Soon to be a Major Motion Picture
National Book Award Finalist—Fiction
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.… 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.
more
Really enjoyed how the character developed. The depth of their feelings grew as they traveled and faced adversities……..they became a real team and were very devoted to each other.
There is a good guy bad guy influence plus a lot of love between characters.
This historical fiction set in the American West has all the action and adventure you could ask for in a Western, but that’s not what makes it special. It’s a beautiful tale about two lonely souls who take an unexpected journey together and learn to open their hearts again and recreate a family, something they both thought was lost.
I loved this book. I read it for my book club. Someone else chose it and I am so glad she did! I loved this book. There are so many good things about this, from the writing, to the original premise – a former Civil War captain rides to remote Texas towns to read the News of the Day – from newspapers. In those days, many people couldn’t read, and it brought them a view of the outside world. Very soon in the book he acquires a traveling companion – I won’t say any more because I don’t want to spoil the story for anyone else. This is definitely a hero’s journey story. It’s a fast read. When it ended, I only wanted more. Definite recommend.
Read 5.31.2021
I listened to the audiobook version and love it. The story takes place in the late 1800s in Texas when a man Captain Kid travels from small town to small town reading from newspapers about the news of the world. He agrees to deliver a 10-year-old captive white girl recovered from the Kiowa to her relatives in San Antonio. The story chronicles their journey. A must read.
I loved this book! I’m so glad I read it, even though I had seen the movie, which was very good. But there is more to the story and it’s all in the book. The characters are so real and I was involved in their lives, their feelings. I rooted for them, and at the end of the book I was completely happy for the characters, the direction their lives were taking, and for having read their stories!
News of the World is our book club choice this month. I found it to be a surprisingly different story presentation. The descriptions of every detail were vivid .and the characters well developed with plot twists and calamities that kept me turning the pages osf this haunting wonderful novel.
Absolutely loved the story. Watched the movie too…
This is a beautifully written, lyrical book. How the adjectives ‘gentle’ and ‘quiet’ can come to mind in a classic western with shootouts, brawls and all the rough edges associated with the Wild West is a testament to the author’s skill. An aging three-time war veteran who travels the Kansas/Oklhoma/Texas territories reading the news to the locals agrees to take a 10 year old child, who has been recently ‘rescued’ from the Kiowa Indians who slaughtered her family and then adopted her, back to her relatives in southern Texas.. The problem is, the child has no memory of her original culture or language, and she wants only to go back to her adoptive family. The relationship that builds between the child and the man blooms slowly but not always gently. It’s a wonderful read.
This books was really sweet and had its clever moments. Most characters were very fleshed out very well. However, at times I found myself spacing out between the notable plot points of the story. The lack of quotations around dialog also kind of annoyed me. I might come back to it later to to see what I think.
Interesting. A little slow at first. A new take on history and a good read. The movie is not as good as the book!
5 Stars. Loved this story of Captain & Johanna! It made my cry & filled my heart.
Favorite Quotes:
“Maybe life is just carrying news. Surviving to carry the news. Maybe we have just one message, and it is delivered to us when we are born and we are never sure what it says; it may have nothing to do with us personally but it must be carried by hand through a life, all the way, and at the end handed over, sealed.”
“And then he had come to think that what people needed, at bottom, was not only information but tales of the remote, the mysterious, dressed up as hard information. And he, like a runner, immobile in his smeared printing apron bringing it to them. Then the listeners would for a small space of time drift away into a healing place like curative waters.”
I love reading something that’s out of my normal range, and this Old West tale was fascinating. This story of courage and humanity is timeless for any era.
I was enthralled! I used to be a huge fan of historical novels. R.F. Delderfield, Winston Graham, Mary Stewart, Victoria Holt, Helen MacInnes – these were all my favourites in my early youth. Now, I shy away from historicals, preferring to deal with the hear and now. But News of the World contains themes and issues that are still – sadly – relevant today, and was so brilliantly written that I put aside my rule to stay current. I am so glad I did. This is one of my desert island books, for sure. I can’t bring myself to watch the movie adaptation – this was just a perfect read, and I don’t want to tarnish the memory.
Before you watch the movie version starring Tom Hanks, treat yourself to this short (209 pages) western novel with a literary flair. Author Paulette Jiles tells the story of an old man in 1870’s Texas who must deliver a young girl to relatives after her captivity among Kiowa Indians. Johanna speaks little English and barely remembers her deceased parents or her life before the Kiowa took her. Her journey with Captain Kidd, rife with hunger and hardship, tests their courage, ingenuity, and will to survive. Along the way, the old man entertains audiences by reading newspaper stories from around the world, tells of dramatic events, strange animals, and bizarre people his listeners have never heard of. Readers of this moving novel will be entertained as well and thankful for the ride-along experience.
One of the Best books I have read in a long time. Saw the movie and it was very good.
Good character development and details about the time period
This was such a fascinating read! Captain Jefferson Kyle Kidd works his way around norther Texas doing readings of the news. New of Chicago, of New York, of London and other places a lot of people have not even heard of. He brings stories from around the world, that others would otherwise never hear of. After a reading one night, he is asked to do a job, a job that he knows he is fit for but can hardly fathom. Maybe he will do it partial the way and then find another for the rest of the journey.
A child has been returned, from the Kiowa Indias. She was kidnapped years ago and now she needs to be returned to her family. But all that she has left is an aunt and uncle that lives quite a ways south and getting there will be through some dangerous territories. He is also being offered a $50 gold piece to complete this journey. He knows in his heart it is the right thing to do.
Along the way, he learns a lot about her, and what she has all been taught by the Indians and she is learning from him how to live like a white person once again. Although communication between the two can be hard, they always work out what the other is trying to communicate. Meanwhile, Captain Kidd is still doing readings throughout each town they need to rest in and the two are looked upon as an odd pair of travelers.
It was a very good, quick read. I read this novel in one day. It was very interesting the different situations that they came upon as well as the things she had learned and how they did come in handy on their journey to her family. I am looking forward to watching the movie that was just released for this book.
An old-fashioned tale of cowboys and Indians set in the post-Civil War period in Texas, this is the perfect adventure story. It has good guys and bad guys, shoot-outs and feats of daring. At its center are a 10-year-old girl who was captured by the Kiowas, (a childhood fantasy of mine), and an aging Army captain who agrees to return her to her family after she is ransomed. A high-brow (historical fiction) version of your average western, Jiles places her characters in the (well-researched) social and political milieu of Reconstruction following the war where freed slaves are finding their way, might trumps right, and a sharply divided country is trying to make its way back to being a union.