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It was fun to see how Crewe imagined it almost 200 years earlier, with all modern manifestations removed. Laird Hunt, author of Neverhome * My Name is Yip is a thrilling adventure story brim-full of humour, strangeness and charm * Ian McGuire, Booker Prize longlisted author of The North Water * A rollicking picaresque. Unusual because of its main character, Yip Tolroy, a tiny, hairless mute, and because of its nineteenth century American vernacular with its own stylistic oddities, such as seemingly random capitalisation, presumably reflecting the narrative style of its semi-educated but reflective hero.
However, the multitude of events and characters painted a colourful and brutal picture of the American Midwest.My enjoyment of the book dipped in that section, but then Crewe totally pulls it back together (perhaps a little too neatly and predictably at times) for the last 70 pages. Yip is an incredible character, up there with Owen Meany and Holden Caulfield for sheer unforgettableness. It’s also a rollicking, page-turning wild west adventure, populated by a cast of arresting grotesques, with luminous imagery and an unforgettable protagonist. This novel has such a fantastic voice, Yip Tolroy quickly cemented himself as one of my favorite characters to grace the world of literature.
Clare Clark, author of Savage Lands * What a marvel this novel by Paddy Crewe is, what an unlooked-for firecracker of fury and beauty and rage and hope. 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. Thus begins an epic fugitive journey across the American frontier on his trusty horse Gussie, with only Dud for company. There are pleasures (and horrors too) in this picaresque of a plot, but its real power lies in Yip's distinctive voice.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. I love the compelling narrator… somehow a cross between Charles Dickens's David Copperfield and Charles Portis's Mattie Ross.
The characters were well-developed, and descriptions of places made you feel like you could see them.The style of writing is something special, it takes a while to get into and you either like it or not. Yip Tolroy, being mute, may not have a voice in the conventional sense of the word, but he makes himself heard in the very essence of his character, in this wonderful debut novel, that in itself yells to be heard! In general this was a good debut novel, so if the author releases another book in the future I'll probably give it a go. The story moves between the various phases of Yip's life as he tells the tale of his journey to becoming an adult. This is a raw and gritty tale of 19th century America told through the voice of a protagonist who has no voice.