The Well and the Mine
Jul 4, 2009
The Well and the Mine
Author: Gin Phillips
Publisher: Riverhead Trade Paperback
Publication Date: April 8, 2009
ISBN: 978-59448-449-0
"Winner of the Barnes & Noble Discover Prize - 2008"
Introduction by Fannie Flagg
I will start this review with one word - FANTASTIC! I loved this book. The flow of words, the descriptions, the vibrancy of the pages........... it was a book that I was very sad to see end. It was a little short of 300 pages and I could have easily have read 1,000 pages of Gin's writing.
That said, let's discuss the story a little.
Tess and her family live in Carbon Hill, Alabama in the 1930s. It's a rough life but strong family bonding makes things easier. Albert works the mines all day while Leta keeps what house they have strong, clean and with some sort of food always on the table. 3 kids, all with strong minds of their own but always giving the respect to their parents as they all work to survive during hard times.
The books takes us through the Crash of 29, closure of mines, racism, hunger and poverty.
The story begins when Tess, all of 9 years old, is sitting in the dark one night and sees a woman she doesn't recognize come up to her family's well and drop a baby into it.........and ends when Jack, her younger brother gets hit by a truck on the side of the road.
Everything else in between is a wonderful day to day description of their lives - simple days often filled with nothing more than surviving another week of hardship, but in the meantime thriving as people - with a deep and abiding love for each other and a strong sense of kinship with the town.
Again, a simple book of daily life in a hard situation, but so wonderfully written that you could read about these people for days on end.
I highly recommend this book.
