Simon The Fiddler by Paulette Jiles

 

Simon was able to avoid being conscripted during the war between the states, but on one of his fiddling events he was caught and sent to the front.

Luckily he was conscripted at the very end, and being in the band had allowed him to do a show when the war ended.  At the show he saw a girl he couldn’t keep his eyes off of, and a girl he had to ask around about.  He made it his job to earn some money and come back for her.

He snuck out of the army compound without discharge papers and headed to the Rio Grande along with his fiddle with hopes of finding Doris.

We follow Simon and three fellow musicians as they make their way in a boat to San Antonio.

When they landed, they had to hide from patrols and find lodging and work.  They thankfully found lodging in an abandoned home and found work at different functions and saloons.

They had adventures, and Simon still never forgot about Doris Dillon.

SIMON THE FIDDLER has Ms. Jiles' excellent writing and beautiful detail, but it was a very slow read.  

I actually was disappointed since I loved NEWS OF THE WORLD, and was looking for a character to love like Captain Kidd.

If you have time to read beautiful, detailed descriptions and also learn about music, SIMON THE FIDDLER will be a book for you. 

This book was not a favorite for me. It dragged and only became interesting in the last 10% of the book. It actually was a struggle to continue reading. 3/5

This book was given to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.