News of the World

I was captivated by the concept of someone traveling from town to town reading the news. Captain Jefferson Kidd was no stranger to delivering news. At age 16 he carried messages in the War of 1812 by foot and on horseback: "Two years of directed flight across Georgia and the Alabama country, solitary, with his information in hand." "He always recalled those two years with a kind of wonder. As when one is granted the life and the task for which one was meant." In his 70's he continued this calling as a curator of news items chosen from newspapers and read to eager audiences in the new settlements of Texas.

The Captain seemed satisfied, if not overtly happy, with the lifestyle of roving newsreader. The author beautifully conveys his show more appreciation of the open territory and his horse companions. Into his solitary world came upheaval, to put it mildly, when he accepted responsibility for the child, Johanna. His circuit of Texas towns uniquely qualified him to return the 10 year old fair skinned, blue eyed Kiowa captive to her closest relatives 400 miles away. Johanna, brought up in the ways and language of the Kiowa, was again carried away from a life she knew and did not want to leave. Captain Kidd agreed to escort her, taking over from a trader who left him with the warning, "Be really careful." You have to feel for each of them, one a child and one an older man, both rocked by a great change in circumstances. Their journey through the sparsely settled West with its open country and gritty towns becomes an endeavor toward some level of mutual understanding.

The writing evokes all of the senses. I savored this book not only for its great plot but for the luscious prose which had not a word out of place. Highly recommended. show less

Read from October 27 to 31, 2016

I fear this book may ruin me for all other books for a few weeks. I wasn't ready to leave Captain Kidd and Johanna.

I love a good story set in the West with vividly imagined characters -- think Lonesome Dove or True Grit. This novel definitely captures both the lawlessness of the West and the rigid laws of Reconstruction Era Texas. While Jiles beautifully writes about the place, she (even more importantly for me) writes authentic, well-developed characters. A fantastic novel.

More like this:
True Grit by Charles Portis
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
The Son by Philipp Meyer
The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt

This may be a perfect little novel - I loved everything about it!

I tried hard to keep the tears in my eyes so I wouldn't have to stop reading before the end. A widower, Captain Jefferson Kyle Kidd survived three wars and the loss of his print shop, and now ekes out a living by reading the news in small towns scattered across post-Civil War Texas. Defiant young Johanna Leonberger, who was captured four years earlier by the Kiowa tribe, has become a Kiowa in every way except her coloring. Captain Kidd accepts a fifty dollar gold piece and an assignment to return Johanna to her living relatives.

News of the World is a hero's quest with obstacles to overcome and plenty of tension, as Captain Kidd and Johanna are forced to rely on each other show more to survive. The writing is spare, gorgeous, and entertaining.

A thin watery sun laid its gunmetal shine on the country below.

Characters are well fleshed out and sympathetic.

Haain-a? No. Absolutely not. No. No scalping. He lifted her up and swung her up over the ledges of stone and then followed. He said, It is considered very impolite.

Johanna is based on documented instances of children captured and adopted by Native American tribes on the frontier. Captain Kidd is based on Caesar Adolphus Kydd, original reader of the news in small towns in North Texas in the 1870s.

I got the beautiful deckle edge paperback at Goodwill. I'm glad I stocked up on books from Goodwill before the pandemic hit, I don't know when I'll ever get back. Reading News was welcome escape.

Around the year in 52 books challenge notes:
#16. A book set in a rural or sparsely populated area show less

News of the World by Paulette Jiles is a 2016 William Morrow publication.

News of the World is another book on a list of award nominees I’ve worked my way through in the last days of 2016.

This may be one of my favorites on that list, due to the historical details provided about my home state of Texas. I am familiar with every place on the map Captain Kidd visited or described in his journey across the state.

In 1870, during the reconstruction period of Texas, law and order was random and loose. The dispute over land with the Native Americans erupts in violence, with kidnapping of American women and children becoming a common practice.

Ten year old ‘Johanna’ was kidnapped at age six by the Kiowa tribe. But, now, at age ten, she’s show more been sold and left behind by the only people she appears to have any feelings for, or memory of.

Her plight comes to Captain Kidd’s attention while he travels across Texas, reading the ‘news of the world’ to crowds of people who pay him a dime a head for his services. He is offered a fair price to take ‘Johanna’ back to her only remaining family.

Along their long and treacherous journey the seventy-plus year old Captain Kidd forges a bond with young ‘Johanna’ and she eventually learns to trust him due to his patience and kind treatment of her.

This relationship is at the heart of the story and is what will stick in my mind when I think of all the many layers of this short, powerful novel.

“Loss of reputation and the regard of our fellow persons is in any society, from Iceland to Malaysia, a terrible blow to the spirit. It is worse than being penniless and more cutting than the blades of enemies.”

The contrast between good and evil jumps off the pages as brutality and the evil intentions of men are outweighed by good, honorable men, like Captain Kidd.

The psychological effects ‘Johanna’ endured as a result of her kidnapping is puzzling and there are no pat answers. What happened to her during that four year span of time that caused her to forget everything she had known before, including her own native language and the ability to use utensils while eating.

Her heart remained with the Kiowa tribe for reasons that simply cannot be fully explained. This part of the story is heartbreaking and I do think I will take the author’s advice and check out the recommended reading material she listed at the end of the book for insight into the psychology of those captured by Native American tribes.

The writing here is simply amazing, the intricate details of the landscape and of the characters bring the story to life with its vivid imagery.

Wars and conflicts have followed us all through history, and they always leave behind vulnerable victims, who are forever changed and no matter how well intentioned we are, those impressions may never really leave them. Sometimes all one can do is the right thing and let things develop from there, which is what Captain Kidd ultimately had to do.

While Johanna’s story is sad and poignant, as well as thought provoking, her character deeply touched me and I think I will always remember her.

This short novel packs a pretty big punch, and is definitely worth the time, even if you don’t usually read westerns or historical fiction. show less

It's 1870, and Jefferson Kyle Kidd ("Captain" Kidd) needs money. His traveling gig, reading the news from multiple newspapers to crowds who pay a dime a head, is barely keeping him alive these days. The Texas economy is in ruins, the Blue Coats are in charge of everything, and some in the audiences are more interested in stirring up trouble than in being entertained by news from New York, Philadelphia or London. So reluctantly he agrees to take on the task of transporting a white child, who was orphaned and abducted by a Kiowa band years ago, 400 miles to an aunt and uncle. The US government pays well for such undertakings. Captain Kidd very quickly regrets agreeing to the job, gold coin notwithstanding. The girl does not remember any show more English, has fully assimilated into Kiowa ways, and shows no inclination to adapt to living within walls; she might just be dangerous, and the journey certainly will be with. She turns out to have some useful skills, however, and the two travelers begin to develop a fondness for each other under treacherous conditions. The whole question of the appropriateness of trying to re-introduce an assimilated white captive to "civilized" society is subtly explored in the context of a darned good adventure story. show less

He survived the Civil War and now Captain Jefferson Kidd travels Texas Hill Country performing readings of news stories much like an itinerant preacher riding the circuit. He soon finds himself with a young Kiowa captive that he plans to return to her German American family - as a favor and for silver.

How this kindly, elderly printer and news reader becomes a stand-in grandfather to a scared, ten year old former Indian captive and tries to ease her re-entry to the 'civilized' world makes for a touching, interesting and highly readable novel. As in other Paulette Jiles novels the reader gets vignettes of Texas life following the Civil War, the strife between competing factions of North and South that have survived the end of the show more conflict, and the taming of Texas that includes skirmishes with Native Americans who fight hard for their lands.

Her books focus on people and how they engage with each other and also with themselves to discover what it is that makes them free to live their lives, what actions are important to living a good life and walking the path of righteousness. Never preachy nor religious in nature, Jiles' books (and this is no exception) have
everyday heroes who become exceptional through their actions - just as the Captain does in News of the World. Protecting a child, nurturing Johanna as he calls her and recognizing in this young child that spark, so many others would try taming into civility and ordinariness, becomes a key element of this novel. Johanna's ingenuity knows no bounds and you'll never look at a dime the same way after you read this novel.

So take the trip with The Captain and Johanna and learn about the joy of friendship, the bond between grandfather and grandchild, extraordinary tidbits about childhood captives and Texas in the post Civil War period. An entertaining and enlightening read! show less

News of the World is everything that I want in a historical fiction novel. It is a historically accurate story of the beautiful relationship between a Kiowa Indian captive, and the man who is delivering her back to her family. The story offers a lot of insight to the mindset of an Indian captive, and that mindset played a large part in why I was so taken with Captain and Johanna's relationship. Johanna couldn't be in better hands, while at the same time, Captain couldn't either.

It can be tough to please this reader when it comes to finding a balance between historical accuracy and the telling of an interesting story. I like facts, but I don't want to be bored to tears reading what feels like school work. Paulette Jiles is a crafty one. show more While dedicating a decent portion of her book to historical factoids, she does so by weaving the "News of the World" within the story through Captain, who earns his living by traveling about, reading his newspapers to crowds who don't have access to worldly news. Thus sharing the news of the time with me, the reader of News of the World without it being even the slightest bit dry.

The theme here, if I had to pick just one, is that sometimes what you need most is not only what you aren't looking for, but also often what you thought you would never want. A wonderful theme! show less