Meet Trenchmouth Taggart, a man born and orphaned in 1903, a man nicknamed for his lifelong oral affliction. His boyhood is shaped by the Widow Dorsett, a strong mountain woman who teaches him to hunt and to survive the taunts of others. In the hills of southern West Virginia, a boy grows up fast. Trenchmouth sips moonshine, handles snakes, pleases women, and masters the rifle—a skill that lands him in the middle of the West Virginia coal wars. A teenaged union sniper, Trenchmouth is exiled to the back-woods of Appalachia's foothills, where he spends his years running from the past. But trouble will sniff a man down, and an outlaw will eventually run home. Here Trenchmouth Taggart's story, like the best ballads, etches its mark deep upon the memory.
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“I was hooked immediately by the narrative voice, which I would describe as utterly kickass, take-no-prisoners in tone. The combination of hyperbole & hilarity throughout is what I would call High Hillbilly in the purest form.” (Chuck Kinder, Author of Snakehunter and Last Mountain Dancer )
“A stunning, fully realized, unique and ambitious book that proves there’s still passion, fire and brilliance in the American novel.” (Houston Chronicle )
“A stunning, fully realized, unique and ambitious book that proves there’s still passion, fire and brilliance in the American novel.” (Houston Chronicle )
About the Author
Glenn Taylor was born and raised in Huntington, West Virginia. His first novel, The Ballad of Trenchmouth Taggart, was a finalist for the 2009 National Book Critics Circle Award. Taylor lives in Chicago with his wife and three sons.
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
What's in a name?,
By T. M. Johnson "TMJ" (Monroe, WA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Ballad of Trenchmouth Taggart: A Novel (Paperback)
One might expect a book with such an intriguing title as The Ballad of Trenchmouth Taggart to deliver a good story, and Book I of M. Glenn Taylor's does just that. Book I reminded me of Charles Frazier's Cold Mountain salted with a bit of Foxfire mountain folk lore. In the person of the orphan Trenchmouth Taggart (TT),eponymous for the disease that plagues him throughout the book, Taylor creates a colorful, sympathetic character. In Books II and III, however, TT's story seems to collapse, strain the reader's credulity as the protagonist attempts to escape a violent past by assuming a variety of aliases: Chicky Gold, A.C.Gilbert, and finally "Ace" (the moniker Ace for a mountain man?). With each aka, TT assumes a new role (blues harp player, newspaper man, handyman, sage...)and the book takes on a Forrest Gumpian ambience;the character wins a Pulitzer for a hillbilly piece he writes on the character of John Kennedy and then carries the reader with him along the trail of numerous current events (Viet Nam War, Desert Storm...). Equally strange was the 3rd person narrator referring to TT's dentures as "pearly whites," having a surefooted mountain man who survives W. Virginia winters on acorns "hotfooting it" from one place to another;saying "Shoot," when asked if he would respond to a question.... It seemed perfectly credible for a mountain man who no doubt could "bark a squirrel,' to be sniping at the kneecaps of Company thugs hired to protect the interests of corporate mining companies, but when a character who survives off the land, lives in the hills and hollers of back country W. Virginia, a character who sews soles on his moccasins using the penis bone of a raccoon for a needle laments he is missing "the Showcase Showdown portion of "The Price is Right," this reader and storyline parted ways. The Ballad of Trenchmouth Taggart is a good first novel(I did discover a new musical instrument, the theremin)--but it is a FIRST novel.
16 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Highly recommended!!,
This review is from: The Ballad of Trenchmouth Taggart (Paperback)
Ok...me read anything about history, I don't think so! Not my normal read, I'm more a fantasy/SciFi reader. But wow, I loved this book. I finished it in 2 days. It was engaging and very funny. Glen's insight into people is intelligent and real. This book is a lesson in what is right and wrong and how doing wrong is sometimes right. It is about learning from your mistakes, about second and third chances and about everyday hero's. It's about how one person can touch so many lives and not realize they can make a difference, good or bad. I loved it and yes this would make a great movie...I would be first in line to see it!!
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
History and Drama,
By
This review is from: The Ballad of Trenchmouth Taggart (Paperback)
This book not only gave a wonderful sense of history but presented it through deep characters. Trenchmouth Taggart is also very dramatic and at times a page-turner. A friend of the author suggested I read the book which turned out a wonderful recommendation. For a first book or any number book, I have to recommend Trenchmouth Taggart very highly. Kudos to M. Glenn Taylor!
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