News of the World

Book Review of
News of the World

Author: Paulette Jiles
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Publisher Summary:

In the aftermath of the Civil War, an aging itinerant news reader agrees to transport a young captive of the Kiowa back to her people in this exquisitely rendered, morally complex, multilayered novel of historical fiction from the author of Enemy Women that explores the boundaries of family, responsibility, honor, and trust.

In the wake of the Civil War, Captain Jefferson Kyle Kidd travels through northern Texas, giving live readings from newspapers to paying audiences hungry for news of the world. An elderly widower who has lived through three wars and fought in two of them, the captain enjoys his rootless, solitary existence.

In Wichita Falls, he is offered a $50 gold piece to deliver a young orphan to her relatives in San Antonio. Four years earlier, a band of Kiowa raiders killed Johanna’s parents and sister; sparing the little girl, they raised her as one of their own. Recently rescued by the U.S. army, the ten-year-old has once again been torn away from the only home she knows.

Their 400-mile journey south through unsettled territory and unforgiving terrain proves difficult and at times dangerous. Johanna has forgotten the English language, tries to escape at every opportunity, throws away her shoes, and refuses to act “civilized.” Yet as the miles pass, the two lonely survivors tentatively begin to trust each other, forming a bond that marks the difference between life and death in this treacherous land.

Arriving in San Antonio, the reunion is neither happy nor welcome. The captain must hand Johanna over to an aunt and uncle she does not remember—strangers who regard her as an unwanted burden. A respectable man, Captain Kidd is faced with a terrible choice: abandon the girl to her fate or become—in the eyes of the law—a kidnapper himself.

Lynn's Review

News of the World

News of the World by Paulette Jiles is not the typical type of book that I pick up. It is a post Civil War Western set in Texas. Grace is a fan of Western books and has read a lot of them. I have only read a few. I have heard great things about News of the World, so I decided to give it a try. I was actually surprised how much I enjoyed it.

News of the World was an interesting, heart warming, and at times funny read. It took a serious subject and time and drew you into the characters.

I will say that it had a fairly common story line found in Western books, which is why I don’t read a lot of Westerns. They all seem to have a very similar plot and story line. But Grace would probably disagree with me on that because she loves Westerns.

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