Tuesday, September 19, 2017

News of the World by Paulette Jiles

News of the World
by Paulette Jiles

72-year-old Captain Jefferson Kidd, out of Georgia and living in Texas, veteran of three wars, a former printer by trade, a widower with grown children who live a long distance away, and nowadays a professional “news reader”, finds himself in an unusual and potentially dangerous situation. He has been implored by a trusted acquaintance to take over the delivery of a white girl, recently “rescued” by the Army from a Kiowa band, to her only known German relatives. 10-year-old Johanna is at turns wild and wary, not understanding why she has been separated from what she considers her family since being taken captive four years earlier. As their unlikely journey from north to south Texas plays out through bad weather, bad people, and bad fortune, the two disparate souls bond through necessity and acceptance, ultimately creating a crisis for the “Kepdun” and “Chohenna” at the intended conclusion. An excellent, evocative yet also plain-spoken, novel, I kept picturing it as a wonderful Western movie or series such as Lonesome Dove or The Cowboys. The fact that it uses historical bases for the characters and situations makes it even more fascinating.

[ official News of the World web site ] | [ official Paulette Jiles web site ]

Recommended by Becky W.C.
Walt Branch Library

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