News of the World by Paulette Jiles
News of the World
by Paulette Jiles
You may remember THIS post, where I had just finished an exceptional book but still in proof/advanced reader’s format. It’s been driving me slightly crazy, but I had to keep silent as the original publication date (March) had been pushed back to October.
Today News of the World is released and I can finally tell you about what other reviewers are calling a “gem” of a book. And I agree wholeheartedly, News of the World is just that — a “must have” gem.
This short novel (200 pages) is set just after the Civil War in 1870’s Texas. Captain Jefferson Kyle Kidd is a widower in his seventies who fought in two wars. A former printer, the captain enjoys a vagabond existence as a news reader. He travels to small towns in Texas, reading the news from a wide range of newspapers. His audiences, who either can’t read or don’t have access to the newspapers Kidd orders from around the world, pay a dime admission to hear the news from as far away as London or New York.
The Captain is mindful about what he reads, sometimes skimming over politics or post Civil War uncertainty, and always ends his readings with a fascinating or exotic tale.
One evening the Captain is approached by a freed slave who is traveling with an orphaned German-American girl. Now 10 years old, Johanna was taken captive at age six, by the Kiowa during a raid during which her parents and sister were slaughtered. Now, four years later, she has been sold by the Kiowa to the army for a few blankets and some old silverware. The child must somehow be returned to her uncle and aunt who live 400 miles away near San Antonio. The freed slave, a black man, is reluctant to be traveling with a white girl child through territory still reeling from the aftermath of the Civil War. Kidd accepts the monumental sum of $50 to take the girl back to her relatives and he plans his news readings to follow a route that will eventually take them to San Antonio.
Thus begins a journey through the beautifully described Texas hill country. The relationship between the Captain and the reluctant, Kiowa speaking Johanna grows close and protective as they journey towards their destination. She calls him “Kep-dun” and he teaches her English name which they agree will be pronounced “Chohenna”. She distastes shoes and grapples with the many layers of woman’s dress of the time. The aging Captain, meanwhile is trying to protect them from marauding Indians, cowboys and rove soldiers while simultaneously showing her how to eat food with utensils and to use a gun.
There are harrowing attacks, harsh weather and long boring days in a wagon and while their journey is suspenseful and often amusing — it is mostly heartwarming as they start to form an unlikely affection for each other.
News of the World is chocked full of details — of horses, weapons, dress, and society’s attitudes at the time — but rather than weigh down the story, these details bring it alive for the reader.
With Johanna, Ms. Jiles beautifully renders the trauma and readjustment of children captured and adopted by Native Americans. And Captain Kidd is one of the finest western characters ever written — reminiscent of Lonesome Dove or True Grit.
I especially savored Captain Kidd’s newspaper readings which are filled with fascinating (there’s that word again) historical references of the time, from arctic explorers to the politics of Hamilton and Davis.
This is historical fiction at its best, with a riveting story line, memorable characters, and writing that is graceful and spare. And if you’re like me, you need a few moments to compose yourself after the ending.
News of the World is up for the National Book Award and is at your independent bookstore today. Highly recommended.
An Advanced Readers Copy was provided by William Morrow, a division of Harper Collins publishers.
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