Amazon Rising Star, 2015
What if you might have committed a shocking act of violence?
What if that act of violence was the murder of your own grandchild?
It hasn’t rained in Britain for three years. Except at The Well, Ruth and Mark’s rural property, their haven from the pressures of the city. But their lush garden paradise has made the outside world envious and suspicious, and the idyll soon turns sour.
Then Lucien arrives, the child to brighten their lives, and the sisters of the rose set up camp, drawn by the miracle of the rain.
And Ruth is swept inexorably towards her darkest nightmare.
The Well is a haunting novel that probes the fragility of our personal relationships and the mystical connection between people and the places they call home.
Catherine Chanter is a teacher, poet and short story writer. She is the winner of the Yeovil Poetry Prize and the Lucy Cavendish prize awarded by Cambridge University. She grew up in the West Country before attending Oxford. The Well is her first novel.
‘The Well asks us where do we seek refuge, and why? And perhaps it shows us that what is left, after all is suffered, is love. Battered, weathered, at the end of the novel it comes cresting over the hill, a herald of relief. I loved this book!’ Jessie Burton, author of The Miniaturist
‘This accomplished debut…is both a futuristic evocation of a Big Brother society and an Ibsenite fable of humans faced with limited resources.’ Guardian
‘Suspense-building, supernatural undercurrents charge this haunting novel about ordinary people confronted by extraordinary situations.’ Elle Magazine
‘The story has the pulse of a thriller combined with a futuristic evocation of a Big Brother society and an Ibsenite fable of humans faced with limited resources.’ Allison Pearson
‘This story ripples with mystery and intrigue from the first page.’ Daily Mail
‘Combining gripping mystery, nuanced psychological drama, and striking prose, this debut is a mesmerizing read.’ Publisher's Weekly
‘The Well is a remarkably strong debut, drawing from a broad cross-section of genres to emerge as something else entirely—a seductive, inventive mystery and an absorbing read.’ Readings
‘A strong literary page turner.’ Independent
‘There is undeniable power—both of ideas and execution.’ Guardian
‘This powerful novel is more emotional than political, but as a story foreshadowing a very possible future, it will strike a chord with readers of fiction and nonfiction alike.’ Library Journal
‘Its story and narrative voice will put many readers under a deliciously shivery spell.’ Sunday Telegraph
‘Gripping…Although the mystery surrounding Lucien's murder unfolds with real power and intensity, it is The Well's portrait of an increasingly intrusive and bureaucratic state that's both more plausible and truly chilling.’ Listener
‘A remarkable book…This story is apocalyptic: it tells of one property, in prose that pours (unlike the rain) from the writer’s hand, packed with emotion, intelligence and above all, story-telling.’ Daily Review
‘A whirling dervish of a novel that surprises at every turn.’ Australian Women’s Weekly
