- Hardcover: 304 pages
- Publisher: Soho Press (Oct 1 2006)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1569474346
- ISBN-13: 978-1569474341
- Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 16 x 3 cm
- Shipping Weight: 522 g
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #2,110,860 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Vida's luminous, dramatic seventh novel finds Joseph Kimmel, a Missouri school teacher, heading to mid-19th-century Texas to claim his recently deceased brother's belongings; he's left for dead when his horse is stolen. Across the plains, after her Texas Ranger husband dies fighting Comanches, Aurelia Ruiz takes refuge at a Comanche camp and adopts their ways. Henry Castro, a Frenchman with dreams of creating an Alsatian-immigrant–populated town in his own name, not only rescues Kimmel but marries him off to Katrin, an unattached white émigré whom a Comanche leader had espied and wanted for his own. The newlyweds head off to create a distinctive ranch, one that welcomes members of the Tonkaway tribe, Mexicans, escaped slaves, free African-Americans and others in distress. Affairs of the heart are never neglected in Vida's novels (Goodbye, Saigon, etc.), and Kimmel soon finds himself enraptured when he meets the beautiful Aurelia, just as a posse of xenophobic ranchers wreak havoc on the ranch. This radiant work of historical fiction—vibrantly atmospheric and emotionally dense—spans 12 years in the lives of many engaging characters, who come to life on every page. (Oct.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From School Library Journal
Adult/High School–Texas in the mid-19th century is the background for this novel. Aurelia Ruiz, daughter of a Mexican man and his Anglo wife, earns money for her family by curing people during a cholera epidemic. Once the outbreak is over (and the money is gambled away), her father sells her to a Texas Ranger. Mistreated by him, Aurelia wishes he would disappear, and soon enough he is killed fighting the Comanches. She then takes refuge in a Comanche camp. Meanwhile, Joseph Kimmel, a Polish Jew and former mountain man, fur trapper, and schoolteacher, sets out for San Antonio. He stops to help a runaway slave, who takes his supplies and money. Fortunately, Kimmel encounters Henry Castro, who is leading a wagon train with Alsatian immigrants to form a new settlement. Castro recruits him as treasurer. Kimmel ultimately becomes an independent rancher and obsessed with Aurelia, who has fled the camp. The exciting plot is rich and complex, and the author successfully enables readers to see events from the viewpoint of the many well-drawn characters.–Sandy Freund, Richard Byrd Library, Fairfax County, VA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Customer Reviews
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Tremendous!,
By
This review is from: The Texicans (Paperback)
Reason for Reading: I love reading about the time period and the subject matter.This is an epic drama of settlers struggling to settle in Texas during the years 1840 to 1854. What makes this book stand out from the rest is the characters. Rather than the usual group of white European settlers Vida has cast her tale with peoples who make an unusual yet enthralling story. Each having their own story, until they come together as a group of settlers, are a Polish Jew, an Alsace German, a runaway slave, a paid for slave family, a Mexican woman who may be a witch and her half white daughter. This group of people join and grow together in an emotionally strong bond and face the brutality of the Comanches, Rangers, weather and racism. I was truly hooked with this book from the first chapter. Each character is introduced separately before becoming part of the group and while the story is told in the third person we are shown the story from various character's perceptions along the way. This is one of the most amazing group of settlers I have read about and I appreciate the insight into the story of the peoples often overlooked in telling of the settling of Texas. Character was everything for me in this book. I felt as if I knew them and certain events were emotionally disturbing because of that. The plot itself is tremendous. What starts out as one man's journey, and a selfish man at that, turns into an almost Christian allegory of the downtrodden following the Jew believing he will save them and lead them home. He does ... partially, but he is *not* the Saviour. Instead it becomes a voyage of many souls and it is the weak and downtrodden that bring the selfishness out of the man, though unbeknownst to him, and very slowly, by the end of the book, he has been changed, just enough, by the events of his journey and by the people who love him, those whom he met along that journey. I could not put this book down! I even read at the table! Ultimately, a fierce new version of the Western with a bittersweet ending.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
4.2 out of 5 stars (16 customer reviews) 5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A different take on Texas,
By A. Rosen - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Texicans (Hardcover)
This is a view of Texas we're not used to. An exciting story of outcasts and misfits and unexpected Western heros(and heroines). Every persecuted ethnic group is represented and the usual good guys (like Texas Rangers) aren't good. With a cowboy in the White House and the Mexican border an immigration battleground, this book gives the historical background for Texas' current events. But best of all, it's a surprising and fascinating tale.
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
ASTONISHING,
By Kate - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Texicans (Hardcover)
I loved this book. It's not Hollywood's Texas - it's the real deal - full of characters that leap off the page & stay with you. It's a wonderful mix of Indians, runaway slaves, a Jewish cowboy, vicious renegade rangers, a young Alsatian immigrant girl and a Mexican bruja (witch) with healing powers, among others. Besides which, the writing and detail are astonishing.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Reading!,
By B. Davis "crazy about books" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Texicans (Paperback)
The Texicans, by Nina Vida, is a novel of historical fiction, which takes place on the frontier of Texas, and spans the years between 1843 and 1855.Although Joseph Kimmel was a quiet, simple man who loved to read, and keep to himself, he was also a tough, rugged individualist. In his twenties he had been a mountain man and fur trapper, but was now a teacher of Greek, Latin, and math at the Independence Missouri Boys School. It was a job that seemed to suit him. Just before the end of the school term, Joseph receives a letter saying his brother, Isaac, a shopkeeper, has died in Texas, and that Joseph should come to the frontier to receive any profits that may be left from his business. Joseph has decided to make the trip alone on horseback and knows the trek will be difficult, at best. Having been an outdoorsman, he's sure he can take care of himself and in fact, he looks forward to the solitary life he will experience as he travels across the plains. If Joseph thought he was going to have a peaceful journey, he was sadly mistaken. Not only is riding alone in Comanche country fraught with the constant danger of being brutally slain, but he, unfortunately, finds a variety of rag-tag strangers who desperately need his help to survive. The author weaves an exciting story of danger, incredible hardship, sacrifice, and unrequited love. This is absolutely one of the best books I have recently read. I highly recommend it to anyone who is looking for a remarkable Texas adventure story. |
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