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lurdesabruscato's review
5.0
The author used a clever and unique method -- snippets from five different members of a family to tell an interesting tale of growing up in a coal town during the Depression and an odd mystery woven in. Enjoyed it very much, even though I originally thought it'd be too morbid.
apasc's review
3.0
This was an interesting story that made me think about all the things I take for granted, and I also connected with the older sister. However, this isn't really my kind of book, which is why I gave it 3 stars. Good story, though.
karieh13's review against another edition
3.0
…”the right answer could be more than one thing at the same time.”
That’s the last line of “The Well and the Mine”, by Gin Phillips. I begin with that because when thinking about my review of this book, I realized that I had no set answer to the question about how I felt about it.
I’m neither from the South or a small town nor did I grow up in the 1930’s. I am dependent on what I read and hear and watch to get some sense of what that life must have been like. In this book, I get some vivid glimpses of what for me is usually a slow motion, sepia movie. Some smells and sounds and tastes burst forth through Miller’s words.
“With your teeth about gone and your stomach not handling much, I could see how fruit would be on your mind, how a taste of sunshine and breeze might hold you over until you’re wrapped up in blankets, sore from not leaving the bed for so long. When you pass away in the summer, they can bring the summer into you.”
With passages like these, she manages to bring forth the contrast of misery, despair, pain…and the wonderful yet simple gifts that make up our world. More than one thing at the same time…
And the simple things, described in such a way that they shine forth out of the grueling life of the characters that inhabit this book and the small town of Carbon Hill, Alabama, are the strength of this book.
“Leta was a great cook, good as any woman I’ve ever known, but the real mystery was how she knew what should fit together, what mix of foods made the right mouthful. Beans and onion. Squash and tomato. It was the different tastes together, the ones that it didn’t make no sense at all to stick on the same fork, that your tongue really remembered.”
Miller does a good job in detailing very clearly the reality of life in a mine town, population 3000, in the 1930s. Life was a battle fought each and every day. As Fannie Flagg mentions in her introduction to this book – “The Moores have no safety net, no protection against the worst other than Albert Moore’s good health and paycheck.” I felt that throughout the book. The incredibly long hours of backbreaking work, the fear that each and every day, not only the mine but life itself might come tumbling down…but there are those gleaming moments that these characters appreciate and hoard, and that serve as the bright spots in dark times.
“We sank into the mattress, with the weight of two bodies and all the tiredness and the work and the bills to be paid. Usually he’d squeeze my leg and I’d nuzzle his neck and we’d fall into sleep without saying a word. All the words and the moving and all the thinking were used up by dark.”
The voices of the different characters, Tess and Virgie, Jack, Albert and Leta, took a while to build in volume. I kept having to turn back to see who was talking. About midway through, I also started hearing the voices of Scout and Atticus Finch. And while I certainly see that two books written about small towns in Alabama in the 1930s would have some similar themes…this seemed a bit much.
One very jarring note occurs when suddenly the reader is jerked forward into present day. This felt very disruptive to the flow of the book and although I understand the contrast that was being made, I wish these random journeys out of the timeline of the book hadn’t been there.
But I will finish, then, with the first line of the book. “After she threw the baby in, nobody believed me for the longest time.” A mystery woman throws a baby in a well. That is the start of the book – but in the end – that mystery plays a minor roll. I kept forgetting about that (which given the importance one would think an event like that would hold, felt odd) and the book would only go back to it every now and again. What starts out seeming to be a story about a shocking event in the life of a small town, ends up being about a small town world where shocking events sometimes get buried under the dirt and sweat and tears of life.
That’s the last line of “The Well and the Mine”, by Gin Phillips. I begin with that because when thinking about my review of this book, I realized that I had no set answer to the question about how I felt about it.
I’m neither from the South or a small town nor did I grow up in the 1930’s. I am dependent on what I read and hear and watch to get some sense of what that life must have been like. In this book, I get some vivid glimpses of what for me is usually a slow motion, sepia movie. Some smells and sounds and tastes burst forth through Miller’s words.
“With your teeth about gone and your stomach not handling much, I could see how fruit would be on your mind, how a taste of sunshine and breeze might hold you over until you’re wrapped up in blankets, sore from not leaving the bed for so long. When you pass away in the summer, they can bring the summer into you.”
With passages like these, she manages to bring forth the contrast of misery, despair, pain…and the wonderful yet simple gifts that make up our world. More than one thing at the same time…
And the simple things, described in such a way that they shine forth out of the grueling life of the characters that inhabit this book and the small town of Carbon Hill, Alabama, are the strength of this book.
“Leta was a great cook, good as any woman I’ve ever known, but the real mystery was how she knew what should fit together, what mix of foods made the right mouthful. Beans and onion. Squash and tomato. It was the different tastes together, the ones that it didn’t make no sense at all to stick on the same fork, that your tongue really remembered.”
Miller does a good job in detailing very clearly the reality of life in a mine town, population 3000, in the 1930s. Life was a battle fought each and every day. As Fannie Flagg mentions in her introduction to this book – “The Moores have no safety net, no protection against the worst other than Albert Moore’s good health and paycheck.” I felt that throughout the book. The incredibly long hours of backbreaking work, the fear that each and every day, not only the mine but life itself might come tumbling down…but there are those gleaming moments that these characters appreciate and hoard, and that serve as the bright spots in dark times.
“We sank into the mattress, with the weight of two bodies and all the tiredness and the work and the bills to be paid. Usually he’d squeeze my leg and I’d nuzzle his neck and we’d fall into sleep without saying a word. All the words and the moving and all the thinking were used up by dark.”
The voices of the different characters, Tess and Virgie, Jack, Albert and Leta, took a while to build in volume. I kept having to turn back to see who was talking. About midway through, I also started hearing the voices of Scout and Atticus Finch. And while I certainly see that two books written about small towns in Alabama in the 1930s would have some similar themes…this seemed a bit much.
One very jarring note occurs when suddenly the reader is jerked forward into present day. This felt very disruptive to the flow of the book and although I understand the contrast that was being made, I wish these random journeys out of the timeline of the book hadn’t been there.
But I will finish, then, with the first line of the book. “After she threw the baby in, nobody believed me for the longest time.” A mystery woman throws a baby in a well. That is the start of the book – but in the end – that mystery plays a minor roll. I kept forgetting about that (which given the importance one would think an event like that would hold, felt odd) and the book would only go back to it every now and again. What starts out seeming to be a story about a shocking event in the life of a small town, ends up being about a small town world where shocking events sometimes get buried under the dirt and sweat and tears of life.
georgemay's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
eh2018's review
4.0
I really enjoyed this. Simple and not much to the plot but the characters were sweet and I definitely feel like I got immersed in the lives of the members of a small coal mining town of the past. Tess even reminded me a bit of Scout of To Kill A Mockingbird...a fav
azu_rikka's review
4.0
3.75☆
This is a heartwarming book! I loved the nine year old Tess, the story in general, the way it's written and the historical background. It's an easy and fast read.
This is a heartwarming book! I loved the nine year old Tess, the story in general, the way it's written and the historical background. It's an easy and fast read.
bogfinchgirl's review
5.0
I don’t give five stars often. Three means it was good and i liked it, four means I loved it, five means it is one of my favorites. Some will read this book and think, how could she love this book? There’s no “story,” the hook of the baby in the well wasn’t what I thought it would be. Well, it is a wonderfully written narrative about life...everyday life. One family’s life in 1930s Alabama as a mining family. I just enjoyed the characters and experiencing daily life from their viewpoint. So pleased I picked this book out at our local second hand sale.
sheila_p's review
3.0
I wish the author had chosen one voice for the book, moving between the characters felt too choppy. There were too many big issues introduced, it wasn't necessary. There is a great story here, it is moving and well-told, the author should have trusted her characters enough to stand on their own. They were rich. I think this would be a good discussion book.
jamieastone's review
4.0
This was a great story of a family living in a southern mining town during the Great Depression. The story revolves around a myseterious event that happens in the first few pages. Through this mysterious event, the characters in town are developed. The focus is mainly on the Moore family and how the parents of the three children in this family struggle to make a living and a good life for their kids. The mystery is solved in the end after we have had the opportunity to view the lives of the family members and others in town. This is a great snapshot of what life was like during this time period and a great story.
hisdarkmaterials's review
3.0
Really decent debut. It's hard to classify this book..it's sort of like chick lit but not brainless. I can't really explain..set in 1930s America during the depression..it explores racial divide..poverty..etc but nothing too heavy. It was a enjoyable easy read. Phillips pulled off the different voices telling the story wonderfully, smart move with Jack being able to take us to the future. If you think this will be some great murder mystery, forget it. Just decent writing. I will be certainly looking out for further work in the future.