The Well
Mar 2015 · Canongate Books
3.7star
23 reviewsreport
Ebook
400
Pages
family_home
Eligible
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About this ebook
A RICHARD AND JUDY BOOK CLUB READ
AN OBSERVER NEW FACE OF FICTION 2015
A HUFFINGTON POST 'ONE TO WATCH IN 2015'
LONGLISTED FOR THE CWA JOHN CREASEY (NEW BLOOD) DAGGER 2015
'I was gripped by Catherine Chanter's The Well immediately. The beauty of her prose is riveting, the imagery so assured. This is an astonishing debut' Sarah Winman, author of When God was a Rabbit
'I loved this book!' JESSIE BURTON, author of The Miniaturist
When Ruth Ardingly and her family first drive up from London in their grime-encrusted car and view The Well, they are enchanted by a jewel of a place, a farm that appears to offer everything the family are searching for. An opportunity for Ruth. An escape for Mark. A home for their grandson Lucien.
But The Well's unique glory comes at a terrible price. The locals suspect foul play in its verdant fields and drooping fruit trees, and Ruth becomes increasingly isolated as she struggles to explain why her land flourishes whilst her neighbours' produce withers and dies. Fearful of envious locals and suspicious of those who seem to be offering help, Ruth is less and less sure who she can trust.
As The Well envelops them, Ruth's paradise becomes a prison, Mark's dream a recurring nightmare, and Lucien's playground a grave.
AN OBSERVER NEW FACE OF FICTION 2015
A HUFFINGTON POST 'ONE TO WATCH IN 2015'
LONGLISTED FOR THE CWA JOHN CREASEY (NEW BLOOD) DAGGER 2015
'I was gripped by Catherine Chanter's The Well immediately. The beauty of her prose is riveting, the imagery so assured. This is an astonishing debut' Sarah Winman, author of When God was a Rabbit
'I loved this book!' JESSIE BURTON, author of The Miniaturist
When Ruth Ardingly and her family first drive up from London in their grime-encrusted car and view The Well, they are enchanted by a jewel of a place, a farm that appears to offer everything the family are searching for. An opportunity for Ruth. An escape for Mark. A home for their grandson Lucien.
But The Well's unique glory comes at a terrible price. The locals suspect foul play in its verdant fields and drooping fruit trees, and Ruth becomes increasingly isolated as she struggles to explain why her land flourishes whilst her neighbours' produce withers and dies. Fearful of envious locals and suspicious of those who seem to be offering help, Ruth is less and less sure who she can trust.
As The Well envelops them, Ruth's paradise becomes a prison, Mark's dream a recurring nightmare, and Lucien's playground a grave.
Ratings and reviews
3.7
23 reviews
Clare Cope
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October 7, 2015
Found it a bit hard to get into, just trying to orientate myself in the context of the story. Once that was clear, I loved it
16 people found this review helpful
Elizabeth Stevenson
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January 16, 2016
Long,boring worthless waste if time
10 people found this review helpful
David Redwood
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November 16, 2015
Really enjoyed. Well written offering something a little different
7 people found this review helpful
About the author
Catherine Chanter was born and raised in the West Country. She has written for Radio Four and has had short stories and poetry published in a wide range of anthologies and publications. She won the Yeovil Poetry Prize in 2010. Catherine has a Masters, with distinction, in Creative Writing from Oxford Brookes University. The Well is her first novel, won the 2013 Lucy Cavendish Prize for Unpublished Fiction and has been longlisted for the 2015 CWA John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger.
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