Poet and novelist Paulette Jiles' latest book is once again set in the post-Civil War era, a time that she memorably evoked in previous works like The Color of Lightning. News of the World is a beautifully written story based on a real-life former soldier, Capt. Jefferson Kidd, who traveled the north Texas landscape in the 1870s reading the news—from politics to polar expeditions—to the inhabitants of small towns and frontier outposts who had no access to information outside their own limited environs.

In Wichita Falls, Capt. Kidd is approached by an old friend, Britt Johnson, for a favor. Johanna Leonberger was taken captive by the Kiowa after they killed her parents and sister. After four years with the tribe, she has been recovered. Britt asks the Captain to deliver the 10-year-old to her aunt and uncle outside San Antonio—a 400-mile journey fraught with danger from highwaymen, raiding Kiowa and the unforgiving landscape itself. 

Jiles writes with great sensitivity about the bond that develops between the 70-year-old widower who has served in three wars and the girl who has completely forgotten her birth language, her parents, her people, her religion—even how to use a knife and fork. As their journey nears its end, Jiles conveys in sparse language the emotions of each of these perfectly drawn characters, building to a remarkable conclusion that will not soon be forgotten. News of the World is highly recommended historical fiction that brings to life an overlooked period of Texas history.

 

This article was originally published in the October 2016 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

Lionel Shriver looks to the future—2029, to be exact—in the smart, insightful The Mandibles, a novel that chronicles the catastrophic effects of a global financial crisis. At the center of the novel is the Mandible clan, who await the inheritance that's due to come their way once Douglas, the head of the family, dies. When the U.S. economy tanks, due in part to a massive cyberattack, the Mandibles lose their fortune and are forced to give up their affluent lifestyles. The ways in which each member of the family reacts to the loss make for a fascinating narrative. Douglas and his wife, Luella, leave their retirement digs and move in with their son. Daughter Avery and her professor-husband begin living with Avery's charitable sister, Florence. All are forced to rethink their lives and reconsider old relationships. Shriver presents a chilling account of a country undone by disaster, but she balances the grim proceedings with humor and intelligence.

A SOLITARY LIFE
Brad Watson explores the nature of physical and spiritual love in his acclaimed novel Miss Jane. Set in Mississippi in the early 1900s, the novel tells the story of Jane Chisolm, who is born with a rare disorder of the reproductive system. With an alcoholic father and distant mother offering little in the way of family life, Jane is looked after by her sister, Grace, and by kindhearted Eldred Thompson, a doctor who offers her compassion and understanding. Although Jane's condition sets her apart, she comes to know love, after a fashion, and the farm where she grows up provides a natural backdrop that's marvelously alive. Inspired by the life of Watson's great-aunt, the narrative offers a richly detailed portrait of the rural South. Watson's bare-bones prose style is arresting, and his portrayal of Jane's inner life is complex and authentic. Longlisted for the National Book Award, this rewarding novel is sure to be a book club favorite.

TOP PICK FOR BOOK CLUBS
A finalist for the National Book Award, Paulette Jiles' mesmerizing novel News of the World is a beautifully rendered tale of the Old West that focuses on Johanna Leonberger, a 10-year-old who's been taken captive by Kiowa raiders. Johanna's parents and sister were killed by the Kiowa, and she has lived among them since the age of 6. When Captain Jefferson Kyle Kidd—a 70-year-old war veteran—comes to take her to live with relatives near San Antonio, Johanna, who has forgotten how to speak English, is frightened and reluctant to go. Their journey home makes for remarkable reading. Along the way, the contradictory twosome smooth out the rough edges of their relationship and develop an unexpected rapport. Jiles writes beautifully about Texas in the late 1870s, using poetic prose to tell a timeless story. Named the top book of 2016 by the editors of BookPage and slated for a film adaptation starring Tom Hanks, News of the World is a must-read for lovers of historical fiction.

This article was originally published in the July 2017 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

After the Civil War, Capt. Jefferson Kyle Kidd travels around northern Texas, reading newspapers aloud to paying crowds. Then he agrees to return ten-year-old Johanna, raised among the Kiowa after they killed her parents, to relatives 400 miles south in San Antonio. From New York Times best-selling author Jiles, twice long-listed for the Scotiabank Giller Prize.

Capt. Jefferson Kyle Kidd, an army veteran, makes his living in 1870 as a "reader" who travels around north Texas reading from various newspapers to a dime-a-head audience. A septuagenarian, he undertakes a 400-mile odyssey from Wichita Falls, TX, to San Antonio with a reluctant Johanna Leonberger, who has no memory of her life before she was kidnapped by the Kiowa Indians. Along the way, the ten-year-old warms up to the widowed captain as they face a number of perilous encounters. After venturing away from historical fiction to try her hand at dystopian fiction in Lighthouse Island, Canadian American author Jiles returns to mining lush Texas history and resurrecting some of the characters from 2009's The Color of Lightening in this tale. VERDICT This Western is not to be missed by Jiles's fans and lovers of Texan historical fiction. The final chapter's solid resolution will satisfy those who like to know what ultimately becomes of beloved characters. [See Prepub Alert, 9/21/15.]—Wendy W. Paige, Shelby Cty. P.L., Morristown, IN

Jiles delivers a taut, evocative story of post–Civil War Texas in this riveting drama of a redeemed captive of the Kiowa tribe. Captain Jefferson Kyle Kidd, an elderly widower, earns his living traveling around, reading news stories to gatherings of townspeople. While reading in Wichita Falls one evening in the winter of 1870, he sees an old acquaintance. Britt Johnson, the main character in Jiles's The Color of Lightning, has just come through Indian Country with his crew. The men are returning a 10-year-old girl to her aunt and uncle in Castroville after she spent four years with the Kiowa. A free black man, Britt is reluctant to have a white child in his custody. He persuades the Captain to escort young Johanna on the remainder of the three-week journey. The Captain, who has grown daughters of his own, at first feels sorry for the girl. Johanna considers herself Kiowa; she chafes at wearing shoes and a dress, struggles to pronounce American words. Challenges and dangers confront the two during their journey, and they become attached. Jiles unfolds the stories of the Captain and Johanna, past and present, with the smooth assuredness of a burnished fireside tale, demonstrating that she is a master of the western. Agent: Liz Darhansoff, Darhansoff & Verrill. (Oct.)

Kidd, a retired Civil War captain, didn't have babysitting on his mind when he drifted into town, but he ends up escorting a 10-year-old to her family for a $50 gold piece. Johanna was captured by the Kiowa after her German immigrant parents were attacked and killed, and now the unlikely duo must travel through rough Texas country together. Capt. Kidd raised money by reading newspapers to townspeople (hence the title) and tries to "civilize" Johanna, all while the two of them fight off raiders and thieves of all types. As the journey continues, the pair become closer, and when they finally arrive in San Antonio, Capt. Kidd must make the hardest decision of his life. A National Book Award finalist for fiction, this slim Western novel set in crooked Reconstruction Texas is simultaneously brief and expansive. The author is a poet, and the book, with its carefully turned phrases, is reminiscent of Kent Myers's Alex Award—winning The Work of Wolves. VERDICT The feel good ending will bring tears to the hardest of readers, and the overall tone will speak to teens who want a short, uplifting read.—Sarah Hill, Lake Land College, Mattoon, IL