Water from the Well

by Myra McLarey

Acclaimed by The Boston Book Review as "incantatory ... poetic and magical," Water from the Well is a novel forged in the soul of community. Set in rural Arkansas, it opens in 1919 with a cow-pasture ball game between the whites of Sugars Springs and the coloreds of neighboring Bethel, a game that shakes the town's delicate racial balance. One year later, a cyclone visits destruction on black and white, female and male, villain and victim. Rich with image and sparkling with humor and compassion, Water from the Well is a story of ex-slaves, displaced Yankees, rapists, healers, small-town sheriffs led into temptation, and the rich weave of a century of community history. "Boldly idiosyncratic and folksy ... characters and their stories emerge with the intimacy of personal memory." -- Richard Bausch, The New York Times Book Review; "Entertaining, touching, celebratory, and absolutely pitch-perfect." -- Sandra Scofield, The Philadelphia Inquirer

Genres: Historical Fiction

256 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1995

Reviews

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The writing style of this book takes some getting used to. It is as if you are listening to someone tell a story from their front porch. The story takes tangents, brings in somewhat unrelated facts but then spins around to come to a conclusion. Some characters are never mentioned again. Once the reader views the story as a verbal retelling, the whole story falls into place. An enjoyable read.

[Janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2.
Beautifully written stories of the people in a small Arkansas town, between just after the Civil War and 1970.

[Kimberlee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have mixed emotions about this book. I had some trouble keeping the characters straight but overall,I liked how all the lives intertwined.

[Sylvia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't think I can review it any better than the comments on the book cover. Really a wonderful book. Unusual in many ways. Such a tapestry of characters and stories, with so much truth, compassion, humor, sarcasm...a really pleasurable read. Reminds me of classical mythology in some ways, but set in the 1900's in Arkansas.

[Marie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Well. What can I say. Maybe others would like this book, but I barely got half way through and had to put it away. The reviews promise flowful writing and humor, I found a story that rambles on and on and goes no where with way to many names and constant repeats in reference. Not for me at all. . . ..

[Tracee · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is what you get for $2.99 from the clearance bin. So many characters introduced. Incidents that didn't seem to matter. One haunting tale that stayed with you but didn't carry the book. I was afraid from the title it was going to get all religious on me but wasn't too bad, smattering here & there but nothing shoved down your throat.

[Charley · Rating 5 out of 5]

You feel like you know the heart of the community, beautiful and ugly. This is really a series of short stories, fictionalized versions of local folklore and familial oral history, that weave through a segregated small town near Hope AK in the early 20th century.

[Emily Newport Woodward · Rating 1 out of 5]

Had to put this one down after 50 or so pages. Didn't like the writing style and the rambling of names make it impossible for me to follow.

[Barbara Mayden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Magical

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

Re-reading. I first read this charming story some years ago, around the time it came out, because of a personal connection with the author. This is now my 3rd reading.