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News of the World: A Novel
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News of the World: A Novel
Unavailable
News of the World: A Novel
Audiobook5 hours

News of the World: A Novel

Written by Paulette Jiles

Narrated by Grover Gardner

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4/5

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Currently unavailable

Currently unavailable

About this audiobook

National Book Award Finalist-Fiction

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.

LanguageEnglish
Release dateOct 4, 2016
ISBN9781511356763
Author

Paulette Jiles

Paulette Jiles is a novelist, poet, and memoirist. She is the author of Cousins, a memoir, and the novels Enemy Women, Stormy Weather, The Color of Lightning, Lighthouse Island, Simon the Fiddler, and News of the World, which was a finalist for the 2016 National Book Award. She lives on a ranch near San Antonio, Texas.

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Reviews for News of the World

Rating: 4.185450755635246 out of 5 stars
4/5

976 ratings137 reviews

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  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This book was a joy to read. The characters are wonderful and the writing is first rate. I loved it.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Maybe Westerns are becoming a thing with me? First Patrick DeWitt’s The Sisters Brothers, then Glendon Swarthout’s The Homesman, and now this.I fell in love with these two characters and thought the development of their relationship was realistic and pitch-perfect.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A sweet story about a man, Captain Kidd, who travels across a post-civil war Texas to deliver a little girl, Johanna, who was taken by the Kiowa tribe when she was 6 and is being returned to her aunt and uncle 4 years later. Johanna does not remember much about her past life and identifies as a Kiowan, Captain tries to teach her, but also lets her be herself while they travel and face many obstacles that bonds them together. The writing is pretty direct, everything written is related to the story, which felt weird at first because the story begins immediately without knowing the characters well. Captain's background is explored here and there throughout the novel, would of liked to have that for Johanna as well, like when she lived with the Kiowas.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    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. 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!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    What an absolutely delightful book and one to treasure. The book information states:In the wake of the Civil War, Captain Jefferson Kyle Kidd travels through northern Texas, giving live readings from newspapers 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.The language delights, the atmosphere one can almost taste, the danger and threats palpable. I was reminded, to a degree, of McCarthy and Cather reading her - 'Death Comes to the Archbishop'. If I have any criticism I'd have loved the last chapter to be longer but maybe just because I didn't want to let Johanna and Captain Kidd (I 'kid' you not!) go.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Sweet, simple tale of a man returning a former Kiowa captive to her family. Gorgeous language.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A sweet story about a man, Captain Kidd, who travels across a post-civil war Texas to deliver a little girl, Johanna, who was taken by the Kiowa tribe when she was 6 and is being returned to her aunt and uncle 4 years later. Johanna does not remember much about her past life and identifies as a Kiowan, Captain tries to teach her, but also lets her be herself while they travel and face many obstacles that bonds them together. The writing is pretty direct, everything written is related to the story, which felt weird at first because the story begins immediately without knowing the characters well. Captain's background is explored here and there throughout the novel, would of liked to have that for Johanna as well, like when she lived with the Kiowas.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A simple but emotional historical fiction novel about an old Captain who is tasked with bringing a young German girl back to her family (she had been captured by the Kiowa 4 years before). He has spent the last few years traveling around small towns in Texas reading the news of the day from newspapers all over the world. However, his task is slightly complicated by the half-wild Johanna who is caught between two worlds. The relationship that develops between this unlikely pair is without a doubt the heart of the novel. This was a great book, and I'm inspired to do some more research/reading about captive children.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Beautifully written, with an understated tone that still conveys the unpredictable, lawless back country of Texas after the Civil War (1870s). Tough but tender widow Capt. Kidd, who served as a youngster in the war of 1812, and then under Taylor's command in the Mexican War in the 1847 campaign, married & raised a family in San Antonio. He is our thoughtful, and resourceful narrator, who has given up his printing press-newspaper business when his wife passes away, and is now an itinerant news reader, gathering news items from international newspapers and magazines from back East to read aloud at one small village or town after another, putting up handbills to invite the locals to whatever hall or restaurant or church meeting house he can rent, and then charge a dime to come sit and hear him read. Britt Johnson, freed black man, freighter on the plains, was given a little white girl from the Kiowa, Johanna Leonberger, captured at age six, four years ago, when the Indian Agent in the region insisted the tribes give up thier white captives Britt approaches Kidd and entreats him to take on the task of taking Johanna back to her German immigrant family; reluctantly Kidd agrees to take her. As they journey down the trails and roads of Texas, cross swollen rivers, and avoid roving bands of native tribes as well as n'er do well cowboys, Kidd comes to understand the panic striken, but resolute young girl, and Johanna gradually learns to trust and even communicate with her new "kontah" or grandfather, their evolving relationship providing the poignancy to their fragile partnership. Topnotch action scenes, evocative Texas landscape and weather, historical asides that are seamlessly woven into Capt. Kidd's story, this was a pleasure from start to finish, readers holding their breath hoping against hope that the Captain and Johanna will somehow find a way to survive their dangerous trek, and somehow be together. Reminds me so much in tone to Charles Portis' True Grit, not a false note from beginning to end, although speaking of the ending: it did seem a bit summative, rushed
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I had never considered children kidnapped by Native Americans in the early days of the American West, so this book was fascinating to me. A mature gentleman who travels around reading newspapers from all over the world aloud to isolated communities agrees to return a young girl who was kidnapped to her birth family. I especially enjoyed the relationship that develops between these two unlikely individuals. They learn from each other as they spend their days together traveling, sharing difficulties and happier times. I only found a little disconnect in a few places where I thought the action might be a little contrived - I can't go into detail without getting into spoilers. This is a book worth reading.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    I couldn't get past the way the dialogue was punctuated without quotation marks. Sloppy.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    10 year old captured girl is being returned to former family by an ex-captain in the 1800's. There is a feeling of the "Old West" to this novel. The dialogue is missing quotation marks, which was distracting at first, but at some point I stopped noticing as the book unfolded. This is a short novel and while it was good and enjoyable, it is not one I would highly recommend.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I love the idea of a man traveling from town to town to read the news of the world to isolated Americans after the Civil War. Captain Kidd is just that man and is known throughout northern Texas. When the Kiowas return a young girl from captivity, the Captain is hired to return her to her family near San Antonio. The characters and adventures are fascinating. For people who have problems with the author's non-use of quotations, I strongly suggest they listen to an audio version. It is worth listening a second time. One of my favorite books.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    The premise of the book is good: A news reader is paid to take a young girl back to her family, years after being kidnapped by the Kiowa Indians. However, the writing is elementary, there are no quotation marks used for dialogue, and the entire book is predictable. It's only saving grace: it's short!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    NEWS OF THE WORLD is a nice little book, nothing earthshaking but still a good book and one you'll want to read.In post-Civil War time, Captain Jefferson Kidd travels to small towns in Texas where he is a reader, that is, he reads the news of the world to gatherings of people there. At one of his stops, he is given a 10-year-old girl to deliver to her aunt and uncle. The little girl, Johanna, had been stolen by the Indians when she was 4 years old. Now she is Indian, herself, having lost all traces of European language and manners. We travel across Texas along with the captain and Johanna and watch as they grow to love one another, the "old man" and his "little warrior."You'll probably love this book. Most people do.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Captain Kidd makes his living traveling from one small Texas town to another, reading the news of the world, bringing stories of far-off places to rural people who need escape and entertainment. At one of his stops, he is persuaded to escort a young girl, recaptured from the Kiowa Indians, back to her relatives near San Antonia. Ten-year-old Johanna has lived with the Kiowa for four years, the only life and family she remembers, and she seems almost feral. As they journey, a bond begins to form between the old man and the young girl, strengthened by the adventures they share, including one memorable gunfight. But if you expect this novel to be maudlin or sentimental, banish that thought. This is a simple story well-told with well-defined characters who you will truly come to care about--a heart-warming read perfect for the holidays.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The elderly Capt. Jefferson Kyle Kidd - veteran of the War of 1812 and Mexican-American War, former printer, and widower - currently earns a living as an itinerant news reader traveling town to town in Texas. When no one is available to take a feral ten-year old white girl, who has been recently rescued from the Kiowa Indians who kidnapped her after killing her parents, to relatives near San Antonio, Capt. Kidd accepts a $50 gold piece and begins the trek. The trip will average about 20 miles per day in a buckboard wagon for approximately 21 days.I found Capt. Kidd's profession of news reader interesting. He would travel to towns, where I imagine many of the citizens were illiterate, and perform readings from various domestic and foreign newspapers. I also enjoyed learning about the white children captured and adopted by Native American Indians in the 19th century. Finally, I enjoyed reading about the bonding that occurred between this grandfatherly character and a young girl during the journey, each looking after the other.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This was a short but interesting little read. Set in Texas during Reconstruction, a man who travels the land reading news articles at public gatherings, has an orphan girl who was kidnapped by the Kiowa, foisted upon him to return her to her aunt and uncle.The little girl was taken at age 6 and at age 10 has gone fully native Kiowa. She remembers little English or German (her native tongue) and an aunt and uncle who live south of San Antonio, have commissioned people traveling the road to bring her back.The news reader is an old man now and he and the girl bond through their travels and travails through the newly opened western territories. Along the way they encounter highwaymen, cowboys, merchants, the military and various townspeople. Each encounter assists them or hinders them in their goal to get to Castroville, Texas. The little girl turns out to be handy and resourceful and the relationship blossoms along the trails and roads of Texas.This is not a long book but one I found charming and entertaining. If anything, it may have ended a little abruptly but I encourage readers to pick this one up if the old west and reconstruction era America interest you.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Read this book earlier in the year. Great read. Very satisfying.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Short, enjoyable story of an aging gentleman who inherits the problem of transporting a 10 year old girl--who was captured and raised by the Kiowa for several years--back to her family in San Antonio, Texas--just after the Civil War. Reminded me of a Gentleman from Moscow.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    An excellent novel with 2 extraordinary characters, Captain Jefferson Kidd and Johanna Leonberger, and how their lives connect. Captain Kidd is smart, independent and confident. After the Civil War he travels from town to town reading highlights from East Coast and foreign newspapers mostly to audiences who could not read on their own. The Reconstruction Era was a dangerous time to be on the roads because of lawlessness, carpetbaggers, Native Americans, and the damage and poverty the South sustained in the war. Kidd is asked to take 10 year old Johanna home, and on their travels he learns much from her, and she from him. She is lucky to have found possibly the one person who understands why she behaves as she does, and is willing to protect and defend her. She surprises him with her fearlessness, quick learning, loyalty and patience. Read News of the World for the joy of learning what's really important in life, and how we choose to behave matters.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Itinerant reader of news on the Texas frontier agrees to deliver a child, recovered tone Kiowa, to her unfeeling family. He learns to love her, takes her home. A truly original and rewarding book.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A very quick read about Captain Jefferson Kidd, an older man tasked with returning a 10-year-old girl to her family in 1870. Johanna had been stolen and raised for four years by Kiowan Indians (her family was killed) and her remaining relatives live in Texas. The years in captivity/living with her Indian family have erased much of her early childhood memories and she no longer behaves or thinks like a white person. Capt. Kidd makes his living reading the news and telling the stories to people in small towns as he travels. The beauty of this story is watching The Captain and Johanna grow slowly closer. There is humor and adventure and the newspaper topics were an interesting glimpse into history. I liked this book very much, but did not find it as remarkable as some others did. 3.5
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    In this beautifully crafted post-Civil War novel, Captain Kidd, in his 70's, spends his days traveling through northern Texas and holding gatherings where he reads aloud from world newspapers. He leads a solitary life as a widower with two grown daughters who live in the east. Things take a dramatic turn for him when he takes on the job of returning a 10 year old girl to her family more than 400 miles away. Johanna was captured by Kiowa Indians after witnessing the brutal murder of her parents and sister, and she has completely absorbed her Indian family and culture. The challenge is for the Captain to try to tame her enough to survive their travels, and for the two of them to survive the variety of hardships and dangers on the very long and arduous journey. Although this novel is relatively short (209 pages), it's well worth taking plenty of time to enjoy the skillful and lyrical writing.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Set in Texas in 1870, this is the story of a journey taken by 72 year old Captain Jefferson Kidd and 10 year old Johanna Leonberger. The Captain has been asked to return Johanna to her aunt and uncle, after her having spent the last four years living with the Kiowa tribe. Johanna's story was really heartbreaking. Her parents were killed, she was then bartered away from her new Kiowa family, only to be passed from stranger to stranger to complete her trip home to relatives who she didn't remember. She was now essentially a Kiowa and could no longer speak English or understand the ways of her family. The Captain (a wonderful character) was a widower who led an itinerant life going to small towns to stage readings of newspapers of the world, to people who otherwise had no access to these papers and/or were unable to read them. After initially feeling stuck with Johanna, it was touching to see the bond that developed between them. She gave renewed purpose to his life and he was the only protector that she had. Not that she needed that much protection, because Johanna was a fierce, resilient little warrior. Along the way, the two had to evade Texas political squabbles, Indians with rifles and sinister gunmen who trailed them. I know nothing about the history of Texas and I don't read many westerns, so a lot of the politics and terms were unfamiliar to me, for example, what are "stampede strings" and "Mother Hubbard saddles"? However, I thought the book was very well written and I loved the language and tempo and atmosphere of this book. I read an advance electronic copy of this book, so it is possible that some of my quibbles with it will either be corrected in the editing or were artifacts of this version. My main problems were that some things were described numerous times, like the Captain's work clothes or the color of Johanna's hair. Once I'm told she's blond, that's really all I need to know. I also didn't like the fact that no quotation marks were used around dialogue. I don't know whether that was a mistake in my digital ARC or a stylistic choice, but I found it irritating. I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Captain Kidd, a traveling performer who brings the news of the world to small towns in frontier Texas after the Civil War, agrees to take Johanna back to her family after she is recovered from the Kiowa Indians. Johanna's family had been killed in a raid when she was 6, and had been adopted by a Kiowa family. She had lost all of her language and upbringing from her birth family and totally identified with her Kiowa family. Captain Kidd is sensitive to her plight, caught between two very different cultures. He reluctantly takes her back to her guardians, an uncle and aunt. He is drawn back to Johanna though and when he discovers that she is being beaten back into submission, he takes her and adopts her himself. This is a very interesting book, but I felt the ending was bit abrupt--Johanna marries a cowboy and follows him moving cattle which appeals to her need to wander. The end. it is a very short book, just over 200 pages. I would have liked more than 10 brief pages after Captain Kidd adopts Johanna.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    This was a nice read in the middle of my horrible horrible reading slump. Short and easy to read. However, books like this always make me sad--meaning historical fiction that takes a situation that really happened (in this case, a child captive being turned in by an Indian tribe) and gives it a satisfactory ending for all. Because did that ever really happen?
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    When I first started the book I wasn't sure what to expect or if I would like it. It was the recommendation by a favorite author book so I had no idea what I was getting into. I was actually very pleasantly surprised how much I liked this book and how much I was rooting for Johanna and the Captain. It was a very well written story. I was instantly attached to the main characters. I would definitely recommend this book
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This book was a total surprise for me. I really wasn't sure what to expect, but the reveiws on Goodreads and Kirkus made it sound like it would be worthwhile. I am very glad that I read it. I do not hesitate to say that I enjoyed it immensely, and it's my favourite book that I've read so far this year. The story of 71 year old Captain Kidd and his little wayward orphan, ten year old Johanna is one that will stay with me for a long time. The story is set in Texas in 1870. Johanna was captured by the Kiowa after her mother, father and sister were killed in a Kiowa raid. She has spent 4 years with an Indian family and has fully adjusted to the Kiowa lifestyle. When she is found, she is taken from the Kiowa and her rescuers are trying to find someone to take her to a little town west of San Antonio. They know that Captain Kidd, an itinerant news reader, is heading to San Antonio and ask him to take the little girl to her relatives. With great trepidation, he agrees to do so. And so begins this marvelous journey of the old man and the little girl and their two horses and the wagon with the name Curative Waters on the side. Captain Kidd doesn't realize how much he will learn from his little passenger. He thinks he has a lot to teach her, but they learn from each other and their friendship guides them through some very dangerous and sticky situaltions. The book melted my heart, and I highly recommend it. It's absolutely wonderful. Ms. Jiles has created a magical world in the 1870 Texas wilds.This is a book that reminded me again of why I love to read.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Oh my! I really liked this story!This is the tale of Captain Jefferson Kidd returning 10-year-old Johanna to her relatives, in south Texas, after she has been kidnapped by, then rescued from, the Kiowa. The trip takes place in 1870. That is the basis of the narrative but the best part of the whole story is the relationship between 72-year-old Captain Kidd and young Johanna, who doesn't remember living with her English-speaking family. She only knows her Indian ways. It is such a sweet story, although it has quite a bit of action. It will make you laugh and cry. I highly recommend it!