Thursday, August 27, 2020

News of the World by Paulette Jiles

 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 SimonA 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