Captain Jefferson Kidd is over seventy years old and travels
post-Civil War Texas reading news articles to small-town residents willing to
spend a dime to hear him. He’s bored and
lonely, but he reluctantly takes on the task of delivering a 10-year-old girl,
Johanna, held captive by the Kiowa since she was 6, to her aunt and uncle 400
miles away. The Kiowa killed her parents
and younger sister during the raid in which Johanna was abducted. Having been uprooted a second time, Johanna
is not a happy camper. This novel is a
rollicking ride as this unlikely pair become acquainted, thanks to endless
patience and understanding on the Captain’s part. A good old-fashioned shootout along the way
is the highlight of their journey, but there are several adventures, shady
characters, and downright cruel people.
At just over 200 pages, this book is a very fast read and left me
wanting more from this author, but, alas, I’ve read three others of hers already. Although the plot is somewhat formulaic, this
may be my favorite Jiles novel so far.
Johanna is a noble savage of sorts, and the Captain shares his wise
musings throughout:
“The boys all grow up together and then they become young
men and they fight, at first in play, and then somebody gets hurt, and before
you know it the revenge drama is on.”
My favorite conflict in the novel, though, is between the
Captain and audience members in every town who bait him to take sides in a
heated political debate. He demurs time
and time again, but he can’t prevent the ensuing mayhem. When it’s time to skedaddle in the dead of
night, Johanna rolls with it, more accustomed to a night on the road than a
night in a hotel. She may be a handful,
but she’s plucky and has some tricks up her sleeve, proving to the Captain that
he can be both student and teacher.
No comments:
Post a Comment