* Ibby in Rocky Mount, Virginia about "Providence, VA"

(Note: This review of Providence, VA was written by Ibby Greer in Rocky Mount, Virginia and posted on Facebook. A similar review is on Amazon.com.)

“Providence, VA, a novel of inner strength found in adversity,” by Michael Abraham. Pocahontas Press. 2012. ISBN 0-926487-63-9.

Journey Through Dystopia: A Review by Elizabeth T. Greer

“Reisen,” German for “to travel, to journey”…It cannot be by chance that Samantha Reisinger, heroine of Michael Abraham’s riveting novel, “Providence, VA,” has that verb as the very root of her name. A privileged and naive “Jewish Princess” from New Jersey, an accomplished classical violinist used to a charming second home and a horse with which she trains in Dressage, access to the cultural riches of NYC, and a highly successful father at Goldman Sachs, this 17-year-old product of the glittery Northeast Corridor travels to Galax, VA, for the annual Fiddlers’ Convention in the hills of rural SW Virginia to hear Bluegrass on fiddles. Bluegrass lyrics, homespun folk songs, classics for violin, and even three of Vivaldi’s “Seasons” enrich the texture of this episodic novel, of life after the Grid goes down. Darkness, despair, courage, integrity, horror, and knowledge describe this story.

With an occasional subtle tip of the hat to another fantastic American novel of surprise, survival, and friendship, Frank Baum’s “The Wizard of Oz,” Abraham has this Dorothy also dropped into a new kind of world because of a natural disaster, an electromagnetic “Pulse,” and struggle to find her way home, with music at the heart of the journey. Where Dorothy’s world went from black and white (in the film) to full color in Oz, Sammy’s world goes from full color to complete darkness…lit by a moon or flashlight. Like Dorothy, Sammy encounters, one by one, a diverse new set of friends, some local and some imports, like herself. Some of the characters are professors, allowing them to explain what is happening with the effects of the Pulse.

Black, White, Pentecostal, Native American, Jew, rural folks, musicians, urban elites, Virginia Military Institute, Virginia Tech, Georgetown, Dartmouth, Oxford Univ., and Winston-Salem play a part in this novel. Slavery, the Holocaust, folklore, and the Rapture are woven into the journey and stories of survival. The story unfolds quickly, and this reader could not put it down. I was familiar with every place, historical reference, school, and religion portrayed. That enhanced my appreciation for the depth and intensity of this novel.

Michael Abraham, author of books about the Crooked Road Music Trail and motorcycling over the region’s back roads, is a resident of Blacksburg, VA, (home of Virginia Tech) He is able to share his vast knowledge of the rural culture, musical traditions, history, and topography of the region around Galax (notably Fries, Independence, Elk Creek, Roanoke, and the New River), all in the ancient Blue Ridge Mountains. The point-of-view, that of an innocent Jewish girl surrounded by people of faith, agnostics, atheists, and a New Age herbalist, lets the author explore this nation’s Judeo-Christian heritage and show the similarities and differences of people’s belief systems, especially how they are used and are helpful, or not, under terrible community stress.

Midwifery, carpentry, hydraulic engineering, mechanics, radio and camera technology, food preservation, and transportation are just a few of the skills that Abraham weaves into the story through the articulate and patient characters who try to make the best of disaster. Some of the “speeches” that occur when someone answers a question, usually one asked by the bright and curious protagonist, Sammy, seem a little pedagogical. Yet, the knowledge comes forth clearly and propels this amazing saga along to a satisfying finale.

I may have been present, in Galax 2011, when the seeds of this novel started to sprout. I was seated next to Michael and a young woman classical violinist from somewhere “up North,” while Roger Sprung [NY/CT Bluegrass banjo player] and Fred Swedberg jammed with Barbara and Frank Shaw [CT] of “Shoregrass Bluegrass. Michael Abraham, will there be an “Encore”? Bravo! Bravo, Michael Abraham. I have not read a book this enthralling for years. More. More. And, thank you. Wow.