This book was initially presented to me as a mystery. "Who put the baby in the well?" is the question that is discussed on the back of the book, and is the major event that gets this story going. Unfortunately, the mystery of the baby in the well is not the story arc of the novel. Instead, it serves as the bookends, showing up at the beginning and then again at the end. The middle consists of something else entirely.
In truth, this is not a mystery at all. It is a character study of a poor family in an Alabama mining town in the 1920s. If you read this book and expect a mystery, you will be sorely disappointed. If you read it with the expectation that you are about to be immersed in the day-to-day lives of this one Southern family, you will have a greater appreciation for the skill and detail that this first-time author is allowing you to experience.
In spite of the baby-in-the-well subplot, there was really very little action or suspense in this book. There were a few situations where Phillips could have created more tension, but she robbed herself of those opportunities by telling you too much up front, or by using a flashback to explain the future (and therefore gave away a major plot point very early on). Phillips also used a multiple-narrator approach to tell this story, which was the weakest part of her presentation. Each of her characters had depth and individuality. Unfortunately, all of them pretty much sounded the same.
Overall, (minor complaints aside) I thought this was a good book, beautifully written, dripping with detail of life in the Deep South. It is a solid debut from a promising new author, and I applaud Gin Phillips for her work.
In truth, this is not a mystery at all. It is a character study of a poor family in an Alabama mining town in the 1920s. If you read this book and expect a mystery, you will be sorely disappointed. If you read it with the expectation that you are about to be immersed in the day-to-day lives of this one Southern family, you will have a greater appreciation for the skill and detail that this first-time author is allowing you to experience.
In spite of the baby-in-the-well subplot, there was really very little action or suspense in this book. There were a few situations where Phillips could have created more tension, but she robbed herself of those opportunities by telling you too much up front, or by using a flashback to explain the future (and therefore gave away a major plot point very early on). Phillips also used a multiple-narrator approach to tell this story, which was the weakest part of her presentation. Each of her characters had depth and individuality. Unfortunately, all of them pretty much sounded the same.
Overall, (minor complaints aside) I thought this was a good book, beautifully written, dripping with detail of life in the Deep South. It is a solid debut from a promising new author, and I applaud Gin Phillips for her work.
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