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3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Very interesting story - author gives examples of nonfiction books at the end about European children raised by Native Americans in this era. I liked the fact that the story took you through various parts of Texas (where I currently live). I thought the speed at which Joanna picked up on English was a bit unrealistic. It was also challenging for me to believe that a 72-73 yo man would be able to make the journey and do the things that Captain Kidd did, especially for a 72-73 yo of that particular time period. The ending wrapped up fairly quickly. I realize it’s a short book, but it was a bit quick for my liking. The funny parts were a pleasant surprise for me. I did like the relationship between Kidd and Joanna. The writing style was the hardest part to get over for me - no quotes for dialogue. I often found myself rereading parts to figure out when dialogue started or who was talking.
adventurous
emotional
informative
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I was instantly interested by what this book represented to me: an old man traveling post-Civil War Texas, entertaining crowds with “news” from far flung cultures they’re entirely ignorant to, is forced to reconsider his own preconceptions in a morally messy situation. The only problem: the book was never about reputable journalism or ignorance or bias. The author confirmed as much in an interview added to the audiobook. That left me obviously unsatisfied with the ending - not that it didn’t go how I thought it would (I was particularly interested because I had no ideas of how it should), but that the theme was never touched.
I think I never connected emotionally with the captain, and that left the whole story a little flat. I needed more internal conflict from him - it felt too straightforward, like there wasn’t a difficult choice to be made. My guess is it was in there, but I glazed over a lot of this audiobook because I didn’t find the prose engaging.
I think I never connected emotionally with the captain, and that left the whole story a little flat. I needed more internal conflict from him - it felt too straightforward, like there wasn’t a difficult choice to be made. My guess is it was in there, but I glazed over a lot of this audiobook because I didn’t find the prose engaging.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
In 1870 Texas, Captain Kidd journeys from town to town reading the news to anyone who will pay to hear it. When he’s offered gold in return for allowing a girl (a former captive called Joannah) to accompany him, Kidd reluctantly agrees, hoping she won’t be too much trouble. As they continue Kidd’s journey together, their relationship deepens as they both discover surprising things about one another. News of the World is a story of love, of friendship, and of endurance, a story that shows sometimes those things can come from the most unexpected of places.
Being a young child and having been held captive by a Kiowa tribe for 4 years, Joannah doesn’t know much English and so I loved how the author chose to write in her vernacular; I’ve not read this a lot (mainly in Kathryn Stockett’s The Help) but being a former English Language student, I find it fascinating, and it really aids in making the story immersive. Throughout she calls the captain “Kep-den” and moments like that really helped me carve out her character in my mind. Speaking very few words in the book’s entirety, what she did say became much more impactful because of it – her silence alone wouldn’t have been this poignant.
Despite my love of the story itself, one thing which I could not get on board with was the lack of speech marks for the dialogue. I’ve read books without speech marks before and I’ve seen how authors use it to make the narrative flow like a stream of consciousness and up the pace. However, on this occasion, it only jarred my progress as I kept having to read passages again, not knowing if it was dialogue or narrative.
The allure of News of the World really comes from the relationship between the Captain and Joannah; made stronger by every encounter they have in the towns they pass through, by the end, you’ll be wholeheartedly invested. With its wild and barren surroundings of southern Texas, the novel had an interesting setting, but at its heart, because of their relationship, this is really a character-driven book.
With a surprising amount of heart, this story is quietly impactful and will almost definitely have touched you by the time you turn the last page. I’m very excited to see this on the big screen and I think it will perfectly transport its viewers as it does its readers and I can’t wait to see how Tom Hanks portrays Kidd too!
Being a young child and having been held captive by a Kiowa tribe for 4 years, Joannah doesn’t know much English and so I loved how the author chose to write in her vernacular; I’ve not read this a lot (mainly in Kathryn Stockett’s The Help) but being a former English Language student, I find it fascinating, and it really aids in making the story immersive. Throughout she calls the captain “Kep-den” and moments like that really helped me carve out her character in my mind. Speaking very few words in the book’s entirety, what she did say became much more impactful because of it – her silence alone wouldn’t have been this poignant.
Despite my love of the story itself, one thing which I could not get on board with was the lack of speech marks for the dialogue. I’ve read books without speech marks before and I’ve seen how authors use it to make the narrative flow like a stream of consciousness and up the pace. However, on this occasion, it only jarred my progress as I kept having to read passages again, not knowing if it was dialogue or narrative.
The allure of News of the World really comes from the relationship between the Captain and Joannah; made stronger by every encounter they have in the towns they pass through, by the end, you’ll be wholeheartedly invested. With its wild and barren surroundings of southern Texas, the novel had an interesting setting, but at its heart, because of their relationship, this is really a character-driven book.
With a surprising amount of heart, this story is quietly impactful and will almost definitely have touched you by the time you turn the last page. I’m very excited to see this on the big screen and I think it will perfectly transport its viewers as it does its readers and I can’t wait to see how Tom Hanks portrays Kidd too!
adventurous
challenging
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
