Sinopsis

A bold, revisionist take on the Western novel set in the Georgia gold rush, for readers of Charles Portis and Cormac McCarthy, by a powerful debut novelist with an original voice
Itâ??s 1815 in the small town of Heron's Creek, Georgia, when Yip Tolroyâ??â??mute, medical anomaly, and social outcastâ??â??is born. His father has disappeared under mysterious circumstances, so he is raised by his mother: a powerful, troubled, independent woman who owns and runs a general store. She struggles to manage his needs, leaving Yip to find the means of asserting himself in an unforgiving, hostile environment. With the help of a retired doctor, he begins to transform his life by learning to read and write, his portal into the community a piece of slate and a supply of chalk.
    
And then at the age of fifteen, Yipâ??s life is altered irrevocably. In the space of a few days he witnesses the discovery of gold, meets his faithful friend and comrade Dud Carter, and...