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.
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Beautifully written original story of post Civil War Texas. I do not want to include spoilers, but the charcters and plot are unforgettable. I finished it in one day. I will read it aloud to my husband on one of our long road trips, as I know he would enjoy it.
This book was a very interesting story of a time when newspapers were the only source of news.
This book was beautifully written and had wonderful characters. Not only the main characters but even the most minor. The story was was original and made you want to keep reading to know what happened next.
I read this book because it will soon be released as a Tom Hanks movie. I was surprised to find the story lacked originality and had a lot of similarities to True Grit. However, True Grit is a much better novel.
I loved this book and recommended it to everyone who loves to read.
Very descriptive. You could actually ‘feel’ how the various characters were feeling as they interacted and grew to know each other on their journey.
Well developed characters, perfect for the historical fiction fan.
I admit to getting this book principally because I understand it is being made into a movie. Don’t think I will go see the film. The book is interesting in several aspects and I liked some of the characters. But very little happens in this book and I’m not sure there is enough there there either for a novel or for a movie. Maybe that is actually more realistic–it is the little things that string together to make up a life.
Paulette Jiles’s The News of the World is a delightful, compact novel, of the Old West, without being about the Old West. It’s 1870, and itinerant Captain Jefferson Kyle Kidd – valiant soldier of the wars of 1812 and Mexico – has been left penniless by the War Between the States, his small printing business gone, his wife dead, his grown daughters far away in Georgia. And so Captain Kidd does what any man of robust health and a passion for the printed word and road would do: he takes to the road, reading the news to crowds large and small in the dusty towns and backwaters of North Texas.
It’s in one of these towns that he is charged with the return of a young girl, a former Kiowa captive, to her extended family in San Antonio. Reluctant at first, Captain Kidd grows increasingly fond of 10-year-old Johanna as their journey progresses. In her, he sees echoes of his own daughters, now grown, and hope for the future of his beloved state. Other than a few passages about the behavior of former Indian captives that reminded me intensely of Philipp Meyers’s The Son, what I liked most about The News of the World was the utter originality – and then learning from the author’s note that Captain Kidd was, in fact, based on just such a gentleman.
All told, The News of the World is a wonderful read, and one that I can heartily recommend to all comers, particularly, of course, those for a penchant for historical fiction.
Four stars.
(This review was originally published at https://www.thisyearinbooks.com/2017/07/the-news-of-world.html)
Since I live in San Antonio, I enjoyed the story of traveling through areas I knew. Also the characters were very enjoyable. The dangers that were involved made the journey astounding, especially considering the ages of the main characters.
Memorable story.
Paula Jiles is a great writer and researcher of what she writes about. I have read everything available by her through online sources.
After almost being “turned off” by the title of the novel, I’m so glad I decided to buy and read it. I see that the story is being made into a movie with Tom Hanks, and I certainly want to see it. The little girl kinda steals the story.
Great read for men or women
Lyrical writing
A great story of post civil war America.
Loved the plot and the characters. Truly an original!
Flawless. News of the World manages to leave the reader savoring its diverse and complex characters, sweeping landscape and morally challenging plot long after reading the last page. What else would an author desire to accomplish? Even accounting for the number of old westerns featuring the culturally conflicted lives of children held captive by Native American tribes, the author manages a fresh twist on the subject. This is truly one you can’t put down until the fate of the child is resolved.
Patricia Jiles News of the World is the best book I have read in several years, the kind that only rarely comes along. A Civil War veteran travels around to smaller, more isolated towns to read from newspapers and magazines, in order to satisfy their appetite for what is happening in the greater world. Meanwhile, the vet is assigned the task of returning a kidnapped Native American girl to her tribe. Jiles did a great job of describing how the abduction affected the child. There are suspensefl twists and turns, and I will not give away any spoilers. If you are a fan of history, or just like good books period, this book is for you. My only complaint would be a suggestion for this and other authors: When you are using a good number of words that are not in the dictionary, it would be helpful to your readers, if you include a glossary. The words were in italics, so obviously it was known that they were uncommon. But it is an outstanding book that spoils you for other books for awhile.
This shows the life of people in another generation and area of the USA. It helps in understanding those of an earlier generation.