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Revision as of 13:17, 12 August 2020
, 13:17, 12 August 2020no edit summary
{{infoboxinfobox1
|title=The Well
|sort=Well, The
|publisher=Canongate
|date=March 2015
|summary=''The Well'' is Catherine Chanter's debut novel, a modern 'whodunnit' with a futuristic quasi-apocalyptic twist. Set in a rural idyll during a time of an almost Biblical drought, The Well seems to thrive, verdantly and lushly in spite of the lack of water anywhere else. Drawn by its mythical reputation people come from far and wide to see it with their own eyes; with unpredictable consequences for the family who call it home.
|cover=1782114661
|aznuk=1782114661
|aznus=1782113606
}}
The subject and title of Catherine Chanter's debut novel is a country idyll of which dreams are made: charmingly ramshackle, disarmingly verdant and heaving with fertile acreage. Ruth and Mark can barely believe their luck at finding this perfect retreat, an oasis from their tired and overwrought City existence. Several months down the road and with the entire nation brought to its knees by an almost apocalyptic drought, Ruth and Mark are beginning to question their good fortune in their ownership of The Well.
So this is why I have awarded three and a half stars... I'm annoyed that I don't have a complete picture; I have a very definite sense of having done a 1,000 piece jigsaw puzzle of the ''Mona Lisa'', only to find that there are 10 pieces missing and they complete her smile.
To conclude my review on a more positive note, I felt ''The Well'' was enthusiastically written, like so many debut novels. I loved the expanse of adjectives and the warmth the writer engendered in the reader for The Well and it's surrounding loveliness, even though it occasionally felt a like as though she was trying a little bit too hard. A very big thank you to the kind ladies and gents at Canongate for entrusting this copy to us for review.
Aside from my own feelings about this book , you may very well enjoy it, particularly if you like your dystopian tonic to have a twist of crime (did you see what I did there?). If ''The Well'' appeals you may also wish to take a look at [[I Am Legend by Richard Matheson]], which we loved and considered entirely superior to the film of the same title, or perhaps a foray into the pages of [[The Digital Plague by Jeff Somers]] which will really make your heart race. {{amazontext|amazon=1782114661}} {{amazontextAud|amazon=B00ZUZHQUW}}
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