Nine former soldiers of fortune, two bedraggled Caddos, and a lonesome West Pointer zoomed into town on the Curative Waters around 2 pm mountain daylight (aka 3 pm in Guthrie, OK), complete with bullet holes. Prof Palmer presented the news, including acquiring Hamilton for $7.50 from Disney+. and a promise of Tom Hanks as Capt. Kidd in December. Prof Irons strung up the telegraph line, and the dime-ahs soon started filling the tin can. Haina! the old ones spoke as follows:
Tom: Based on the comments today, I may be an outlier. The story was great and the characters were well developed - but I did not like the prose style. It was somewhat journalistic, and perhaps that was what she was trying for. Overall, I enjoyed the read. B+
Jack: I thought it was well written and a tale well told. It was a bit schmaltzy, reminding me of Bridges of Madison County and perhaps Plainsong. There were some great scenes, which pushed it to a B+
Karl: I enjoyed the story. It wasn’t exactly a “page-turner” but it also didn’t lag. The writing was inobtrusive – meaning that I really didn’t notice it. The book was an easy read. I did find it odd that the conversations, few as they were, weren’t in quotes. But once I understood the style it wasn’t bothersome.
The characters were well-defined. The disorientation that Johanna must have experienced due to the upheaval of abruptly being extracted from a known culture to being thrust into an unknown one was dealt with very adroitly. The growing tenderness of the relationship between the Captain and Johanna was handled well, I thought.
I found a slight disconnect between the abrupt ending in the penultimate chapter – really that last chapter, as the final chapter should have been titled “Epilogue” – and the wrap-up at the end. It seemed that once the author completed her objective of allowing the Captain and Johanna to remain a team that she was done with the story. Except that she had loose ends to tie-up. The fate of the freighters, whether the Captain’s daughters would relocate to Texas, whether his family would ever reclaim their land, whether there would be a relationship with the woman he was attracted to, and how Johanna would fare once the Captain was gone needed to be addressed. Hence the epilogue/Chapter 22. It kind of seemed like a cheesy way to end the book, though. B+
Bob Woods: I did skim the first few chapters, but teen age grandkids took my month away. NG
Rob: I started the book, felt uneasy, and found it schmaltzy also. I liked the story telling, and liked the way she handled the relationship between the 71-year old man and the 10-year old girl. I got a lot out of the book, namely the importance of family and politics. Neat idea to bring these subjects together. B+
Mike: If I were to create the ideal book for Charlie Palmer, it would be not much over 200 pages, have a great story, be about Texas, display a sense of humor, and have a great map. This hit all the marks.
The great battle of Chapter 4 was a high point, even if done up a bit into the George Lucas cliffhanger style. I loved the coins in the shotgun shells, but ... you gotta suspend a bit of reality for all of this to come together. Heck, I relaxed and enjoyed it - especially Johanna's dance after the death of the enemy.
The Durand chapter (#14) was a winning microcosm of everything I loved about this book. The curmudgeon captain: "Can you read this flyer? It says I'm going to saw a fat woman in half." A
Bob Simon: A little like Charlie: I'm also from Texas, and the book portrayed a history of a time in Texas I am not familiar with. Kidd was a true gentleman. All of it had historical interest for me: a solid A.
Charlie: I liked it; I don't want too much tension, and then have horrible things happen. This book had the potential for unhappy occurrences, but they did not occur. I like the schmaltzy stuff. I did not go through this book with a sense of dread - the author did not disappoint me, and she wrapped it up in a positive manner. Solid A.
... and from the sorry Caddos who fell off the wagon:
Zoom will not let me back in because I was previously removed by the host. Here is my written evaluation: I really liked the book. I enjoyed it as much the second time as I did the first. It's a great story, well-written, interesting characters, and great description of the scenery. I would recommend it to others. Grade: A
- Dick J.
Mike..Got knocked off ZOOM,couldn't re-enter. Happens often..Maybe all the cyber-schooling in the hood [UNM, CNM, APS, ..].
Graded on 5 pt. [1=5]..
1. First impression: 2-Bad title,cover..
2.Story line:4,, great..Kidd took on daunting task,and he's a truly nice guy..
3.Writing: 5-lyrical writing engaged all 5 senses..
4. Best chapter:4..Shootout with "dime" bullets..
5. Worst chapter 3..Ending too curt, indeed "Let's end this book pronto"...
My average: 3.6, a B+
..keith
