The titular hero is forced to leave town after vowing to forever tell the truth in Terpin (1982) by Tor Seidler.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
Book Description
Terpin Taft is an easygoing, popular boy -- a "good egg," happy to tell people what they want to hear, even if it means stretching the truth a bit. Until the day he meets a stranger on a train and tells the man a consoling lie. The results are so disastrous that Terpin resolves never again to speak or act except by the truth in his heart. But this, too, has disastrous -- if sometimes comical -- results. In fact, his new policy of honesty wreaks such havoc among his friends and family that he finally has no choice but to flee his hometown.
Elegantly and lyrically written, Terpin is a modern fable that emphasizes the importance of being true to one's own values -- no matter what.