Provenance: A Novel - Hardcover

Sawyer, Donna Drew

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0991614348 ISBN 13: 9780991614349

Publisher: Creative Cache LLC, 2015

Synopsis

Winner of the 2017 Maryland Writers' Association Annual Book Award for Historical Fiction. Selected for the 2017 Go On Girl Book Club reading list and, a finalist for 2016 Phillis Wheatley Award for First Fiction.

Southern civility turns savage when Hank Whitaker’s dying words reveal the unimaginable. No one—not his socialite wife, Maggie, or young son, Lance—ever suspected the successful businessman, husband and father they knew and loved was a black man passing for white. In 1931, in the segregated South, marriage between whites and blacks is illegal. Maggie is now a criminal facing the possibility of jail and, when Lance receives death threats to atone for his father’s betrayal, the family flees the U.S. for Paris.

Still grieving Hank’s death and fearful of their uncertain future as Europe marches toward war, Lance and Maggie mourn the lives they loved but lost. As they struggle to create a new lives and identities for themselves, they find a surprising support from the community of artists and American expats that are on the same journey. Provenance is a sweeping historical saga about love, betrayal, tragedy, triumph, passion, privilege and the universal desire for acceptance—regardless of who you are or where you’re from.

“Such a satisfying read. This page-turner has characters steeped in psychological depth, a setting rich with historical context and a narrative that explores the heart-wrenching evolution of racial identity in America. Sawyer has brought us some solid storytelling with this fine book. I didn’t want it to end!”
Karen Deans author of Playing to Win and Swing Sisters

“Provenance is a gripping story with wonderful characters, and Sawyer manages to blend fiction and history in a convincing way. This is a quick but substantive read that will nudge (if not force) you to rethink your perceptions of wealth, art, and racial identity.”
Kelly Hand author of Au Pair Report

“Provenance is the perfect combination of a love story and historical fiction with added reflection on our country’s struggle with race. Although this novel is set in the early 1900s, it was striking how many of the themes around race, privilege and survival are still relevant today.”
Kristin Battista-Frazee author of Pornographer’s Daughter

"A memorable tale of love, loss and redemption."
Kirkus Review

About this title

Product Description:

Hank Whitaker had always planned to tell his family the truth; he just didn't know how. A tragic accident forces Hank to confess to his 18-year-old son, Lance, that he is really a black man passing as white. The revelation launches young Lance on a life-journey that takes him from the deep south to Paris as he tries to figure out which life to live--his father's legacy of secrets and lies or, one that embraces his true heritage. PROVENANCE is set during the early 20th century--post Civil War, pre-civil rights and long before post-racial was even a concept--a time when African Americans had to find their own way to make their lives matter. It is the story of an American family who, without the protection of law and only themselves to rely on, did whatever was necessary to ensure their own destiny. Like many African Americans, more than 200,000 before World War I, Lance flees the U.S. to find freedom in the vibrancy of Paris between the World Wars. With the art world as its backdrop, PROVENANCE paints a vivid picture of a family, divided by color and consequences, who defied tradition by defining their own existence--even redefining their past. PROVENANCE, intertwines real people and fictional characters to tell stories of Americans who found their own way to overcome the barriers of race, class and gender--long before civil rights were even a dream. PROVENANCE is an art infused coming-of-age story like "The Goldfinch"; a family saga reminiscent of "Cane River" and, the book's flawed yet captivating characters entangled in an unlikely romance evoke, The Human Stain." The powerful theme of haunting racial secrets cannot help but remind readers of the seminal classic on race, "Passing." Perfect book club fiction, PROVENANCE is a page-turner that will keep readers pondering their own thoughts on race, family and destiny--long after the book's final page.

Review:

"Sawyer successfully explores the meaning of family in this multigenerational saga set in the world of high-end art. [A] memorable tale of love, loss and redemption." - Kirkus Reviews "A terrific and timely story. I love the rich characters that are so individual and varied. The voices of all of them are unique and distinctive. Terrific." - Barbara Esstman, author of "The Other Anna" and "Night Ride Home" "A substantive read that will nudge (if not force) you to rethink your perceptions of racial identity, wealth and, art." - Kelly Hand, author of "Au Pair Report"

About this edition

• Publisher: Creative Cache LLC
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 0991614348
• ISBN 13: 9780991614349
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 298