News of the World: A Novel

Review\n"Mining lush Texas history...this Western is not to be missed by Jiles's fans and lovers of Texan historical fiction."-- "Library Journal"\n"As one might expect, the old man is tough but the little girl is tougher...Jiles...keep[s] her story quietly ironic and exquisitely particular."-- "New York Times Book Review"\n"Grover Gardner delivers a truly inspired performance in reading this tale of adventure, suspense, and drollery, some parts so funny as to make the listener laugh out loud. Gardner skips back and forth between Johanna and Kidd, capturing the tempo of conversation--of her increasing mastery of English and growing high spirits, and his occasional exasperation."-- "Washington Post (audio review)"\n"Lyrical and affecting, the novel succeeds in skirting clichés through its empathy and through the depth of its major characters."-- "Kirkus Reviews"\n"Reader Gardner proves yet again that he is one of the best voice actors in the audiobook industry today with his reading of Jiles' evocative story of post-Civil War Texas. His deep, warm voice is such a perfect match for the character of the elderly widowed Captain Jefferson Kyle Kidd that listeners immediately fall under his spell. Gardner's rich vocal tones and his faultless timing of Jiles's prose rhythms draw listeners quickly and deeply into the premise of the story and the lives of its characters."-- "Publishers Weekly (starred audio review)"\nNational 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.