News of the World (2016)

Beautifully written, heart-wrenching tale with interesting characters throughout. But I especially loved the exquisite imagery of the land, rivers, trees, and all the weather they experienced along the way. ( )

Update - watched the movie - the book was better! (now is that a surprise?)

Now I can watch the movie!

I'd say 4.5 rounded up to 5, and the .5 off would be for what I call the "dry" areas. Parts I skipped/skimmed, and/or some descriptions or areas that took me out of the story.

This is an intriguing book about a man, Captain Jefferson Kyle Kidd, who does a favor for an old friend in promising to transport a ten year old captive, Johanna Leonberger, taken by the Kiowa tribe when she was six, to her nearest relatives, an aunt and uncle in southern Texas. Her parents and sister were brutally murdered, and the aunt and uncle are her only known/living relatives.

Captain Kidd is gruff, but compassionate. In some ways, the dynamics of this relationship reminded me of the old classic, Heidi. As they travel along, he begins to try and teach Johanna English, and the Kiowa's lack of "r's" in their alphabet make for some amusing and laugh out loud pronunciations by Johanna. (Cho-hanna is how she said her name, and Captain was Kep-dun) Other words, blek-fiss, (breakfast) klepp yo honts (clap your hands) and "tlee!" for tree captured through Johanna's eyes her desire to learn, and please.

There were unsavory characters around every corner, some of them with diabolical intent and others who gave a sense of ne'er do well, but too dumb to be much of a threat. The Captain soon learned that Johanna was quite adept at taking care of camp life, could get the fire going in the little cook stove, and could load a gun. Much of the Kiowa customs and beliefs were shared through her experiences and interactions with the Captain.

The research was impressive, and items like a bull's eye lantern, a revolver known as a Slocum, dress skirts of "madder, and yellow carriage check," the readings from newspapers, journals, or articles purchased to the more rural populations were historically accurate.

At the end, in her author's note, Jiles recommended Scott Zesch's book, The Captured which she said was "excellent." I immediately bought it as I've always been intrigued by what are known as captivity stories. Decades ago I read Ride The Wind which is a fictionalized account of the abduction of Cynthia Ann Parker - briefly referenced in News of the World. A few months ago I read The Blue Tattoo: The Life of Olive Oatman.

I really enjoyed this one, and have Enemy Women by Jiles to read as well. Buying these two books (Zesch's and Jiles debut) is a testament to Jiles's talents not only as a writer, but as an authority on good literature. ( )

Liked it better than the movie which only loosely followed the book. Better insight into the characters and the social background of post-war Texas. Also liked the ending and how she described what happened to the characters after the trip ( )

meh ( )

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 family, doesn't remember how to speak English, and, if asked, would consider herself a member of the Kiowa nation. But nobody asked her. The Kiowa are giving up all of their captives under threat of raids, and Johanna's remaining family has paid handsomely for her to be shepherded back to their home near San Antonio. It's a long journey (handy maps in the endpapers of the book help the reader follow along) and one fraught with dangers.

The real story though, is what happens between Johanna and the Captain as they travel and begin to feel like family. Unfortunately, Jiles's spare writing style doesn't really do justice to the feelings she wants the reader to understand the characters are feeling.

As for the movie, it is similarly spare, giving it the same overall tone as the book. Several major plot points are changed, for what I'm sure were valid cinematographic reasons, but the overall story arc is the same, and being able to see the expressions on the characters' faces certainly helps in understanding the feelings that Jiles writes into her story. ( )