Tough trip through Texas

There are two kinds of books: Those you want to end, and those you don’t.  “Chenneville” by Paulette Jiles is in the latter category. I expect it will be the standard by which I judge any other book I read this year. 

It has everything I love in a historical novel:  irresistible story, crystalline writing, sharply defined peripheral characters, a determined but fallible protagonist.  

Like Jiles’ excellent “News of the World” in 2016, “Chenneville” is set in post-Civil War Texas, a land ruled mostly by violence amid the general scarcity of civil authority. John Chenneville is a Union soldier recovering from a severe head wound. He returns home to find his sister and her family have been murdered months before. When he learns the probable identity of the killer, the odyssey is on. He’s going to find this guy, and he’s going to kill him. The quest is complicated by the land and the weather and a relentless U.S. marshal who comes to believe that Chenneville himself is a murderer.

Vengeance is not a particularly original plot device, I know. But “Chenneville” is more than that. The man’s journey across this dangerous landscape, the people he encounters, the kindnesses and cruelties along the way – it all adds up to a memorable experience. With a solid screenplay and the right director, this could be a better movie than “News of the World.”

I won’t mention the ending, except to say that, well … you’ll see. If you’ve read the book, I’m interested to know what you think.

Jiles has another novel set in this same milieu: “Simon the Fiddler.” Again, highly recommended. I was pleased to note that the three books are connected by subtle references to characters appearing in each.