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Paulette Jiles
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Simon the Fiddler: A Novel Kindle Edition

by Paulette Jiles (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.3 out of 5 stars 3,267
Editors' pick Best Literature & Fiction
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The critically acclaimed, bestselling author of News of the World and Enemy Women returns to Texas in this atmospheric story, set at the end of the Civil War, about an itinerant fiddle player, a ragtag band of musicians with whom he travels trying to make a living, and the charming young Irish lass who steals his heart.


In March 1865, the long and bitter War between the States is winding down. Till now, twenty-three-year-old Simon Boudlin has evaded military duty thanks to his slight stature, youthful appearance, and utter lack of compunction about bending the truth. But following a barroom brawl in Victoria, Texas, Simon finds himself conscripted, however belatedly, into the Confederate Army. Luckily his talent with a fiddle gets him a comparatively easy position in a regimental band.

Weeks later, on the eve of the Confederate surrender, Simon and his bandmates are called to play for officers and their families from both sides of the conflict. There the quick-thinking, audacious fiddler can’t help but notice the lovely Doris Mary Dillon, an indentured girl from Ireland, who is governess to a Union colonel’s daughter.

After the surrender, Simon and Doris go their separate ways. He will travel around Texas seeking fame and fortune as a musician. She must accompany the colonel’s family to finish her three years of service. But Simon cannot forget the fair Irish maiden, and vows that someday he will find her again.

Incandescent in its beauty, told in Paulette Jiles’s trademark spare yet lilting style, Simon the Fiddler is a captivating, bittersweet tale of the chances a devoted man will take, and the lengths he will go to fulfill his heart’s yearning.

"Jiles’ sparse but lyrical writing is a joy to read. . . . Lose yourself in this entertaining tale.” — Associated Press

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  1. Print length
    368 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    William Morrow
  5. Publication date
    April 14, 2020
  6. File size
    4534 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
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  9. Enhanced typesetting
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Popular Highlights in this book
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  1. Simon turned back at a run to get his fiddle. It was all he had against a chaotic world and the mindlessness of a losing war, against corruption, thievery, cowardice, incompetence, cactus, gunsmoke, and hominy.
    Highlighted by 186 Kindle readers
  2. Thus they solidified as a group as musicians do, or perhaps their minds and thoughts precipitated out of the military suspension in which they had been held and so they once again became servants of music and not of the state.
    Highlighted by 169 Kindle readers
  3. Strange how a musical instrument in your hand made you the innocent of the world.
    Highlighted by 145 Kindle readers
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From the Publisher

9780063252684 image 9780062409218 image 9780062144799 image 9780061337635 image 9780062232519 image 9781554681891 image
CHENNEVILLE NEWS OF THE WORLD THE COLOR OF LIGHTNING ENEMY WOMEN LIGHTHOUSE ISLAND STORMY WEATHER
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Customer Reviews
4.5 out of 5 stars
1,268
4.5 out of 5 stars
35,846
4.4 out of 5 stars
3,721
4.2 out of 5 stars
2,705
4.0 out of 5 stars
320
4.4 out of 5 stars
864
Price $14.99 $5.49 $13.99 $14.99 $13.99 $12.99

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Vividly evocative and steeped in American folkways: more great work from a master storyteller."

--"Kirkus Reviews (starred review)"

About the Author

Paulette Jiles is a poet and memoirist. She is the author of Cousins, a memoir, as well as several bestselling novels, including Enemy Women and Stormy Weather.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B07V9HHT9H
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ William Morrow (April 14, 2020)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ April 14, 2020
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 4534 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 ‏ : ‎ 368 pages
  • Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 0062966758
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 out of 5 stars 3,267

About the author

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Paulette Jiles

Paulette Jiles

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My website is paulettejiles.com. I review books and say shocking things and include outrageous pictures.

Paulette Jiles was born in Salem, Missouri, in the Missouri Ozarks. Raised in small towns in both south and central Missouri, she attended three different high schools, an exhausting process of social dislocation and fashion wobbles, and with relief graduated from the University of Missouri (KC) in Romance Languages. After graduation she worked for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in Toronto and in the far north of Ontario and in the Quebec Arctic, helping to set up village one-watt FM radio stations in the native language, Anishinabe and Inuktitut. She became reasonably conversant in Anishinabe but Inuktitut was just too much. Very hard. Besides she was only in the eastern Arctic for a year. Work in the north lasted about ten years all told.

She taught at David Thompson University in Nelson B.C. and grew to love the British Columbian ecosystems and general zaniness. She spent one year as a writer-in-residence at Philips Andover in Massachusetts and then returned to the United States permanently when she married Jim Johnson, a Texan. Has lived in Texas since 1995.

She and her husband renovated an old stone house in the San Antonio historic district and amidst the rubble and stonemasons and ripped-out electrical systems she completed Enemy Women. She now lives on a small ranch near a very small town in the Texas Hill Country with a horse and a donkey. If you want a free donkey, please let her know. She plays Irish tin whistle with a bluegrass group, sings alto in choir, rides remote trails in Texas with friends. Her horse is named Buck. News of the World (William Morrow) was a finalist for the National Book Award.

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5
3,267 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Loves To Read
5.0 out of 5 stars Loved this book
Reviewed in the United States on February 20, 2024
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Wonderful story, compelling characters. I’ve read it twice - fascinating
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JCC
4.0 out of 5 stars A good read
Reviewed in the United States on June 25, 2020
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I enjoy Paulette Jibes’ writing style and her description of the wildness of the Southwest. Her writing is a combination of poetry and prose and the reader is drawn into the storyline within the framework of settings in the countryside and early cities of Texas. Her characters are strong and independent and represent the spirit of the early settlers and dreamers in this country. Simon, the protagonist, is an energetic, lover of music, a self-made decent young man who has made his money by playing his beloved fiddle in service to the Confederate Army and after the war throughout Texas. He has dreams that he is willing to follow in spite of many obstacles that would discourage most men. The story is replete with references to the terrain, rivers and vegetation in Texas. I selected this book after reading The News of the World and I was not disappointed.
5 people found this helpful
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KE
5.0 out of 5 stars A sweet story!
Reviewed in the United States on January 26, 2024
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A simple, but sweet story, beautifully written. You can't help but empathize with Simon, feeling he's the kind of friend you'd be lucky to have. This book reminds me a bit of Cold Mountain - a civil war story, but less about war and more about people. Paulette Jiles is clearly a gifted writer. You can be sure I'll be looking for more of her books.
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Frode Jensen
3.0 out of 5 stars Texas frontier after the Civil War
Reviewed in the United States on December 31, 2020
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For a different sort of history, I read Simon the Fiddler by Paulette Jiles. It is set in Texas at the end of the War Between the States. There is a final skirmish although the war is over, and it involves Simon’s group. His Confederate camp is attacked during the night, and they all flee, but they regroup and counterattack and drive off the Union troops from their camp. However, Simon’s fiddle has been taken. The news of surrender comes quickly, and the Confederates are mustered and given leave to go after piling their arms. Simon gets his fiddle back unconventionally, and they are dismissed. He and some of his musical friends are asked to play at an event hosted by Colonel Webb, the local commanding Union officer. Simon sees a girl, Doris, at the event, and decides he wants her to be his wife.

The bulk of the story is how he and his partners scrape along in the occupation, and how he persists in his quest for Doris against tall odds. She is indentured to the Webbs so has to move with them to San Antonio. Over time, Simon and his musical friends, have a series of adventures; one dies and another leaves after they play in an area where that fellow was from. The ending portion of the story is when Simon and his one last companion make it to San Antonio where he is able to contact Doris again. Colonel Webb dislikes Simon immensely, so the two lovers have difficulties to overcome, but at the end of the book they are able to do so.

I found the writing in this book to be different somehow. Many of the sentences were short, but it worked. There was a musical theme that went through the book, song titles, words, and so forth. The music danced in Simon’s head. Damon, his friend and whistle player, quotes lines of poetry. The author paints some interesting scenes of Texas as she describes their travels and where and how they lived and made their money. I found the book rather interesting to read, but it was not a page turner for me. The story line was acceptable, and the characters were relatively well drawn, especially Simon since he was the hero so to speak. I rather liked the book in that it was quite readable, gave a picture of that period, and had a relatively interesting set of characters.
5 people found this helpful
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MichaelG
5.0 out of 5 stars Romantic and exciting!
Reviewed in the United States on July 28, 2023
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It completely fulfilled my expectations! I was concerned as I began to read that the possibility of a positive outcome was remote. The story line moved forward scene by scene, through threats of disaster, until it reached the conclusion I had wished for. Of particular interest was the frequent mention of musical minutiae that added credibility to the narrative.
3 people found this helpful
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Beverly Turner
4.0 out of 5 stars Tell me more
Reviewed in the United States on October 26, 2022
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Simon the Fiddler had a three step plan for his life. He wanted to own land, enough land to give him the peace and quiet he craved, far from the crowds of the cities. He wanted a woman to share that life with him. And he wanted to earn a living playing his fiddle. Drop this determined young character into the chaos of Texas after the end of the Civil War and you have Simon the Fiddler.

The reader follows Simon and his fellow musicians as they attempt to gain their footing in a time and a place that had no rules. I loved the secondary characters and wished their stories could've been fleshed out more. Toward the end of the book, I was so afraid Simon wouldn't prevail. But help came to him from an unexpected quarter. I did feel the book ended abruptly. I actually paged backward and then forward on my Kindle, thinking I had skipped ahead. But, no, that was it. That is the reason for the four stars, rather than five. As a reader, I had struggled alongside Simon and I wanted to see what happened next when he and Doris left San Antonio to find the land he had bought. Maybe a sequel is in order here?

I read News of the World after seeing the movie and found so much more 'meat' to the story. I think this book has the makings of a good movie with the right actors in the roles.
6 people found this helpful
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Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Another wonderful read!
Reviewed in the United States on January 22, 2024
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I am so thrilled that I have belatedly "discovered" this author! I want to grab the many amazing sentences so that I can read them all again whenever I want. I am inspired . I will find all other books by Paulette Jiles and read them all. One by one
One person found this helpful
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Kem White
4.0 out of 5 stars A Deliberately Paced Story of Love, Music, and Determination
Reviewed in the United States on December 2, 2021
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Simon plays the violin. And he is quite good at it. His skill as a fiddler is what defines him and performing is how he makes money. He is also one very determined individual. Jiles's prose is spare and, as a result, it is difficult to warm to him as a fully developed character. Nevertheless, the reader comes to like Simon and wants what he wants, which is to play the violin and be with the love of his life, Doris, two things that seem next to impossible in Texas immediately following the Civil War. I loved the deliberate pacing of this book as Simon overcomes the obstacles placed in his way. This book is a western and a love story well worth reading. Your appreciation of this book will be greatly enhanced if you're a musician as I am. Recommended.
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Top reviews from other countries

M Clark
3.0 out of 5 stars An interesting perspective on this period of history
Reviewed in Germany on March 14, 2021
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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.
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Grandad bob
5.0 out of 5 stars Nice easy read
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 3, 2020
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Easy read nice story, good author not the first of authors I have read and I have enjoyed most of then.
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Hughcr
5.0 out of 5 stars Civil War era comes to life
Reviewed in Australia on November 18, 2020
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This is an unusual story which has been carefully researched by Paulette Jiles to bring the American Civil War era back to life with detailed representations of characters, culture, life and death. Very similar to Cold Mountain, we follow the trials and triumphs of young Simon who is almost anti heroic but certainly very authentically rendered. The best fiction, as Conrad said, puts you there on the spot or in the moment as we now say. This novel ranks with Jiles other excellent historical works: a totally engaging read.
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Hughcr
5.0 out of 5 stars Civil War era comes to life
Reviewed in Australia on November 18, 2020
This is an unusual story which has been carefully researched by Paulette Jiles to bring the American Civil War era back to life with detailed representations of characters, culture, life and death. Very similar to Cold Mountain, we follow the trials and triumphs of young Simon who is almost anti heroic but certainly very authentically rendered. The best fiction, as Conrad said, puts you there on the spot or in the moment as we now say. This novel ranks with Jiles other excellent historical works: a totally engaging read.
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thegreenhillsofafrica
4.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful romance in post-Civil War Texas
Reviewed in Canada on August 11, 2021
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This novel is nothing like News of the World or The Color of Lightning. This one is a straight up romance with a spirited Irish lass thrown in for good measure.

I would divide the story into two parts. In the first, we read of music and the formation of a small band consisting of a fiddler, a guitarist, a rhythm section lad with a wee hand drum and bones, and a flautist or penny whistler. We watch the players grow to care for one another and perform merrily at various venues. Quite enjoyable.

In the second part, we are absorbed with Simon falling in love with Doris of Ireland.

This being Paulette Jiles, romance or not, we are still in the rough and tumble world of people who have just lost a war and who are confused, angry and violent. This turbulence is reflected in the story though in no way to the extent we experience turbulence and strife in The Color of Lightning. Nevertheless, it’s there, so yes, it’s a beautiful romance, but at the same time it’s a far cry from, say, Harlequin’s Love Inspired series. It’s not soft like those stories. It can be soft to the touch, but it can also be rough to the touch. Like real life.

It’s a significant story, you will see that Lt. Whittaker is the true gallant, I recommend it and give it 4 stars.
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Client d'Amazon
3.0 out of 5 stars 2nd half is much better than the first
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 31, 2023
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Book of 2 halves. Simon wanders about with a burning desire to save money and marry a girl he has seen twice. Once he gets back to the girl the book hots up but the ending is inconclusive. Very lyrical and well-written
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