We’re thrilled to introduce you to Yip Tolroy, the unlikely hero of the brilliant debut novel, My Name Is Yip. A social outcast and medical anomaly growing up in the toughest of worlds, Yip’s voice is captivating from the very first page.
My name is Yip Tolroy & I am a mute.
I have made not a sound since the day of my birth, October 2nd, 1815. Aside from my lacking a voice I stand at 4 feet & 8 inches tall. I have led a life filled with wonder & misery both.
I was 14 yrs of age when all I knowed come to an end.
Yip may not be able to speak, but on the page his words comes vividly to life in a way that Sebastian Barry calls ‘singular and singing’. When gold is discovered nearby, Yip is unwittingly dragged into a crime that forces him to go on the run. Friendless and totally unfamiliar with the world beyond his small town, he begins an incredible coming-of-age journey through the wonders of the American frontier – and its horrors too.
This is a book that bears comparison to True History of the Kelly Gang, Days Without End and the enduring classic A Prayer for Owen Meany, but Yip is so unique that really it is a one-off. It’s gripping and it’s moving, and the writing is astonishing, all the more so for a debut.
Watch author, Paddy Crewe talk about the book and it’s most memorable protagonist:
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Extract: My Name is Yip by Paddy Crewe