I yield to no man or woman in my admiration for News Of The World but I was sorely disappointed in this. The tale at least in part of a scratch band ( is that a term of the day ?) in ante-bellum Texas and a very obnoxious fiddler doesn't ring very true. It strikes me as the work of someone who has just had banjo lessons from a very formal teacher and is over-excited by her new knowledge. This band who meet by chance in a Confederate camp talk of their music in the lofty tones of Juilliard graduates discussing keys, harmonies and a cappella interludes in a most unconvincing way. These are meant to be self taught poor people who I doubt would recognize a key if it bit them. In my experience most self taught musicians think in terms of melodies and what sounds right not in terms of its sharps and flats. I've also never met a drummer who could master a tin whistle in a week let alone a day. Most disappointing. Maybe some of the others are better.
PS Subsequent to writing the above I checked with a musicologist who confirmed that no such band of that composition would have existed in that period let alone be called scratch and a little thought makes you realize that no band could have made any living in such an environment ( a single fiddler might), nobody without a classical education would have thought in keys and most damning of all the bodhran does not take its place in Irish music until the mid-twentieth century (Check with Wikipedia) and the techniques used by the drummer are of even more recent invention. Overall shocking research unless I'm missing the point of an elaborate joke
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Simon The Fiddler [Large Print] Paperback – Large Print, 8 July 2020
by
Paulette Jiles
(Author)
Paulette Jiles
(Author)
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Product details
- Publisher : HarperCollins US; Large type / Large print edition (8 July 2020)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 496 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0062978950
- ISBN-13 : 978-0062978950
- Dimensions : 15.24 x 2.84 x 22.86 cm
- Customer Reviews:
Product description
Review
"Imbued with the dust, grit, and grime of Galveston at the close of the Civil War, Simon the Fiddler immerses readers in the challenges of Reconstruction. Jiles brings her singular voice to the young couple's travails, her written word as lyrical and musical as Simon's bow raking over his strings. Loyal Jiles readers and fans of Anthony Doerr's All the Light We Cannot See and Elizabeth Strout's Olive Kitteridge will adore the author's latest masterpiece. --Booklist (starred review)
"Vividly evocative and steeped in American folkways: more great work from a master storyteller." --Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Jiles makes Texas in the 1800s hot and palpable for her readers, edgy and lawless, but the story also sings with melody." --Book Trib
"Jiles's limber tale satisfies with welcome splashes of comedy and romance." --Publishers Weekly
"The reader is treated to a kind of alchemy on the page when character, setting and song converge at all the right notes, generating an authentic humanity that is worth remembering and celebrating." --New York Times
[Jiles's] description of Simon and Doris traveling on separate journeys across the Texas landscape is superb, causing us to feel the elation and sense of possibility that rises in the hearts of man, woman and beast in setting out on the road."--Wall Street Journal
"Endearing . . . And when the final battle royal arrives in San Antonio, it's just the rousing ballad we want to hear."--Washington Post
"In Simon the Fiddler we once again accompany a cast of intriguing characters on a suspenseful Texas-based quest just after the Civil War. . . . A crackling-good adventure tale."--Minneapolis Star Tribune
"Beautifully told with lyrical descriptions, the novel illuminates the everyday struggles of the era."--Christian Science Monitor
"Luminescent prose. . . . Jiles' timeworn territory provides a cozy escape.--Los Angeles Times
"Vividly evocative and steeped in American folkways: more great work from a master storyteller." --Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Jiles makes Texas in the 1800s hot and palpable for her readers, edgy and lawless, but the story also sings with melody." --Book Trib
"Jiles's limber tale satisfies with welcome splashes of comedy and romance." --Publishers Weekly
"The reader is treated to a kind of alchemy on the page when character, setting and song converge at all the right notes, generating an authentic humanity that is worth remembering and celebrating." --New York Times
[Jiles's] description of Simon and Doris traveling on separate journeys across the Texas landscape is superb, causing us to feel the elation and sense of possibility that rises in the hearts of man, woman and beast in setting out on the road."--Wall Street Journal
"Endearing . . . And when the final battle royal arrives in San Antonio, it's just the rousing ballad we want to hear."--Washington Post
"In Simon the Fiddler we once again accompany a cast of intriguing characters on a suspenseful Texas-based quest just after the Civil War. . . . A crackling-good adventure tale."--Minneapolis Star Tribune
"Beautifully told with lyrical descriptions, the novel illuminates the everyday struggles of the era."--Christian Science Monitor
"Luminescent prose. . . . Jiles' timeworn territory provides a cozy escape.--Los Angeles Times
About the Author
Paulette Jiles is a novelist, poet, and memoirist. She is the author of Cousins, a memoir, and the novels Enemy Women, Stormy Weather, The Color of Lightning, Lighthouse Island, and News of the World, which was a finalist for the 2016 National Book Award. She lives on a ranch near San Antonio, Texas.
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862 global ratings
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Reviewed in Australia on 12 February 2021
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Reviewed in Australia on 18 November 2020
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This is an unusual story which has been carefully researched by Paulette Jiles to bring the American Civil War era back to life with detailed representations of characters, culture, life and death. Very similar to Cold Mountain, we follow the trials and triumphs of young Simon who is almost anti heroic but certainly very authentically rendered. The best fiction, as Conrad said, puts you there on the spot or in the moment as we now say. This novel ranks with Jiles other excellent historical works: a totally engaging read.

5.0 out of 5 stars
Civil War era comes to life
By Hughcr on 18 November 2020
This is an unusual story which has been carefully researched by Paulette Jiles to bring the American Civil War era back to life with detailed representations of characters, culture, life and death. Very similar to Cold Mountain, we follow the trials and triumphs of young Simon who is almost anti heroic but certainly very authentically rendered. The best fiction, as Conrad said, puts you there on the spot or in the moment as we now say. This novel ranks with Jiles other excellent historical works: a totally engaging read.
By Hughcr on 18 November 2020
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Reviewed in Australia on 30 July 2020
Verified Purchase
Another intriguing and beautifully written story. I adored ‘News of the World’ this was just as good. The gift of Music is just given to some people and what they do with it makes an interesting story.
Top reviews from other countries

Grandad bob
5.0 out of 5 stars
Nice easy read
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 4 November 2020Verified Purchase
Easy read nice story, good author not the first of authors I have read and I have enjoyed most of then.

dorissa
5.0 out of 5 stars
Well written.
Reviewed in Canada on 18 January 2021Verified Purchase
Just started reading but a very enjoyable story, descriptions well done making me feel like I'm watching a movie.

K. Sterling
1.0 out of 5 stars
Worst book Jiles has ever written
Reviewed in the United States on 13 May 2020Verified Purchase
I've read all of Paulette Jiles's books. "News of the World" was her pinnacle work, of course, but all of her other books are excellent reads, filled with wonderful characters and well-planned plots. Until this one. There is zero plot, really. She fills the book with details that are boring and mostly irrelevant. I don't need to read pages of narrative about three dirty and mostly inconsequential men - who the author has not made me care about - doing their laundry. Or cooking their dinner. Or walking down a street in Houston while the author tries to impress us with the research she's done on Houston during that period - the street names, the vendors, etc.
One of the hallmarks of Jiles's previous works is her well-drawn characters who make you give a damn about what happens to them. There is no character development here. And I don't care about a single one of these people - they are simplistic, mostly stereotyped characters. Simon has his heart set on finding a girl who loves music. Then one day he spies a dark-haired irish lass and is instantly smitten. Love at first sight! He can't stop thinking about her! 18 months later he finally finds her again - and guess what? She loves him at first sight, too! And she loves music too - and even plays the piano! Wow! What a coincidence!
And that's just it. This entire book is just one big coincidence. Mostly it reads like a bad romance novel.
The book was plodding as hell until about 88% of the way into it, when the author finally woke up from her stupor and gave us something that was almost a plot - but even then the fight scenes go on too long, like everything else in this book. And like all of the other semi-conflicts, everything is magically resolved without much work on the protagonist's - or the author's - part. Just way too many coincidences.
I made myself finish the book because darn it, I paid $14 for this rot. But the lovely, poetic writing that has typified Jiles's other works is missing here. The writing instead is laborious and stilted, the character development is nil - it really read like something a beginning creative writing student might come up with. Very disappointed in Jiles. I won't make the mistake, again, of pre-ordering one of her books. If this sort of lazy writing is what she thinks is passable after "News of the World," ... I won't be reading any of her other works.
One of the hallmarks of Jiles's previous works is her well-drawn characters who make you give a damn about what happens to them. There is no character development here. And I don't care about a single one of these people - they are simplistic, mostly stereotyped characters. Simon has his heart set on finding a girl who loves music. Then one day he spies a dark-haired irish lass and is instantly smitten. Love at first sight! He can't stop thinking about her! 18 months later he finally finds her again - and guess what? She loves him at first sight, too! And she loves music too - and even plays the piano! Wow! What a coincidence!
And that's just it. This entire book is just one big coincidence. Mostly it reads like a bad romance novel.
The book was plodding as hell until about 88% of the way into it, when the author finally woke up from her stupor and gave us something that was almost a plot - but even then the fight scenes go on too long, like everything else in this book. And like all of the other semi-conflicts, everything is magically resolved without much work on the protagonist's - or the author's - part. Just way too many coincidences.
I made myself finish the book because darn it, I paid $14 for this rot. But the lovely, poetic writing that has typified Jiles's other works is missing here. The writing instead is laborious and stilted, the character development is nil - it really read like something a beginning creative writing student might come up with. Very disappointed in Jiles. I won't make the mistake, again, of pre-ordering one of her books. If this sort of lazy writing is what she thinks is passable after "News of the World," ... I won't be reading any of her other works.
60 people found this helpful
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Sagereader2
5.0 out of 5 stars
Beautifully written
Reviewed in the United States on 2 May 2020Verified Purchase
Simon the Fiddler is an intriguing tale of love and war with a little music to warm your heart. I loved Simon from very beginning. He is a talented musician and much more besides. A man with strength of character, he has the wits to survive being conscripted into the Confederate army and the the confusion of the days that follow. Simon the Fiddler is a lesson of the Civil War, the experience of musicians during and after the war and the settling of a Texas. If we are lucky, there will be Part 2 to broaden this beautiful story. I couldn’t put it down. Neither will you.
22 people found this helpful
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Kenneth C. Mahieu
2.0 out of 5 stars
Huge Disappointment
Reviewed in the United States on 1 June 2020Verified Purchase
Paulette Jiles’ previous book, “News of the World” is one of my favorites. I thought it might be her last so I was pleasantly surprised to read a (very favorable) Washington Post review recently of Jiles’ latest, “Simon the Fiddler”. I ordered it straight away and began reading it minutes later. It turned out to be a huge disappointment. Slow, no tension, no romance, it just dragged on and on. I read only small chunks at a time, and occasionally there were three to four day periods where I didn’t pick it up at all. None of the characters are the least bit interesting, nor is a major theme of the book, music and music instruments of the 1860s. ZZZZZZZZ. This is probably a one star effort – I just don’t get the 5 star reviews from some other readers – but out of respect for Jiles’ other work….2 stars.
22 people found this helpful
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