The Dry Well

by Marlin Barton

This collection brings together the author's twelve best stories, all set in the same small Southern community in Alabama. The world of these stories covers five generations of one particular family named Anderson, and the range in time is from 1865 to the present. These stories are about grace in the lives of ordinary men and women. The plot lines are infinitely various, but so delicate that they have eluded some of the subtlest writers. As was once said about the writing of Peter Taylor, a master of the short story, Marlin Barton's writing is as clear as a fine pane of glass. Correctly described as unobtrusive, this style is so simple and powerful that he seems scarcely to be exercising his craft. This is the perfect definition of a virtuoso. As readers will find, there is virtuosity aplenty in The Dry Well.

Hardcover

First published July 11, 2001

Reviews

[Dave Marsland · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the highlights of the year, or any year, has been reading the magnificent Children of Dust by Marlin Barton. It came to my attention there was a short story collection – The Dry Well – that came before Children of Dust. The stories are about several families living in the fictitious town of Riverfield, West Alabama. Like Faulkner’s Yoknapatawpha, Barton creates a strong sense of time and place, history and culture, and the people who live in it.
Many of the stories are based around the Anderson family, five generations of intertwined tales that give multiple voices and perspectives. A young Rafe Anderson makes an appearance as a Confederate soldier in the eponymous story. Jeremiah’s Road, The Dry Well, A Shooting, Conjure Woman take on race, the Civil War, infidelity, poverty. Stories of the South, written with compassion and grace. There isn’t a weak story in the book.
I’m slightly flabbergasted that Marlin Barton has so few ratings or reviews, because he's a master storyteller and a great Southern author.

[Sue Whitt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short stories that interlap over three generations

[Kyler Campbell · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really stellar collection of stories. Barton dives into the heart and psyche of Southern people and comes up with new revelations each time. His prose is lyrical and poignant, and his use of dialogue earns a place among the likes of McCarthy and Hemingway. Every story, from "Jeremiah's Road", to "The Minister," and especially "Conjure Woman," takes its time developing each character and really exploring everything there is to know about them. The stories are contemplative, compelling, and above all wonderful representations of Southern life and culture. With such an electric voice and understated tensions, Barton can be considered one of the finest Southern writers in this day and age.