Review: The Texicans by Nina Vida
The Texicans by Nina Vida (2007)
Historical Fiction, 304 pages
Soho Press, Inc.
Review copy courtesy of the author
Texas is a place that challenges anyone who dares to make a claim on any part of it. This is a story about some who tried.
Historical fiction is one of my favorite genres, and even though I expect some attention to detail, I don’t expect 100% accuracy. Because fiction is . . . well fiction. Thus, I judge every book I read against the following:
- How engaging is the story and the characters?
- Did they pull me into their world, a world I find interesting?
- Did they entertain me?
- Did they leave me with a sense of knowing them so well, I cared about what happened to them?
- If the plot or setting is derived from an historical event, is the story and the characters who bring it to life, making the difference between it being mediocre or great.
It is that last point that gave me pause when composing this review. Nina Vida’s account of diverse people struggling to start new lives in an unforgiving environment is what makes this an intriguing story. However, as much as I like the premise, I just couldn’t get into the characters.
One of them, Joseph Kimmel, is a Polish-Jewish schoolteacher who becomes a rancher by chance. Along the way he encounters adversity, and a variety of people and situations that will test him spiritually, physically, and emotionally.
I’ve ruined my life. I’m a fool, an idiot caught by my own conscience and trapped by sympathies I never knew I had and I’m too stubborn to change my mind. – Joseph Kimmel
But not all of them remained completely elusive. Aurelia Ruíz brings to the story an element that I thought was one of the better storylines.
Everything happens in moments, she told herself. I will move from moment to moment. I will listen carefully, then make beautiful turns and say wonderful things and everyone will be caught off guard. – Aurelia Ruíz
I think the issue is the narrative’s point of view. It is written in the third person and primarily follows Joseph and Aurelia as they struggle against prejudice and their own desires; each suffering, yet finding hope, and a determination that keeps them going, even when it seems all is lost.
And perhaps that is why I couldn’t connect as deeply as I should have. I felt – distanced. Part of this disappointment was that I had the impression this was going to be a character driven story, and I found that they weren’t strong enough to make the story any richer; to engage me as I felt they should have.
However, this issue was not significant enough for me to quit the book. I did like the story and wanted to know the resolution or redemption, if any, allowed the characters.
Because of this, I am giving the novel 3 out of 5 stars. 
Nina Vida is the author of six previous novels: Scam (Macmillan, 1984), Return from Darkness (Warner, 1986), Maximillian’s Garden (Bantam, 1990), Goodbye Saigon (Crown, 1994), Between Sisters (Crown, 1996), and The End of Marriage (S&S, 2002). She lives with her husband in Huntington Beach, California.
