First published 2009
Trenchmouth Taggart enters the world in 1903, orphaned and marked by the mouth disease that gives him his name. The Widow Dorsett takes him in, a tough mountain woman who teaches him to hunt and ignore the cruel words of others. In southern West Virginia's hills, Trenchmouth learns fast. He drinks moonshine, handles serpents, wins over women, and becomes deadly with a rifle. His shooting skills pull him into the violent coal wars as a teenage union sniper. When the fighting ends, Trenchmouth flees to the remote Appalachian foothills, trying to escape what he has done. Years pass as he hides from his past. But trouble finds every man eventually, and outlaws always return home. Trenchmouth's tale cuts deep like the old ballads, marking memory with the weight of a hard life lived in unforgiving country.
Genres: literary-fiction, american-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century
Vibes: atmospheric, emotional, lyrical
Tropes: redemption, troubled-past
Setting: West Virginia, Appalachian Foothills
Period: 1903
290 pages · Kindle Edition · Ecco
Content warnings: violence