A Young Woman from the Provinces - Hardcover

by Jo Ann Kiser (Author)

From inhabitant of a cardboard cradle deep in the Kentucky hills to young romantic in New York City, Geneva Clay is transformed by her journey and yet indelibly the same.

As Geneva's family migrates from one place to another, the once-familiar landscapes of her Kentucky childhood blend into a mosaic of poetic memories and near mythologies. In an Ohio college, she forms enduring friendships that provide both sustenance and education: Ella, an independent and empathetic spirit navigating a racially challenged environment; Sammy, a sophisticated rebel who briefly mentors Geneva; and Annie, who introduces Geneva to the excitement and complexities of New York.

Geneva tentatively adopts the grand city, seeking work and love. After months of unhappy struggle and loneliness, she secures a position in a prestigious research foundation and, taking a chance on a brief encounter in a museum, gets involved with and marries Cullen, her first true love. However, continuing to grapple with reshaping her identity, she eventually leaves the Chatham Foundation and Cullen, too, behind.

Much like Geneva, we all must part with our childhood innocence and embark on a quest to find our place within the universe, one that will fill the void left by the magic circle of meaning we've left behind.

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"This richly detailed bildungsroman, the follow-up to Kiser's story collection The Guitar Player and Other Songs of Exile, surveys a surprising life, answering over its length the question of how its narrator, Geneva Clay of Kentucky coal country, grew from front-porch nights listening to 'tree frogs and the lonely palpitating whip-poor-will' to become the kind of book-minded, art-struck New York City dreamer who describes 'a celebrated Goya Christ' as a 'a mass of dark but luminous energy.' The novel bustles with incident and vibrant, everyday life..." - Book Life, in Publishers Weekly

"Jo Ann Kiser is an impeccable prose stylist and a gifted storyteller. She describes natural worlds steeped in wonder: 'two small cornfields shimmering green and silver in the sunlight; its steep pasturage anchored by an ancient hickory'... This novel took Jo Ann Kiser half a century to complete. And it was well worth the weight." - Vick Mickunas, Book Nook, Dayton Daily News

"A Young Woman from the Provinces will appeal to readers of contemporary women's fiction who especially enjoy stories of maturity and friendships. It follows the experience of Geneva, who moves from her home in backwoods Kentucky to the allure of New York City-there to hone a career, friendships, and possible romance that lead her ever deeper into growth and change. Jo Ann Kiser's poetic voice adds depth and metaphor to the atmosphere..." - D. Donovan, Senior Reviewer, Midwest Book Review

"Jo Ann Kiser's new novel, A Young Woman from the Provinces, unspools a journey to the self, the only reliable home that is everyone's birthright. ... Going home, and whether you can, is an ageless topic. In A Young Woman from the Provinces, Geneva Clay's movement into adulthood conjures past and present homes, sharing an irresistible tale of formal and informal education, of intellectual and personal growth." - Jane Blakelock, Yellow Springs News