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Nina Vida

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The Texicans: A Novel Kindle Edition

by Nina Vida (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.3 70 ratings

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This historical novel of the American frontier is “a completely engaging tale following a handful of remarkable settlers” (Entertainment Weekly).

When cholera strikes San Antonio in 1843, Aurelia Ruiz discovers that she might have the power to heal—and also to curse. Meanwhile, Joseph Kimmel, a schoolteacher in Missouri and the son of a Polish Jew, learns of his brother’s death in San Antonio—and sets off for Texas.

Along the way, a runaway slave steals Joseph’s horse. He is rescued by Henry Castro, a man who is importing immigrants to populate his planned city, Castroville—and then Joseph finds himself agreeing to marry a girl to save her from a Comanche chief who has demanded her hand. Together they will establish a unique ranch, one that welcomes members of the Tonkaway tribe, Mexicans, escaped slaves, free African-Americans, and others in distress—and that will incur the wrath of some of its neighbors.

But Joseph has not yet encountered Aurelia Ruiz, who will set him on an unexpected path, in this “compelling” adventure that “brings so much fresh energy to the timeworn Western genre” (Austin American-Statesman).

Editorial Reviews

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.

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.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B004HYHAEY
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Soho Press (October 1, 2007)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 1, 2007
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 4026 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 335 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #850,260 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #364 in Historical African Fiction
- #529 in Black & African American Literary Fiction
- #895 in Literary Sagas

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4.3 70 ratings

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Nina Vida

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When our children went off to college my husband said he thought maybe I'd like to take some college classes myself. I thought of it as a chance to expand my horizons, as well as to read and read and read. So I enrolled in a special degree program in English at Cal State Dominguez Hills. One of the required classes was creative writing. I had never written anything more than a high school essay before, but I was intrigued by the thought that I could possibly write something that someone might enjoy reading. I wrote a story for the class about my sister, who had had a heart attack at age 38. The professor said it made her cry and that she thought I had the makings of a writer. With her encouragement I began to write. I now have had seven novels published and love to write about people who are tested by adversity. My novel Goodbye, Saigon, about a young Vietnamese refugee who thinks she's exchanged the violence of Vietnam for an untroubled life in America, was optioned for film by Richard Zanuck and purchased by 20th Century Fox. My new novel, The Queen of Annam's Daughter, is the sequel to Goodbye, Saigon, and will soon be on Kindle.

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Ed Reads

Excellent book.

Reviewed in the United States on October 27, 2019

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The characterization is outstanding. The author's use of words is such a delight. Dialogue captivates. Don't miss this chance to be pulled into the past in a setting you've likely never known much about. You won't regret your time away.

3 people found this helpful

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M

The Texicans

Reviewed in the United States on May 11, 2020

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This is a good book about the early life on the Plains of Texas. It has a strange ending which begs for another book to continue the story. The Civil War is only a few years away now and the impact on families in Texas.

3 people found this helpful

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Booklady

I enjoyed the characters totally but was disappointed in the ending

Reviewed in the United States on October 20, 2014

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I learned history from this book that I had never read before, all about Texas and it's early attitudes towards others. I enjoyed the characters totally but was disappointed in the ending. It was an easy book to read and did not want it to end.

4 people found this helpful

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NLM

Review: The Texicans by Nina Vida

Reviewed in the United States on August 28, 2009

The wide open skies and sweeping plains of Texas are the backdrop for this Western fiction saga that tells of one man's journey through life and the impact of those he meets along the way.

In an effort to diversify my literary diet, I recently accepted Nina Vida's seventh novel, The Texicans, for review. I'd never read much, if anything, in this genre and had some misgivings. My tally sheet of Western History authors was skimpy at best-one Louis L'Amour novel-The Last of the Breed-which was set in Siberia and had nothing to do with the wild American frontiers of the 1800s, and no Larry McMurtry (of Lonesome Dove fame). Happily, this book was a pleasant surprise!

The Texicans tells the story of Joseph Kimmel, former trapper and school teacher, traveling from Missouri to Texas during the 1830s to settle his recently deceased brother's affairs. Along the way, Kimmel is waylaid by myriad obstacles. After an escaped slave rides off on his horse, Kimmel struggles to survive, eventually finding himself caught up in the development of a new settlement.

Perceiving mismanagement in Castroville, a restless Kimmel sets off without a true course, encumbered by a new (and unwanted) bride. As they travel, the wagon fills with a cast of disenfranchised characters. Kimmel is helpless to resist the tears of one young Mexican woman who is rumored to have a bit of magic in her. Aurelia and her young daughter ride along with Kimmel's wife Katrin, and three adult slaves and their two children. The motley crew continues on, under constant threat of attacks by Indians and rogue Texas Rangers.

Finally, the group finds a parcel of land and they create their own ranch. Before long, conflicts with Comanches and Rangers shatter their peace. The second part of the novel focuses on Kimmel's internal conflicts-his unrequited obsession with Aurelia and his desire for revenge on a Texas Ranger who brought pain and suffering to his front door.

Character development was strong and even minor characters were well-developed. The characters were realistic because of their flaws, but I had trouble with the Kimmel-Aurelia angle of the story. Kimmel's wife was desperate to please her husband but he was so enraptured by mere thought of Aurelia that he couldn't appreciate what he had. Additionally, a large cast of minor characters were a bit challenging to keep straight.

Nina Vida's use of language helped provide vivid imagery and the struggles of early settlers came to life. Her attention to detail helped me picture a world that I knew little about. If you're looking for an introduction to the Western Historical fiction genre, this might just be the book for you.

2 people found this helpful

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CBonner

LIFE IS DIFFICULT FOR IMMIGRANTS IN NOVEL OF EARLY TEXAS

Reviewed in the United States on March 29, 2007

Nina Vida's new novel THE TEXICANS opens just after Texas has been admitted into the Union. In sturdy, spare prose Vida tells the story through the intersecting lives of four immigrants: Joseph Kimmel, a Polish Jew from St. Louis who has come to settle his dead brother's estate in San Antonio; Aurelia, a young Mexican woman, a bruja who can change the weather with a scream or banish cholera with a deep stare; Katrin, an Alsatian immigrant, whom Joseph marries to protect her from a covetous Comanche chieftain; and Luck, a runaway slave who falls victim to a band of renegade Texas Rangers taking the law into their own hands. This is a rough-and-tumble Texas, lawless and chaotic, and Vida throws her characters against it, almost defying them to find their way through. Some of them prosper; others fail.

Joseph Kimmel is a Missouri schoolteacher who lives a simple life instructing 13-year-old boys in Greek, Latin, and mathematics. When he learns of his brother Isaac's death in Texas, he sets off with one horse, one pistol and two saddlebags filled with provisions, riding alone into an unfamiliar wilderness. Once on the Texas plains he's waylaid by Luck, the runaway slave, who steals his horse. After two months afoot, Joseph meets up with Henry Castro who is bringing Alsatian immigrants to the town of Castroville that he has founded west of San Antonio. There Joseph meets Katrin, a young, flighty woman, who is being stalked by Ten Elk, the local Comanche leader. At Castro's urging, Joseph agrees to marry her and take her away from possible harm. Moments after the wedding, a Texas Ranger shows up with Luck hog-tied and slung over Joseph's saddle horse, so Joseph decides to take Luck, too, rather than leave him in the hands of this ruthless Ranger. On their journey to the Guadalupe Mountains, Aurelia is pawned off on the group by a camp cook turned Indian scout who is afraid of her supernatural powers. Together these four set out to build a new life in the Texas Hill Country.

It is difficult to tell such a story without sinking into unlikely coincidence and predictability, but Vida pulls it off. She is especially strong with dialogue and coveys to perfection the cadence of a foreign accent, the texture of a slave dialect, and the wordy excesses of unschooled pioneers. Clearly she has done much research and her feel for the common folk, with all their faults and prejudices lends authenticity to the period detail.

I longed for more of "sheep on the gentle dips and sloping honey-colored hills," more of the Medina River "running fast, freshets of water catching twigs on the bank, knitting them together, then spitting them out." But this is a brutal Texas filled with Indian depredations, bogged steers drowning in quick sand, lynchings, and killing fevers. There's little time for pondering star-studded prairie skies and bluebonnet meadows.

In her Acknowledgments, Nina Vida says, "I didn't know if the world needed another book about Texas." My response to that is any vigorous, atmospheric book like this one is always welcome. It's just so much better when it is about Texas.

Reviewed in the United States on July 31, 2020

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Very interesting book, kept my interest.

One person found this helpful

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Wayne C. Wendel

The Texicans