2,000 years ago from the historical perspective of 4 fictional women, culminating in the siege of
Masada. Next month (May 3) we encounter 1870s Texas, where we discuss our first Western
selection. The book The News of the World was a National Book Award Finalist (2016).
The author, Paulette Jiles, lives on 32 acres in Texas, in a one room cabin with 2 horses and a
donkey. In a book trailer interview, posted on YouTube, The News of the World author
stated she is not lonely, not with the 25 characters from every one of her books keeping
her company.
The main character, Captain Kidd, was inspired by a lady she rides with, someone
whose ancestor traveled and read the newspaper aloud for 10 cents to interested townspeople.
Captain Kidd was very alive to JIles, and with her 2 good characters, she just got out of the way
as these characters burst into life.
Jiles likes to write by looking at major contrasts between her characters. This time she has
created a bitter, sour older man (71 years) and a 10 year old girl full of vim & vigor. In the book
Captain Kidd is transporting Johanna, a young girl kidnapped and living with the Indians
for the last 4 years, to her family. Johanna doesn't speak English, eats with her hands, refuses
to wear shoes, and is not happy with this new situation. They have a 400 mile journey ahead
of them in which they learn to trust one another by confronting danger together. Jiles enjoys
writing books about people driven by external events; and, she feels that "people have a
psychological need to move into the world of the imagination."
I believe we book lovers have a great curiosity about life, and high regard for imagination.
Thank goodness for the wide world of books!