From the Bookshelf of Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge…

News of the World

Paulette Jiles

Start date: March 2, 2017

Why we're reading this: March challenge: a book set in Texas
[close] March challenge: a book set in Texas

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Oct 10, 2017 Rosemary rated it really liked it

Shelves: audible-books

Highly recommend. I knew it would be a good story, but (because the author is unknown to me) I did not expect it would be so colorfully and poetically written. Characters are vividly drawn, settings are richly described, and there is a lot of historical background, some through the stories of the old man and the "freed" captive girl, and some through the newspaper stories he reads in public appearances throughout Texas. I also loved hearing the names of places like Lampasas, Bandera, Uvalde, Aus ...more

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Oct 06, 2018 Sarah rated it really liked it

Shelves: historical-fiction, fiction

I'm not trying to turn this review into an educational librarian piece, but this is a perfect example of the variety within a genre and how some subgenres can be your jam while the genre as a whole is not. Westerns in general are not my thing. I read the classic Riders of the Purple Sage for my Rearders' Advisory class and it made me want to gouge my eyes out. But a literary western, with the ability to rise out of the lavender hued masses with poetry in landscape and carefully crafted character I'm not trying to turn this review into an educational librarian piece, but this is a perfect example of the variety within a genre and how some subgenres can be your jam while the genre as a whole is not. Westerns in general are not my thing. I read the classic Riders of the Purple Sage for my Rearders' Advisory class and it made me want to gouge my eyes out. But a literary western, with the ability to rise out of the lavender hued masses with poetry in landscape and carefully crafted characters can be true treasures. I really loved this book.
Following the Civil War, Captain Jefferson Kyle Kidd is retired from military life. His beloved wife has died and his two daughters grown and gone. Kidd spends his time traveling through the rough areas of Texas bordering on Indian Territory to military outposts, tiny ranching towns, and anywhere in between with his stack of newspapers. Once he sets up camp on the outskirts of town, he rents a storefront, or a music hall, and at a dime a head, reads the news.
At one of these readings, Kidd comes across an old military acquaintance who asks for a favor; return Johanna Leonburger to her aunt and uncle in San Antonio after being a Kiowa captive for four years. The reward is generous, but you get the sense that the money isn't the only motive. It may come as no surprise that Johanna is great at Kidd's style of rough travel, but terrible at so-called sophisticated domestic life. Her first bath at the firm hands of some prostitutes is a not-so-hilarious testament to what is in store for Kidd and finally her family.
Their journey is filled with obstacles, both internal and external. Kidd's kindness, towards Johanna, and the world beyond create a story that isn't lost to sentimental purple prose. Jiles' setting was spot on, her background as a poet evident. But her real skill was creating not just two characters you care about, but a relationship that felt weighty and important. While the dialog and setting seem ready made for a movie, The Ten Cent Shootout in particular is dying for a silver screen adaptation.
While I think this would be easy to suggest to readers of literary westerns like The Sisters Brothers, True Grit, and even Lonesome Dove. I would also suggest this to a wide variety of literary readers in general. I couldn't put this down! ...more

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Jan 26, 2022 Mara rated it really liked it

Shelves: historical-fiction, orphans, texas, wfl-book-club, readers-advisory-committee

Captain Jefferson Kyle Kidd has fought in three wars, starting with the War of 1812 when he was just barely 16. Now, in 1870, he travels across Texas bringing the inhabitants news of distant places. He reads from newspapers from Philadelphia to India to London, and steers clear of politics as best he can.

On a pass through Northern Texas, he is entrusted with a young girl, recently rescued from the Kiowa, after having been abducted four years earlier. Now ten, Johanna has no real memory of her fa ...more

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