News of the World |
By Paulette Jiles |
PBR Book Review:
First off I have to say I loved Captain Kidd, the main character in this book. He is warm and compassionate, and lives by a set of stands that are enviable. He is in his 70s widowed and has two grown daughters. In his mind he is ready to slow down and enjoy his life. That is, until he is asked to escort Johanna, a 10 year old girl 400 miles back to her family.
It sounds simple enough, except he is travelling across Texas in the year 1870 and Johanna is anything but easy; she is wild, untamed and well versed in the ways of the Indian tribe she lived with. She was orphaned at the age of six when the Kiowa Indians murdered her family and kidnapped her, and she is not happy about being returned to her relatives. At first, Captain Kidd comes off as gruff and grumpy, but the relationship that grows between him and Johanna is beautiful and shows his true benevolent nature.
I loved how he found a way to communicate with her and worked to gain her trust. I can't say enough about this kind gentle man. To earn money, after losing his printing press, he travels from town to town, reading newspapers articles to people for a dime. I was fascinated by this concept and also loved reading about this tumultuous period in the history of Texas. Recommend. A great book for book clubs.
Book Club Talking Points: Book clubs will love discussing Captain Kidd and his special relationship with Johanna and what made him accept the challenge, especially given his age and the times. Johanna is also a fascinating character. What she endured, her untrusting nature and the shocks she has lived through; witnessing her parent's death, being kidnapped and living with the Kiowa. The harsh times of this period are also noteworthy; evilness prevailed but so did goodness. An excellent book club selection.
|
| |
|
*Discussion Questions
1. Discuss Captain Jefferson Kyle Kidd's work as a newspaper reader. What does he bring to his audience, and what does he gain from his work besides financial compensation?
2. Why does Kidd accept the difficult job of returning Johanna home? What drives him to complete the job despite the danger and obstacles?
3. Why do you think Johanna wants to stay with her Kiowa family? What do you think she remembers of her life before she was taken?
4. What connects Kidd to Johanna? Why does she seem to trust him so easily?
5. What does Kidd worry may become of Johanna once she's returned to her family? What does he know of the fate of other "returned captives"?
6. Doris Dillion says that Johanna is "carried away on the flood of the world...not real and not not-real." She describes her as having "been through two creations" and "forever falling." Do you agree with her assessment? Does Johanna remain this way through the course of the novel?
7. Discuss the various tensions in the novel: Indians and whites; soldiers and civilizations; America's recent past and its unsure future. In what ways do these tensions underlie the story of Kidd and Johanna?
8. Imagine the perspective of Johanna's Kiowa family. Why, do you think, they would've taken her in and raise her? Why would they give her up? How do you think they felt when they let her go?
9. Discuss the troubling moment when Johanna wanted to scalp her fallen enemy. How did that make you feel about her?
10. Partway through his journey with Johanna, Kidd feels as though he was "drawn back into the stream of being because there was once again life in his hands." What do you think this means? What does it tell you about Kidd's emotional life?
(Discussion Questions by Publisher)
|
|
|
|
Book Summary |
It is 1870 and Captain Jefferson Kyle Kidd travels through northern Texas, giving live readings 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, forging 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. Exquisitely rendered and morally complex, News of the World is a brilliant work of historical fiction that explores the boundaries of family, responsibility, honor, and trust.
|
Popular Books
|
If you have a passion for reading and, like most, have no time to find the right book, browse the most popular books trending right now. They are all page-turners, and they all let you escape from reality. |
|
|
The Song of Achilles
By Madeline Miller
A tale of gods, kings, immortal fame, and the human heart, THE SONG OF ACHILLES is a dazzling literary feat that brilliantly reimagines Homer's enduring masterwork, The Iliad. An action-packed adventure, an epic love story, a marvelously...More
|
|
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
by Taylor Jenkins Reid
In this entrancing novel "that speaks to the Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor in us all" (Kirkus Reviews), a legendary film actress reflects on her relentless rise to the top and the risks she took, the...More
|
|
The Silent Patient
by Alex Michaelides
The Silent Patient is a shocking psychological thriller of a woman's act of violence against her husband-and of the therapist obsessed with uncovering her motive.
Alicia Berenson's life is seemingly perfect. A famous painter...More
|
|
Circe
By Madeline Miller
In the house of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of the Titans, a daughter is born. But Circe is a strange child-not powerful, like her father, nor viciously alluring like her mother. Turning to the world of mortals for ...More
|
|
The Unhoneymooners
By Christina Lauren
AFor two sworn enemies, anything can happen during the Hawaiian trip of a lifetime-maybe even love-in this romantic comedy from the New York Times bestselling authors of Roomies.
Olive Torres is used to being the unlucky ...More
|
|
 |
|
|
|
