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The Texicans
The Texicans
The Texicans
Audiobook9 hours

The Texicans

Written by Nina Vida

Narrated by George Guidall

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

3.5/5

()

About this audiobook

From acclaimed author Nina Vida comes a powerful novel set in the 1840s. The Texicans provides an illuminating glimpse at the rugged lives of the downtrodden in pioneer society- immigrants, slaves, Indians, and Mexicans. Joseph Kimmel is heading to San Antonio to settle his deceased brother's estate but becomes stranded on the vast open prairie when his horse is stolen. He is rescued by an egocentric Alsatian immigrant, but falls back into trouble when he marries a young blond girl. Running for their lives, Joseph and his new bride head to the hill country, where they hope to build a cattle ranch. Unfortunately, the ruthless Texas Rangers have other ideas. Vida's intense drama and realistic characters are supported by in-depth historical research and vividly depict the countless hardships of the American pioneers. Listeners will be spellbound by the fiery reading from narrator George Guidall. "Vida's luminous, dramatic seventh novel ... [is a] radiant work of historical fiction-vibrantly atmospheric and emotionally dense..."-Publishers Weekly, starred review "...a story as vast and action-packed as Texas itself. Rich with period detail, an elegant, character-driven novel about the clash of cultures that forged the Lone Star spirit."-Kirkus Reviews, starred review
LanguageEnglish
Release dateMar 11, 2008
ISBN9781449801274
The Texicans

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Reviews for The Texicans

Rating: 3.7307693000000004 out of 5 stars
3.5/5

26 ratings8 reviews

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  • Rating: 1 out of 5 stars
    1/5
    Another book about Texas. This one takes place between 1840 and 1860. That time frame interests me because it was when my grgreat grandparents and their families were settling Texas. I spend a lot of my genealogy time looking at Texas records for those years so I'm hoping this book will give me a better understanding of that time period.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    "The Texans" is not politically correct, is dirty and raw and presents history through the confluence of a Jewish cowboy, a runaway slave, a German emigrant, a Mexican girl, renegade Rangers, and lots of Commanches. There are no real heroes, but a number of villains; yet, the story manages to produce a deeply satisfying emotional impact. These people laid the foundation of Texas.The character of Katrin, the German emigrant, was especially interesting. Thrust into circumstances beyond her control, she adapts why still remaining so rigid in many ways. When asked if what she and her husband had accomplished would matter in the long run, she replied "You have to think on what we do today and whether we do it right. That's all we can do."If you enjoy American historical fiction that isn't "sanitized" for today's world, you will enjoy this read. Also, for a similar read with lots of humor but an interesting look at US in the 1800's try Turpentine: A Novel.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Joseph Kimmel is a simple man, a man as content as a fur trapper as he is as a school teacher, a man who has never longed for the encumbrances of a wife and family. He is pleased to be without any obligation except to himself, that is, until a letter arrives in June of 1845 from Joseph's brother's business partner in Texas announcing his brother's death and extolling the virtues of Texas. Soon he sheds his humdrum life as a schoolteacher and sets out for Texas to settle his brother's estate and perhaps find some free land and adventure along the way. Suffice it to say that Joseph gets far more than he bargained for. Robbed of his horse by an escaped slave, Joseph is discovered by one Henry Castro, a Frenchman determined to create a town of his own in Texas using sheer force of will and a pack of ignorant Alsatian settlers who he has convinced to come along for the ride. That's when things begin to get out of hand. Without intending to, Joseph stays a few years in Castroville and leaves with a wife he never intended to have and doesn't love as well as the very escaped slave that stole his belongings and landed him Castroville to begin with. As he travels across Texas in search of land and a relatively safe place to settle, Joseph finds himself "encumbered" with more and more people including another ex-slave with only one leg and his family as well as the intoxicating Aurelia, who is rumored to be a Mexican witch. After making a fragile peace with the local indian tribe, Joseph and his adopted family settle down to a life of ranching, but life on the frontier is fraught with dangers and tragedy will ultimately shape the lives of those that Joseph has learned to hold dear.The Texicans is a well-written novel populated by a wide variety of quite three dimensional characters. The main characters, especially Joseph and Aurelia, the Mexican "witch," are believable and sympathetic. While reading this story, I kept envisioning Joseph as a John Wayne-esque sort of a character, a quiet loner of a guy, strong, competent, and independent but with a heart of gold that prevents him from casting off his unwanted entourage. His circumstances bring out a sort of begrudging heroism hidden behind his stony exterior. Aurelia's story brings out just the slightest bit of magical realism in a tale that mostly consists of a simple, hardscrabble existence in frontier Texas. The frontier itself is as much a character as the rest, casting the human characters in sharp relief against itself and shaping each of them with its power. Vida has created a quiet story and one in which the characters only slowly make their way into your heart, and you only realize how deeply you care for them when tragedy strikes. Somehow, though, I didn't quite connect with it. There were a few times when I thought maybe I was making a connection, but they were short-lived. Perhaps it was the mood I was in when I read it or that the story seemed to peter out more than it seemed to definitively end. The epilogue seems almost tacked on as an afterthought to bring closure to a story so realistic that real closure is impossible. This is a novel that has very little artistically wrong with it, but one that, for me, failed to make the leap from a good story to a great one.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    THE TEXICANS tells the story of people trying to make it in Texas not long after it becomes a state. Aurelia, a Mexican with healing powers and Joseph, a Jew who comes to settle his brother's estate after his death are the main focus of the story but their are many more interesting characters that make appearances in this book. Their are runaway slaves, the Texas Rangers and settlers, and of course the Comanches and Tonkaways whose lands are being taken over by the settlers.Nina Vida presents the stories very well and the lives they must have led in mid 19th century Texas. Joseph's journey is the most interesting and best portrayed. I think if the story was more about him only it would have been an even better read. Aurelia's story was okay, but in the end I didn't see a reason for its inclusion. I kept expecting more of a connection between the two, a romance that never occurred. I felt sorry for the two's hard life, which I am sure was more realistic to the time, but I would have liked another ending.It was an enjoyable tale, well written and set in an interesting time.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The Texicans by Nina VidaNina Vida’s book is a character study of the variety of people who emigrated to Texas and formed the state. She shows the disparity between the newly arrived, the native Americans and the Mexicans. It is a tale of prejudice and perseverance. I enjoyed the book. The central character Joseph Kimmel shows the strengths that define Texas and the flaws the define human nature. Kimmel’s basic dissatisfaction with life and his unrequited desires for a life that might have been are central to the books theme. Each major character is totally humanized by Vida. They don’t seem like characters in a book, they seem like real, live people. Katrin’s desire to be the best she could be was both inspiring and sad. It seems like a sequel is necessary to track the further lives of these people. It was compelling voyeurism.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This book is very well written and seems to be well researched. Though really, how would I know? I am no expert on life in Texas in the 1800s. Each of the lead characters are well developed and have their own strengths and weaknesses, I truly love a well rounded character. By the end, I found myself falling in love with the character for 200 pages I hated. Vida has a way of writing so it seems to be going slowly like a hot summer day, but before you know it the book is finished.In all honesty I found that this is a book is about the art of being human. While there is intrigue in the journey to discover the land of Texas and the hardships that are faced, each hardship is centered around human interaction. The acceptance, and/or lack there of, of the Jewish people, Mexicans, Black Slaves and Native Americans by the white settlers. Also the relationship of men and women is explored, especially the sanctity of marriage and how each character views it.Who would like this book? Anyone interested in the journey to discover the west. Also those that are interested in delving into the relationships that people find themselves getting into. The subject matter is heavy and not to be read when in low spirits.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I’m not one for Historical Fiction because while I like history, sometimes it just bores me. But when I got the opportunity to review the book, I jumped at the chance because I wanted to see if it would allude my love for history. I started reading the first page and thought that it would be like any other historical fiction I’ve read and wouldn’t end up finishing. Then I read the second page, then the 2nd chapter, then the 10th chapter. Yes, I fell in love with it. I sympathized with many characters. They didn’t have much personality, except for Joesph, who seemed stubborn yet cautious. But with a book like that, they didn’t need personalities. What happened was more important, in my opinion, that what Aurelia thought of the prarie. Being a born-Texan, I could feel the history. When they mentioned certain areas of Texas, I knew exactly what they were talking about. I could see what was happening. It is like being taken back in time to that time when we didn’t have the big city skylines, but instead little villages where they didn’t have tiles for floors, but had dirt. You were afraid of the Indians because you knew what was going to happen. You were afraid of those who lynched those some didn’t deem “worthy to live in Texas”. Vida paints a vivid image of Texas that many of us Texas had forgotten. If you are a Texan, you have a new love for your state. If you aren’t, you will still enjoy it because there is something new on every page and won’t leave you feeling like you’re lost. Texas has finally travelled through time to the past.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Even after its admission to the Union, Texas was a dangerous place for those staking a claim to a new life there. Life, already tough enough for the small farmers and ranchers working so hard simply to survive from one season to the next, was complicated by the presence of Comanche warriors unwilling to give up their tribal lands without a fight. Sudden, violent, death was still common enough to scare away all but the hardiest, or most desperate, of settlers.Nina Vida’s "The Texicans" is the story of a handful of accidental Texans, a group with little in common who met in Texas for the first time and banded together for their common good and protection. Vida’s approach of describing this colorful period of Texas history through the experiences of its poorest, and often most desperate, settlers rather than through those of the state’s wealthier, well-known leaders gives the reader a strong sense of the odds faced by anyone seeking a fresh start in the state. Joseph Kimmel, a Missouri schoolteacher bored with his job, comes to Texas to settle the business affairs of his recently deceased brother, a San Antonio storekeeper, but does not intend to settle in the state. Joseph, though, is the kind of man who cannot resist helping those in need, especially if he is their only hope. Before long, he finds himself responsible for the well-being of an assortment of new Texans who will change his life as deeply as he changes theirs.Kimmel may have come to Texas with no plan other than to do right by his brother, but he somehow winds up with a ranch unlike any other in the state, one at which Mexicans, freed blacks, escaped slaves, Indians and immigrant Texans are treated as equals, partners, and neighbors. Among the castoffs living on the ranch is Aurelia, a young Mexican woman who finds herself suddenly widowed when her brute of a Texas Ranger husband dies in a skirmish against a band of Indians. Kimmel will remain infatuated with Aurelia his entire life despite his marriage to Katrin, the young Alsatian woman he marries in order to save her from the Comanche leader who wants her for his own. Kimmel also offers refuge to Luck, a runaway slave who once stole his horse and left him stranded in the wilderness, and to a family of four ex-slaves (father, mother and two young sons) abandoned on the trail by their owner when the father seems certain to die from a fractured leg."The Texicans" covers twelve years in the life of Joseph Kimmel and those closest to him during an exciting period of Texas history (1840s-1850s). Their stories represent both the harsh realities of life in Texas during this period and the romantic notions often associated with those years. Nina Vida, however, does not allow her plot to be dominated by its romantic elements. Her characters come to Texas for different reasons, and they have varying degrees of luck once they get there. Some are more successful than others are; some are happy, some not; some become rich men, others do not survive for long. "The Texicans" perfectly captures the spirit and desperation of the times and, through the eyes of its diverse set of characters, shows what a crapshoot 1840s Texas was. Some won, some lost, and most were happy just to break even.Rated at: 4.0