Good morning, readers! Today I'm a stop on the TLC blog tour for Paulette Jiles's latest, Simon the Fiddler.Simon has long avoided being drafted into service thanks to the fact that he looks young and he plays a mean fiddle. It came close more than once, but it's not until he's harassed by a drunken braggart in a bar in Victoria that the conscription men catch up to him.
He's drafted into the regimental band and manages to survive the next few weeks of the war. Luckily, the Confederates surrender. And that's when Simon, along with other musicians from both sides, are asked to play a dinner for officers and their wives. A dinner that introduces him to Doris, an Irish girl working for a Union family.
The two are separated, Doris must work off her debt to the Union family and Simon goes on his own way. But he never forgets Doris. And getting back to her becomes his ultimate goal.
Simon is a schemer and a liar, which is how he survives not just the war but everything. But meeting Doris changes him some and his determination is not only to get back to her but to be the kind of man she deserves. To support her and be with her.
The story is Simon's road to seeing that happen. It's not a quick read, but it is an atmospheric one filled with music and hardship.
Simon's journey isn't easy, but that's to be expected considering the book is set in the aftermath of the Civil War. And it's a nice complement to Jiles's News of the World, which is set in the same time period. But they are very different stories indeed!
Fans of Jiles's poetic style and prose will love this latest!
To see more stops on the tour be sure to check out the official TLC tour page here. And for more on Paulette Jiles and her work you can visit her website here.
Purchase Links: HarperCollins | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | BookBar
1 comment:
I can't wait to read this!! I loved News of the World so I feel like I absolutely have to read this one! Thank you for being on this tour! Sara @ TLC Book Tours
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