The Well and the Mine

Set in a 1930s Alabama coal town, The Well and the Mine is the story of the Moore family. They are neither very well off nor especially destitute relative to their neighbors. Supported by the father, Albert's, work in the coal mines, the Moores have enough to get by and are content with what they have. Albert has an enviable certainty about what is right and wrong that anchors the whole family as well as a before-his-time conviction that there shouldn't be anything wrong with having his black co-worker over to dinner in an era when such an action couldn't have been more scandalous.

To Papa, good was something you could hold in your hand. Hard and solid like coal rock. You could weigh it, measure it, see its beginning and end.... There show more was something comforting to that, knowing what he wanted, what he expected, and knowing what would disappoint him. But it meant lots of times there was no point in talking to him, because he knew his own mind so well that he didn't need to know yours.

When Albert met his wife, Leta, he was enchanted first by her hair, but then also by an uncanny foreknowledge that she would be the perfect wife and mother. Leta cares for her family with hard work, love, and self-sacrifice so elusive that her husband and children are hard-pressed to notice that she passed up that biscuit so one of them could have seconds. Albert and Leta have three children: Virgie, who is coming into her teenage years grounded, practical, and so pretty that she's nearly inapproachable, not that that keeps the boys from trying; precocious, imaginative Tess; and the youngest, Jack. They are a better than average family living an average life until the summer night when an unknown woman drops a baby into their well. Soon all five members of the Moore family are taking a second look at the world beyond their front door, looking beneath the mostly tranquil surface of their community, and questioning all their assumptions about their neighbors and the world in which they live.

Phillips is a great writer in the vein of Andrea Levy (Small Island) and Ann Patchett (Bel Canto) whose plots may not race along with an insane fervor but whose characters leap off the page, each with their own unique voice, and whose writing is so crisp and vivid that readers can't help but savor every word and the scenes those words bring to life. Each member of the Moore family narrates this pivotal time in their lives so distinctly that readers will hardly need indicators of which character is narrating. Each finds him or herself mulling over the big issues in the wake of the incident with the baby, contemplating wealth and poverty, whiteness and blackness, and even how much one can truly know and understand another person and their reasons for doing what they do. All of this is done with such vulnerability and subtlety that it never seems heavy-handed but makes readers consider some of the same big questions that come with being human and interacting with people who are each going through their struggles that we might not understand but might hope to sympathize with nonetheless.

Probably my favorite read of the year so far. show less

I loved this book.

I loved the tenderness between the characters themselves and the tenderness with which the author wrote about them.

I loved the five distinct voices of the members of the Moore family, whose alternating narrations unwind the story frontwards, backwards, and inwards.

I loved the "wisp of suspense," as one reviewer put it; but I also loved that the mystery was embedded in the character development, not the other way around.

I loved the reality of it. Even the best of folks trying to make the best of decisions sometimes just get it all wrong.

I loved that Phillips didn't need eccentric quirks or minor evil streaks to bring her characters to life. She just wrote about ordinary people trying to do right by each other.

For a show more first time novelist to tackle poverty, racism, prejudice, and family life in 1930s Alabama is ballsy, not least because the inimitable Harper Lee already did it with spectacular near-perfection. But Gin Phillips understands that in mining and in writing and in getting to know ourselves and others, nothing is ever finished. show less

I will honestly admit up front that the only reason I requested this book from LibraryThing's Early Reviewer program is because Fannie Flagg wrote the introduction. The description sounded acceptable, but really, it all came down to Fannie Flagg for me. I love Fannie Flagg and all of her books, and I thought, 'Fannie Flagg hasn't written anything in quite awhile now, but at least I'll get to read an introduction by her!' Well, how wrong I was. I not only got an introduction by Fannie Flagg, but I also got a book that is honest, funny, poignant and touching all wrapped up into a story that I won't forget anytime soon.

Taking place in 1931, The Well and the Mine tells the story of Albert and Leta Moore and their family, daughters Virgie show more and Tess and young son Jack. The Moore's own land, so do not struggle as much as some of their neighbor's during the Depression, but still, like it is for everyone, times are not easy. Albert works in the coal mines, a fate that he doesn't want to have happen to his son. Leta cooks and cleans and takes care of her family, sometimes doing without for herself to make sure her children want for nothing. The children help out with day to day chores, but live a rather sheltered life at home, not knowing how bad it is for some of their own neighbors during this time.

One summer evening, Tess witnesses a woman throw a baby into the family well. No one believes Tess, thinking the event is a result of her overactive imagination, until the next day when a dead baby is pulled from the well. What transpires from this event is an amazing journey for the entire family, as they come to terms with their changing views of their own lives and the changing world around them. The two girls find themselves most at odds with their changing perspectives on the world. Tess comes to terms with the fact that the world is not necessarily always a perfect place. Virgie begins to question her role as a woman, as the event makes her wonder what it would take for a mother to want to kill a child, and whether she wants her 'self' tied down to a child or family.

The story is told from the first-person perspective of each member of the family, with each chapter being broken into segments from each person's point of view. This gives an interesting insight into the growth of not only each character, but in their own interactions with their family. Phillips easily writes in the local dialect without overwriting the accents and local colloquialisms that can so easily happen when an author tries to mimic a speech pattern from an area. She tells her story fluidly, and while some of the aside stories seem to veer a little too far from the main flow of the story, overall, she wraps the book up nicely, not leaving the reader feel like they've missed out on anything in the story.

I am very happy to have read The Well and the Mine. I love how Phillips adds more and more layers to her story, yet never makes it feel like she is adding too much. The story unfolds at a perfect pace, witnessed more through the development and growth of the characters rather than by the actual events in the story. It's a lovely coming of age story, not only for each individual member of the family, but also the family as a whole. show less

Gin Phillips’ debut novel begins in a coal mining town in Alabama, where young Tess watches an unknown woman drop a baby into her family’s well. The ensuing story is told from the vantage point of all of the members of her family, Tess, father Albert, mother Leta, sister Virgie and brother Jack. The sisters try to discover who put the baby in the well, learning about understanding, kindness and consideration of others in the process. Much of the book is really about the Moore family and their lives during the tough years of the Depression, and dealing with the challenges of earning a living coal mining and running their small farm. The tone of the novel accurately depicts this simpler era, with no running water, rudimentary show more electricity, where much of your food comes from your own farm, and people take care of their neighbors and friends when times get hard. It took me back to visiting my grandparents in the South – while they lived in more modern times, I still saw semblances of the Depression in their lives, with modest choices and simple pleasures. The characters are well formed and thoughtful, and one sees how they moved from the person they were to who they are at the end of the novel (and in the future, as told by Jack).

The story meandered a bit too much, not following the initial plotline well. As a reader, I expected more of the baby in the well story, but it came in and out of importance as the story progressed, leaving me wondering if it was important to the plot at all. There’s also a subplot about Albert and his relationship with the African Americans (Negroes in this book) whom he works alongside and sometimes rescues from trouble. Although his feelings and actions are admirable, this part of the story did not feel like it was well enough developed.

This book might be a nice addition to a high school library, and perhaps excerpts could be used when students read "To Kill A Mockingbird", as another vantage point on racism during the Depression era. show less

I savored this book. I purposely read it slowly because the mellow and easy cadence was a pleasure. It is set in rural Alabama in 1931. Times are tough. Local mines, the main source of employment, are closing. Large, starving families are commonplace. Men and women are pushed to exhaustion by back breaking work in the mines, in the fields and at home. Separation by race is a fact of life. Labor conditions are despicable, and the promise of improvement with unionization is still a dream. And in this setting, a young girl witnesses a woman throw a baby's body down her family's well. Yet, despite this gruesome opening and against this depressing backdrop, this is a hopeful, warm and loving story.

The story is about the young girl's family. show more Told from the perspective of each family member, we experience the joy and the heartache of their lives and of those around them. A more genuinely loving family it would be hard to find. The parents work hard to provide for their children and to preserve some of the innocence of their childhoods. The children appreciate that their hardships are much less than those of many of their neighbors and are truly grateful. The oldest child and the parents struggle with the "way things are" with the daughter fearing that she will end up like her mother, slaving around the house for her husband and children with no time or energy for herself and fears that a life like that could drive a person crazy. The father suffers many aches and pains brought on by years as a miner and worries how long he can continue to work so hard. As he gets to know a black co-worker, he wants to break down the social mores that keep their lives separate and prevent them from being friends. The mother is devoted to her family and her home, has accepted every aspect of this life without question, but senses change happening, in her own family and outside, and is fearful.

This is a touching and charming story -- but not sappy. Don't miss it. show less

Set in Carbon Hill, Alabama in 1931, this story of the Moore family is truly poetic. With these opening lines, how could you not continue to read?

After she threw the baby in, nobody believed me for the
longest time. But I kept hearing that splash.

The speaker is Tess, a young girl who witnesses a woman throw a baby into the Moore family's well, and it is this heartbreaking event that serves as a catalyst for the story.

Albert Moore, her father, is a coal miner imbued with the sort of decency that we just don't get to read about much in fiction these days. I will admit that this whole family (the story is told in their intertwined voices) began to make me nervous -- when were we going to find out the dark deep horrid secret that the show more father was an abusive man, or that Leta, his wife, hated her life?

It's a testament to Phillips' flawless writing -- never a wasted word -- that good people are made every bit as fascinating and complex as the lurking deviant generally seems to be.

The blurbs on this book would lead you to believe it's full of the coal miner woes or a treatise on racial relations, but it truly is not. Those elements do come into play, but never in a forced way, never in a heavy handed way - but in a very real way. There's no doubt making a living in the mines is dreadful, but you won't hear Albert moan and groan about it -- it's how he takes care of his family, and he is proud of his work. His relationship with a black coworker, Jonah, says all anybody needs to say about the truth of people, who, living in a flawed time, put greatest stock in the character of an individual, no matter their color.

What blows my mind is that the publisher of this beautiful novel is based in Portland, Oregon -- Hawthorne Books & Literary Arts -- and it is a credit to them that they recognized Ms. Phillips' gift to the body of Southern Literature. I generally don't pay a whole lot of attention to publishers, but like Algonquin here in the south, the strength of this book is enough to make me actively seek out their other titles.

This gentle, moving, delicious novel gets my highest endorsement. show less

Set in Carbon Hill, Alabama in 1931, this story of the Moore family is truly poetic. With these opening lines, how could you not continue to read?

After she threw the baby in, nobody believed me for the
longest time. But I kept hearing that splash.

The speaker is Tess, a young girl who witnesses a woman throw a baby into the Moore family's well, and it is this heartbreaking event that serves as a catalyst for the story.

Albert Moore, her father, is a coal miner imbued with the sort of decency that we just don't get to read about much in fiction these days. I will admit that this whole family (the story is told in their intertwined voices) began to make me nervous -- when were we going to find out the dark deep horrid secret that the father show more was an abusive man, or that Leta, his wife, hated her life?

It's a testament to Phillips' flawless writing -- never a wasted word -- that good people are made every bit as fascinating and complex as the lurking deviant generally seems to be.

The blurbs on this book would lead you to believe it's full of the coal miner woes or a treatise on racial relations, but it truly is not. Those elements do come into play, but never in a forced way, never in a heavy handed way - but in a very real way. There's no doubt making a living in the mines is dreadful, but you won't hear Albert moan and groan about it -- it's how he takes care of his family, and he is proud of his work. His relationship with a black coworker, Jonah, says all anybody needs to say about the truth of people, who, living in a flawed time, put greatest stock in the character of an individual, no matter their color.

What blows my mind is that the publisher of this beautiful novel is based in Portland, Oregon -- Hawthorne Books & Literary Arts -- and it is a credit to them that they recognized Ms. Phillips' gift to the body of Southern Literature. I generally don't pay a whole lot of attention to publishers, but like Algonquin here in the south, the strength of this book is enough to make me actively seek out their other titles.

This gentle, moving, delicious novel gets my highest endorsement. show less