Book Review: The Well and the Mine

The Well and the Mine is centered around an ungodly event that a young girl, Tessa, witnesses one day in her backyard. The story takes around the time of the Great Depression in a small southern mining town. One day, Tessa witnesses a woman dumping a baby in her family's well. She convinces her parents, brother, and sister and what she saw and takes it upon herself to find the woman.

Though this "mystery" is what first moves the plot, it soon becomes inconsequential as the purpose of the book becomes clear: coming of age is painful but you always have your family. This seems like a cliched topic, but Phillips is able to make it seem fresh and new. Also it should be noted, that this is not a "feel good" coming of age tale. The language is raw and at times unpolished; it is difficult to tell at times if the characters are likable; and there is enough hardship described in the novel that makes it far from an after-school special.

Phillips is also unique in that she creates a mystery that is about people's lives and characters as opposed to about cheap thrills and chills. The hideous event is as catalyst that changes people's lives in surprising ways and allows the characters to explore themselves and the entire community.

The story is told through various narrators throughout the novel. In other novels this technique is used but each person's segment is a chapter or a significant amount of pages. However, Phillips makes each "viewpoint" short and range from a paragraph to a couple of pages. This works in the novel because the reader is able to experience each family member's perceptions without any separation. The finished product is a chorus of voices, each with their own solo, that are not contained by chapters but instead sing throughout the novel. It creates an extremely well developed story.

-DLP