Simon the Fiddler: A Novel (vuoden 2020 painos)

Simon had avoided being conscripted into either the Northern or the Confederate army during the American Civil War. Instead he travelled, played his fiddle and dodged army conscription men.

But his luck ran out and, caught at last. he became part of a Confederate Regimental Band at the end of the war. The war ran its course. Lincoln was dead. Lee had surrendered; but Simon’s army unit had not been disbursed. A Union officer who had not seen combat during the war decided to attack them for a bit of glory, and they were quickly overrun.

But luck runs both ways, and after his capture, Simon was forced to play at a soiree at the Union headquarters. There he saw a lovely young woman whom he discovered was an indentured Irish servant to a martinet of a Union office. She had three more years on her indenture, and would not be allowed to speak or write to any man outside the officer’s home.

Simon loved a challenge and knew he would need to devise ingenious ruses to communicate. At the same time he felt he had three years to negotiate the post-Civil war Texas frontier and, with his fiddle as his only asset, accumulate enough money to be able to offer her a future if he could win her. Would the girl be safe that long?

This is light historical fiction, written with interesting details about the time and place. It’s an American western, but much more nuanced than the western writings of fifty years ago.

There’s a quick glimpse of Captain Kidd, the protagonist of News of the World, a book where Simon also appears. I suspect there are other characters mentioned that appear in her other post-Civil War books about the western frontier. It will be fun to ferret them out.

I’ll definitely be reading more. ( )

A fun, although sometimes scary, tale set in Texas immediately after the civil war. The trials of the main characters are made more difficult by the chaos of the times. The culture, history, and landscape are vividly presented as the backdrop for a musical band of intriguing characters and a love story. ( )

Simon the Fidler is an historical novel set in the chaotic world of Texas just after the Civil War. It is most interesting in the view it provides of this era. As a novel, it is weaker, mostly dealing with the life of Simon and his love for an Irish immigrant girl. ( )

The volume of music discussed in this book reminded me of Frog Music by Emma Donoghue. Two books that should have sound track accompaniment. ( )

I am a big fan of the author’s previous novel, News of the World, but this one was hard to get through. Simon was not a likable character and I found myself with no real interest in whether he got the girl or not. There were some interesting moments but I just didn’t connect with the story as a whole. ( )