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News of the World

Synopsis

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.

Book Discussion Questions

  1. Besides financial compensation, why is sharing the news of the world appealing to Captain JK Kidd?
  2. Who do  you remember most from News of the World? Why?
  3. Have  you seen the recent movie starring Tom Hanks as Captain Kidd? If so was  your favorite character portrayed as you (and Ms Jiles) would have liked?
  4. Author Jiles described many scenes or events in the story that made you “feel you  were there”. Which scene or event comes to mind and how would you describe  it?
  5. On   page 201 Jiles says of Johanna “She never learned to value those things that white people valued.” Captain Kidd was changed by his experiences  with Johanna. How did his values change?
  6. The  lack of quotation marks makes author Jiles' book unusual. Who noticed  these missing and did it change the story or the joy of reading in any way  for you?


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