The Well and the Mine has one of the best opening lines I’ve ever come across:
After she threw the baby in, nobody believed me for the longest time. But I kept hearing that splash.
The book is set in a small American mining town during the 1930s and gives a vivid portrait of a community struggling to cope with the Depression.
The blurb implies that the book is a mystery revolving around who threw the baby into the well, but anyone looking for a mystery will be disappointed. The identity of the person who throws the baby is revealed, but is really of no consequence. Instead the book is more like a character study; revealing the thoughts and relationships of those living in the American South at the time.
Unfortunately the book was too slow for me. Very little actually happens. I admired the quality of the writing and the rich characters that were described, but I longed for the people to actually do something.
Recommended to people who enjoy gentle books.
Others enjoyed this more than I did:
The writing is pitch perfect. There is a subtle dialect that is charming without being over-powering. Educating Petunia
A real gem of a book paved with so many perfect moments that I can do no justice… Leafing Through Life
I loved this book. The writing style is sparse and yet at the same time lyrical. Page After Page
25 replies on “The Well and the Mine – Gin Phillips”
I think I might like this book. That opening line is very disturbing.. and intriguing.
Iris, It is just a shame that the rest of the book isn’t as intriguing 🙁
Oh, I’m confused – what a brilliant first line but sounds like the rest was a bit slower? I’m certainly curious though…!
Novel Insights, The first few pages were fantastic. It is such a shame that the plot disappeared after that. If you like slower books then there is still a good chance you’ll enjoy this one.
I love character studies — so perhaps it would be good for me.
Beth, I think that you’ll enjoy this a lot more than I did.
Sorry this one was just okay for you. I think I might like it as character study type stories tend to appeal to me.
Bibliophile By the Sea, This is a fantastic character study so you’ll probably enjoy it.
I’m not one for really slow books either unfortunately. You’ve had a lot of slow ones recently it seems!
I admired the quality of the writing and the rich characters that were described, but I longed for the people to actually do something.
This should be a whole category of books. I may use this line again, attributed to you, of course.
Sometimes I enjoy those types of books, but generally no- The Gate at the Stairs. Too slow. It’s like that phrase tl;dr – we can call it “too slow; do something!”
raidergirl3, I agree! A genre all of their own would help 🙂 This book is in a whole league slower than A Gate at the Stairs. Several things actually happened in that book 😉
oops, sorry Amy, I hit reply to you instead of adding my own comment. Not enough coffee yet this am.
Amy, I occasionally enjoy slow books, but they need to have that magic spark. Very few do and I’m afraid this one didn’t 🙁
I usually look for more action in my books, and I didn’t absolutely love this one, but I thought it was pretty good. For a book about the Depression, possibly my least favorite setting for historical fiction. I am from the American South myself, and I thought this book painted a solid, nicely nuanced picture of the South in that time period.
Jenny, It sounds as though we had a similar experience with this one. I agree that it gave a good description of that time period (from my limited knowledge) but I wish there had been a plot to go with the period atmosphere.
I enjoyed this but then I have a penchant for gentle, slow moving reads if the writing is up to scratch. I thought it had an excellent sense of place.
Teresa, The writing was great so I can see why you’d enjoy this one 🙂
So you can see, a real mystery might have been better 😉
Dorte, I’m now reading The Snowman so getting my mystery fix 🙂
I´ll watch out for your review of that one. Whatever it is, you´ll hardly call it quiet.
I have this book in my stack to read – hopefully I will like it.
PBurt, I hope that you enjoy it more than I did.
This doesn’t surprise me in the least! I loved this but can easily see that it would be too slow for you
Verity, You did warn me! 🙂
As did I 😉 Yes, not surprised in the least by your reaction.