Annie Holleran is 15
and a half. On that night at midnight if a girl looks into a well,
she will see the face of the man she'll marry. Annie doesn't want to
join the other girls at the usual well, so she heads to the Blaine
well. This is forbidden territory every since her brother Dale died.
Annie's Aunt Juna
accused Joseph Carl Blaine of the death, and he was hanged. Then Juna
disappeared and now Annie is terrified that she'll return to make
trouble. Annie is doubly terrified because it's an open secret in
town that Juna is Annie's mother; and Joseph Carl, her father.
The setting, a small
Kentucky town in the 1950's, draws you into the web of strange
characters and a different life style. The families are poor. Most
subsist by growing tobacco or lavender. The traditions, like looking
into the well to see your future husband, seem far removed from the
present day, but the characters believe in them.
According to her
grandmother, Annie has the sight. She knows what will happen in the
future. Juna had it also, but people believed hers came from her
evil nature. Annie struggles with this comparison throughout the
novel.
The story is told by
two characters, Annie in the 1950s and her mother in the 1930s. While
the juxtaposition of the two accounts adds depth to the novel, I
sometimes found it difficult to remember the family relationships at
different times. So many things were the same and yet different.
If you enjoy
southern writing, this book has believable background
. I recommend it, it you like mysteries driven by family
secrets.
I reviewed this book
for Dutton.
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