News of the World by Paulette Jiles

Title: News of the World

Author: Paulette Jiles

Genre: Historical Fiction, Western

Set after the Civil War, in the wild country of Texas, this story follows a war battled Captain Jefferson Kyle Kidd as he journeys to deliver a young girl he names Johanna back to her family. Johanna, an orphan now ten years old, was captured when she was six by the Kiowa Indians, and has no knowledge of English nor any memories of being anyone other than a Kiowa. Captain Kidd is a news man: he reads newspaper articles of far away places to audiences for a dime a head to make his living. This unlikely pair forms a unique bond on their travels. Captain Kidd and Johanna both learn about each other and we get to understand them differently as they encounter all the many varied people, many of them not so pleasant, on the road. The writing transports you back to a time and a part of the country that feels very different from our own today, but also pulls you in with its beauty and the magic of the history. Enjoy!

- Elizabeth

Check out News of the World @ the library.

The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt

Eli Sisters is a hired gun with a heart of gold. Riding through the American West of the 1850s, he is inclined to feed the hungry, shelter the shelterless, give his money away and share his delight in his newly learned skill of tooth brushing. Partnered with his older brother, Charlie (a more flint-hearted killer), he seeks out and kills men on the orders of his powerful boss, the Commodore, no questions asked. But on this particular trip to the hills of northern California, in pursuit of a gold prospector, Eli does question what he is doing and longs for the more peaceful existence of a storekeeper. Furthermore, the outcome of the mission will change the brothers’ relationship and way of life forever. Despite the Sisters Brothers many ruthless acts of violence to man and beast, Eli is a likeable narrator trying to make sense of his life in a violent land and time. This book is less a Western than a wry, dark comedy about the struggle between the forces of Evil and More Evil.  The Sisters Brothers was a big win with two of our librarians!