The Guitar Player and Other Songs of Exile

Many of us lose not only our childhoods, as we all must, but also the landscapes that make our early years a kind of paradise---especially true in this book for the former inhabitants of rural eastern Kentucky.From the first story, about Clara Fenton’s enchantment with the young man who would go past her childhood gate with his guitar and her later encounters with him, to the final tale, about Kate and Emory Corliss’s return to Osier County to piece together the history of their family and visit their remaining close kin, these narratives will remind readers belonging to other landscapes what it means to rediscover their own special place. The stories will also speak to the reader about what it means to leave home to make a life and an identity elsewhere.The Guitar Player and Other Songs of Exile is a kind of prose echo of William Blake’s Songs of Innocence and Experience, celebrating the beauty of childhood while never losing sight of the wisdom that experience teaches us.--'Every word here has earned its place on the page. Descriptions of Kentucky nature and contrasting city structures effortlessly draw readers into the scene, and both characters and setting pulse with life. Kiser’s people are full of incisive questions about identity, family, and generational trauma, especially in relation to southern culture. . . . This collection is perfect for readers who have found themselves caught between two different lives and understand the many varied definitions of ’home.'- Book Life, in Publishers Weekly'All across the board, the writing in this collection is wonderful. Crisp, clear, with a weight to it that is hard to shake. The stories feel more like pieces lifted right out of life and slapped fresh upon the page. No sense of beginning or end, just the world turning ever onward.' - Joelene Pynnonen, Independent Book Review'Each story is a microcosm of discovery and change that resonates and blossoms into unexpected revelations. They are interconnected not by characters and circumstances, but by the manner in which life evolves and transforms the perspectives and choices of each character.' - D. Donovan, Senior Reviewer, Midwest Book Review'These stories are beautifully written with a jewel-like quality. They feature Kentucky hills as actual backdrops or as stuff of memories for some dislocated former residents coping in urban settings like Columbus, Chicago, and New York City, while recalling with fondness people and places left behind.' - Vick Mickunas, Book Nook, Dayton Daily News