The Well* by Stephanie Landsem follows the lives of two young people facing dire circumstances. Shem, a young Samaritan from Caesarea, finds himself in the small village of Sychar in hiding from the Romans. Mara, daughter of the Biblical ‘woman at the well’, Nava, finds herself having to pick up the pieces of her broken family. The two find themselves inextricably linked through circumstances that threatens both their lives. Yet, an encounter with Jesus changes the way they approach the difficult decisions before them.
When Jesus meets the Samaritan woman at the well, He knows all about her, her five husbands and the man she is living with. We learn in the Bible how she realises that Jesus is the Messiah and goes back to her village to share the good news. But that is as much as we learn. In Stephanie Landsem’s novel, The Well, we are introduced to one possible story behind the Biblical account of the wayward Samaritan woman.
I’m usually quite wary of Christian fiction based on actual Biblical characters as there is so much room for error. But, Landsem has managed to create a fictitious story based on a real character so very well. It is clearly a work of fiction – so there is no danger, I believe, of confusing Landsem’s words with the Bible’s words. At the same time, when Landsem does refer to Biblical events and words, she is careful to stick to the exact words that are spoken.
By far my most favourite part of this book was the attention to historical details. I loved reading about the customs and food of the time. I found the story helped to paint a better picture of the life and times of the people we read about in the Bible. I have studied cultures before through different means, but reading about them in a well-researched novel is always a treat – it makes it easy, interesting and relate-able. Stephanie Landsem did a particularly great job of this: all I learned flowed naturally as a part of the narrative. It’s a true gift to teach your reader so much about a culture and people without ever making your reader feel that they’re doing anything more than reading a great story.
As for the story itself, Landsem has done a wonderful job. I had never before considered that the Samaritan woman of the biblical account could have had children. Nor had I imagined how they must have felt or how her life must have been as a woman living in sin at that time. Landsem gives the reader a deep long look into the complexities that could have existed for the Samaritan woman and her children. She skilfully weaves issues of depression, pride, forgiveness and loyalty into this compelling story.
In addition to being wary of biblical fiction for the reasons outlined above, I am also wary of Christian romance. Why? simply because so much of it features one-dimensional characters where the hero is always the perfect man (in a woman’s eyes) and the heroine is generally always a combo of drop-dead gorgeous and troubled / sassy /unsullied innocence and they ALWAYS end up together happily ever after. I find all these things quite unhelpful to Christian readers and tend to be really picky about what Christian romance I read and recommend. The question is, does The Well fall into these categories?
The answer, for the most part, is no! Yes, there are elements in the story that lean towards the kind of romance I tend to steer away from, but, thankfully, Landsem does not head down the well-trodden path of insipid characters. For example, Mara is beautiful, but her beauty is integral to the tension in the story, so, on the whole, I was not bothered by the romance as I usually am in this genre. And the fact that things don’t quite end the way one expects is a fresh approach to the romance. In fact, I found it quite romantic in itself, although, truth be told, I didn’t want to settle with the ending as it is. I guess I am sucker for the tried-and-tested happily ever after, after all!
All in all, this is a book that I enjoyed and would recommend to friends. In South Africa, The Well is selling at Karmal Books or CUM Books. Or you can buy it online at Amazon* (*affiliate link).
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I received a copy of The Well for review purposes. All opinion expressed are my own.