What readers think of The Sound of Gravel, plus links to write your own review.

The Sound of Gravel is a difficult book to read. It reads as fiction yet it's disturbing to realize that this was someone's life. It's disturbing to learn that there are men who use "religion" and power to marry and suppress several women, sire dozens of children, force them all into extreme poverty to say nothing of the rampant sexual abuse of their daughters at young ages. These men are not only polygamists, they are predators. Ms. Wariner is wonderfully brave not only for escaping that horrible life and raising her sisters but for having the courage to write her story. This book will be a great book club book because it will incite many lively and emotional discussions

What if you were your Mother's fourth child and your father's thirty-ninth? I was fascinated to read a memoir written by a woman who had been a very perceptive child in a polygamous family. The author has tremendous recall about the feelings and thoughts of the child she had been. This memoir is the story of male dominance and tragic religious zeal.

This is an uncomfortable book in terms of the affect the parents choices have on the children. In a community where a woman's purpose is to populate the earth, the lack of care given to the children is painful. Children taking care of children, the wives in competition with other wives. I cheered for the author throughout the book. I recognize her strength in dealing with " her lot in life" but I am astounded by her choices in the end ... it left me speechless. I am still ruminating her choice .

Sorry but I just didn't really enjoy this book. I was excited because the publisher's senior editor said she read it in one sitting, "compulsively turning each page" so, admittedly, I had high hopes. Plus I was interested in the whole 'polygamy Mormon doomsday cult' angle ... because, really, who wouldn't be??
There's no doubt Ruth Wariner, the author, had a tragic life and kudos to her for pulling herself and her siblings out of their situation but the book just wasn't that good.
This story, although tragic, could have just as easily occurred with Muslims, agnostics, whatever as the main characters. So the whole 'polygamist Mormon doomsday cult' felt a bit contrived.
But, again, let me state that Ruth Wariner saved her and her siblings' lives and she deserves credit for that. She definitely has more of a story to tell than I do but I can't say that I recommend this book :(
Also, her stepfather was a real -- fill in your own bad word here --.

I've seen this book called heartwarming. I can understand that for others it might be, but my heart was hurting so much I wasn't able to feel much warmth. Terrible things done to women and children out of misguided faith, ignorance, or stupidity are still terrible things. Knowing the events recounted were all true made it all the more painful. My heart goes out to the author and her remaining family members.

I would suggest survivors of abuse give this a miss, unless they are specifically interested in the socio-cultural and/or religious aspects of the book.

While I only rated this book 3 out of 5 stars I would still recommend this book. I am pretty selective about giving books 4 stars. I found Ruth's memoir riveting and an very enlightening account of life in a polygamist colony. My only complaint was the prologue led the reader to believe she was about to be married into a polygamist relationship so throughout the book I kept waiting for her to be "sold off" so to speak. I thought that was a bit contrived. I did fly through the book and finished it in 3 days. It was easy to read and very interesting.