author. this book has the same no-nonsense but elegant writing style about life a century ago. i won't say much about the story except that it is a vividly realistic look at life in the north carolina mountains with all its pains and pleasures. this story is about the relationship between a girl, the protagonist, and her new husband, their marriage and the survival of a family. She is religious, he is not; this is but one of the many obstacles they face in their new life.

[Teri-K · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book that will stay with the reader for a while. It evokes a specific time and place in that way some writers have that makes you believe you've been there and lived with those people. And it shows you real people, kind and mean, loving and spiteful, fill of wisdom at one moment and confused and lost feeling the next.

It's a lovely, lyrical book that may make you laugh or cry. It left me wondering how a man could look into a woman's soul so clearly and understand what made her. A pleasure to read, I'll be thinking about these people for a long time.

[Lynne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I finished this book over the Weekend. I liked this book, but not as much as Gap Creek. Morgan tells such good stories about people. His insight to what's going on in his main character's mind is amazing -- and his main characters in both Gap Creek and Truest Pleasure are women! The characters he creates are amazing. I always feel like I know them well and it's hard to say goodbye to them when the story is over.

[Kim Fowler · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a lover of books about the mountains, and simple country people that have to kill hogs and ground their own cornmeal and chop wood to live...not to mention get thru illness with handed-down mountain medical wisdom.
But most important - an author that can make you feel like you are right there, sitting in the woods and understanding the world through that perspective that reminds you mother nature is in charge and to live in the day.

[Eles Jackson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I felt this book had great potential but lacked something. The on again off again between Ginny and Tom became redundant. And it was annoying that neither of them learned from previous mistakes in their relationship. Ginny wanted so badly to worship in the way she chose but never used any part of any religion to be better at her marriage. I didn't feel that the characters "grew" at all or learned anything from their life experiences.

[Lorraine · Rating 2 out of 5]

I could hardly wait to finish this book. I read Gap Creek by this author, which I really enjoyed. This book, The Truest Pleasure, similar background, Appalachian country, Ginny and Tom newly married... This story just seemed to go on and on...it was all I could do to finish this book!

[Pammy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I chose this book on the promise of a depiction of rural Appalachian life in the 1900's. The passion, the use of simple language, descriptions, and challenges put to the characters were not, however, enough to carry me through...I often just left it unread for days on end.

[Diana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful

Robert Morgan’s writing style pulls you in and you feel like you are sitting around the fire listening to grandma tell her story. The language is soothing,comforting and real.
You shouldn’t miss this one.

[Kelly Cuellar · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not my favorite storyline. Disliked the time it took for the lead characters to actually figure things out and when they did, it was too late to have any impact.

[Judy Carpenter · Rating 2 out of 5]

A friend gave me this book. I'm glad I didn't pay for it. The main character, Ginny, is a woman who lives in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina in the 1920's. Her "truest pleasure" is attending Pentecostal church services where people often become "moved by the Spirit" and fall into trances, dance, and speak in tongues. She marries Tom, a Baptist who not only doesn't approve of Ginny's Pentecostal leanings but actively disapproves of what he considers silly, even embarrassing behavior.
I liked Ginny at first, and even through most of the book. But for someone who professed that her "truest pleasure" made her feel close to the Lord, she spent precious little time praying for others, especially Tom. Nor did she try to understand him or respect his feelings. When I finished the book I decided I really didn't like her--she was self-centered, although she did a lot to "help others".
The book did draw an interesting and realistic picture of farm life and family dynamics in the early years of the twentieth century. Taking care of the animals, canning, making molasses, etc., were written so well I often felt I could perform the duties myself (as if!). But timing was difficult to keep straight. The order of Ginny's three children is well-established but their ages as they grew were left to the reader's imagination.
The Truest Pleasure was interesting; indeed I read it straight through. But the ending was so dissatisfying I wish I hadn't wasted my time. Though Ginny did finally make some self-realizations, I thought they were things she should have known all along.

[Stacey · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Truest Pleasure, written in 1995, is about a girl named Virginia (Ginny) Peace. Set in the 1900's, Ginny is raised by her father and siblings as her mother passed away when she was just a child. Together, the Peace family have a very special bond, making their living off of their farmland in Greenville, N.C.

Ginny is a very independent and curious girl. She really isn't interested in marrying anyone until she meets a man named Tom Powell after church one day. It definitely wasn't love-at-first sight for Ginny.

Most people like to claim they fell in love when they first saw each other. I reckon that's the way they remember it because that's the way they think it should have been. But I have to be honest. The first time I saw Tom, I was just curious.

Ginny and Tom have a short courtship and begin their life together, having four children in the span of a few years. The two quickly realize that they are vastly different in their thinking and begin to quarrel.

Over the years, their marriage is tested by their opposing personalities as well as the harshness of the land and sickness in the community.
_____________________________________________
This is a beautiful love story of endurance and patience. I really like Morgan's writing style and found the various ways that he explained things refreshing. Although this is an older book, it was a very enjoyable read for me. :)

[Dean McIntyre · Rating 4 out of 5]

THE TRUEST PLEASURE by Robert Morgan takes place in the early years of the 20th century. Ginny and Tom are newlyweds living and working on their father's farm in the rural mountains of western North Carolina. Both of their fathers fought in the Civil War ("the Confederate War"). Tom's father died in a prisoner camp. Ginny's father returned to farm his land and raise his family. Tom grew up poor, landless, and a reliable, extremely hard and dedicated worker at all he did. Upon marrying Ginny, he committed to the farm, working it, improving it, extending it, and making it profitable. Not a religious man, but he faithfully attends Sunday services. Ginny labors at home and family tasks. Tension results from their religious differences: Ginny is extremely religious, of the obsessive Pentecostal/Revivalist type, including speaking in tongues, dancing, and variously losing control of her actions. Tom considers her behavior disgraceful. Through marriage, having children, working, and religion, they conflict, sometimes agree and reconcile. It is finally Tom's grave illness that forces self-examination and final reconciliation. It's a tale of struggle, sometimes tender.

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

Robert Morgan has a wonderful way of painting a vivid picture of the scenery and a convincing way of creating characters for the reader to love, or not. He makes you sweat when they sweat and freeze when they freeze. You feel sick with fever when they do, saddened the pain and grief they feel. I couldn’t quite relate to the religious fervor but it added a layer to the story that was needed. The Truest Pleasure could be any of the things the characters threw themselves into, and the story demonstrates there are many ways to arrive at true love.

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’ve read this book for a book club and I did not enjoy it. By the middle of the book I reported to my friend that I hope this book ends well because I don’t like any of the characters. Tom & Ginny needed to learn how to communicate. I expected them to mature some with age but they did not. I really disliked Florrie and her whole role in the book.
I could go on but I will give credit to the author for writing in a way that I was interested in how it was all going to turn out. I didn’t like how it turned out but that’s beside the point.

[Candi · Rating 4 out of 5]

We follow along with Ginny as she navigates life through the end of the 1800's into the 1900's.

Ginny is a very stubborn women, stuck in her own was. Ginny marries a stubborn man. Together they run their land like a fine oiled clock, but their marriage not so much

Ginny needs to learn a important lesson about love, life and marriage, but will it be to late?

This book was not as exciting in the beginning as the first two, but warmed up. It makes you question how hard your own life really is.

To be honest I wished I could be as skillfull as Ginny and Tom.