Barbara’s Pick
July, 2020
Simon the Fiddler
Paulette Jiles
I don’t know about you, but I find myself reading similar books—sometimes the common denominator is World War II, sometimes centuries-ago Europe or Asia, other times post-apocalyptic (not often).
Several years ago I read this author’s last book, News of the World, which took place in the decade after the Civil War. It started slow but finished strong. When I realized Simon the Fiddler was in the same era, I said yes please!
Simon is a boyish-looking but very talented fiddle player who has successfully avoided conscription into the Confederate Army for the duration of the war. His luck runs out in Texas in March 1865 and he becomes part of a musical ensemble. During one of their official gigs, he spies a young woman in the crowd and falls for her, hard.
Eventually he and a few of his mates desert the army and begin playing the larger cities in Texas, Simon banking his pay in order to have a future. His thoughts never leave the young woman, Doris, with whom he has been secretly corresponding through one of his bandmates.
Through twists and turns, boy and girl end up together, but it’s not rainbows and unicorns.
The author’s direct writing style creates a very detailed portrait of the lawlessness in the country and the territories at that time and particularly the role of music in affecting people’s lives. Turns out she is a musician in a band similar to Simon’s. (That’s called “writing what you know”!)