As his mother still lies in the blood-slicked sheets, and Yip takes his first gulps of air, his father disappears without trace. Yip survived but he was mute, not a sound left his mouth from the day he was born, he was also extremely tiny in stature, and didn’t have a single hair on his body. I can't recommend it enough' Rachel Joyce, author of Miss Benson's Beetle'Singular and singing' Sebastian Barry, author of Days Without End'Magnificent' Donal Ryan, author of Strange Flowers***A New Statesman 'most anticipated' debut 2022***The year is 1815.

My big criticism of the book is the way it went down the travelling show route with Yip being a mute - I feel it's been done to death and it was a little too obvious.Thus begins an epic fugitive journey across the American frontier on his trusty horse Gussie, with only Dud for company.

Set in the early 19th century in the American mid-West, the novel is narrated by Yip Tolroy, who is looking back at his life, writing with three fingers on a slate. Some in our book club couldn't get past the writing style, the use of ampersands and the capitalisation of words. One of those rare reads that we’ve all experienced, the kind that leaves us with a sense of loss, a kind of “What do I read after this? Yip's folksy voice may not appeal, may actually irritate some readers (it worked for me) and be warned that the novel does have its fair share of violence. Gold is discovered nearby, and Yip commits a grievous crime that leaves him with no choice but to flee.Later, after Yip is separated from Dud, he’s gathered under the wing of the roguish Jim Coyne, travelling onwards in his wagon. A sensational debut… This is violent, anarchic American history with echoes of Sebastian Barry’s Day’s Without End, but Paddy Crewe’s take is startingly original. Incidentally, I see the advertising material refers to it taking place in Georgia during the Georgia Gold Rush, but there is no reference in my preview copy to Georgia, and the Gold Rush isn’t really central to much of his story. This book tells a story which is both moving and filled with some really emotional moments, and punctuated with a sprinkling of humour, which lighten some of the tougher moments.

Mama could barely look at him, but they muddled along, each in their own separate bubble of existence. She struggles to manage his needs, leaving Yip to find the means of asserting himself in an unforgiving, hostile environment.I’ve got to say up front this simply wasn’t a book for me, not that there was anything wrong with it. The story moves between the various phases of Yip's life as he tells the tale of his journey to becoming an adult. Lastly, what took Yip from such hopelessness to a life of serenity with the wife that was briefly mentioned? He grows up left to his own devices by pretty much the entire town, until a kind old man teaches him to read. This is violent, anarchic American history with echoes of Sebastian Barry's Days Without End, but Paddy Crewe's take is startlingly original.