Carolyn 6 - 6.5
Was intrigued by the idea of a job consisting of traveling from town to town to read news to the masses. Liked how much thought the Captain put into his readings, deciding what to read in order to give audiences an escape and to read boring articles toward the end to calm everyone down. Liked the description of the mess after Johanna's bath at Lottie's establishment with the tub on its side, the stockings wet and twisted, water on the wallpaper. Why does it always seem to be pouring rain in Westerns? Isn't Texas supposed to be hot and dry. The Captain was a lucky man what with getting only a three or four hour start ahead of Almay in the middle of the night. How was this enough time? How could he find and keep to the road in the middle of the night? How did Johanna know that dimes could substitute for shot? Wouldn't Johanna have retained more English from the age of 6? Liked the sweet little moments describing the memories held by an abandoned house on page 170. The smell of trumpet vine and its shadow on the ground. The click of the dipper as it hit the bottom of the barrel.
Sandy 9
Found the phrases, 'One brick short of a load,' and 'This ain't my first rodeo' anachronistic noting that the latter was first referenced in a Joan Crawford movie. Wasn't happy with how the years were timed. Found the story sweet without being too sweet. It was fun and educational. After every adventure Johanna and the Captain have their relationship grows a bit. Liked how Johanna sang to avoid crying and she figures she'll try that trick in the future. Was somewhat confused by the politics of the time. The Captain understood Johanna in part because of his experiences in battle and knew the types of things she had been through. Wished there were more years covered. Loved it. Had just the right amount of story and history.
K'Lynn 7
Not a fan of historical fiction or Westerns so it had two strikes against it out of the box. Had to do some research having little background on post Civil War Texas. Checked it out and found everything was based on truth. Maggie also found a few phrases that didn't jibe with the times: senile dementia, and referencing raindrops with the notion of a billion. Some of it moved too quickly and it was often too spare in places. Found the shootout scene implausible. How long did they travel, a month? three? Thought Johanna picked up reading and writing too quickly. Found much of the story either predictable as they plodded from town to town, or implausible. Knew the Captain was going to stay with Johanna. The ending came too quickly.
Letiticia 7 - 8
Johanna brought the Captain back to life. Was NOT surprised to find that bringing the news to these remote towns was important and so valuable as well as entertaining to the townsfolk. Found the Captain charming and honorable; wasn't surprised that Johanna was tamed by him. Could visualize everything. Liked that the Captain carried a hat box and the notion that an older man has to dress up in order to be taken seriously. Was disappointed when Mrs. Garrett wound up marrying some one else. Thought of the Captain as a Captain of Words.
Becky 7.5
Was drawn to the Captain finding him direct and compassionate. Liked the line, "I can hear you muttering. I hate muttering." Found lots of humor; liked that he read about physics toward the end of a performance in order to calm the crowd. Figured that Johanna was experiencing some sort of PTSD block about what had happened to her. Also saw evidence of Stockholm Syndrome. Found it touching that the Captain involved her with the daily chore of setting up the stove, gradually establishing trust. Liked his gentle admonishment, 'A good Christian would have clothes for her.' Thought the calvary was coming to take her away. A sweet story.
Pat 8 - 8.5
I loved the cadence of the language which in a good Western has a polite formality to it even as people are about to shoot one another. I liked the descriptions of Kep-den, fierce Johanna, the landscape, and the minor characters. Everyone was perfectly in place. It was familiar and new at the same time. The Captain's life spanned nearly the entire breadth of American history up until that point. There was violence but none for its own sake. He was a soldier, but would have identified himself as more a purveyor of the printed word and reason than a warrior. I would read her other works. Johanna's grasp of English felt just right. Everything about the story was hard and truthful and beautiful. Would like to read more of this author.
Miles - 8.25
I just really like a good Western – the author pieced together a lot of Western genre themes into something that felt original. I always like stories of the reluctant protagonist put into unique and stressful circumstances (Captain Kidd really shined).
The Captain’s character was pretty classic Western hero (capable, independent, few words, honorable) but with a lot of snippets of his younger life that rounded out the character and who he was – in war, in marriage, in business, etc. The (female) author really nailed male expressions, mannerisms, and motives for all the male characters.
Jo-hanna’s character reminded me of “The Searchers” but delved more deeply into kidnapped children by Native Indians (a fascinating topic).
I don’t think of Texas landscape as anything too beautiful, but clearly the author disagrees – I really appreciated her descriptions from North Texas to San Antonio.
The ending chapter really wrapped up a lot in tidy fashion but I didn’t mind – I was thinking this story had an ominous tone and wouldn’t end well as I read the book – glad I was wrong.
A great pick (whoever picked it)! I’d recommend this to most everyone.
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