Reviews
My Name is Yip: A gold-rush adventure story of murder, friendship and redemption by Paddy Crewe
louismunozjr's review against another edition
2.0
I'm going to shelve this as "paused" or as "DNF" (at page 124), not quite sure which yet. I thought I would really like this book, it checks off so many items of interest, but I couldn't feel or muster any connection to what I was reading, unfortunately. Moreover, the book is extremely slow-going, which I don't always mind. In fact, I can be really patient in that regard, but with this book, nothing really of note happens till about page 84, so I thought, "Ok, now things will pick up," but when they didn't really with another 40 pages of reading, it's time to move on.
itsophieso's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.75
beevimes's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
rozereads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
clmckinney's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This story follows Yip Tolroy in this western gold rush time period. He emerges as hairless and mute. I really liked the characters in this book. There was something very compelling about most of the main personas. The character of Yip will not be soon forgotten for me. His struggle with being different and finding love drew me in. Crewe also had a way with language. His words were often poetic and wise. I thoroughly enjoyed this. I give this a 5/5.
helena_soph's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
xystophi's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
lostwithoutabook's review against another edition
Didn’t like the narrative voice.
annrhub's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
emma_naomi's review against another edition
4.0
3.70
A really solid good yarn! Let's face it, I've read a lot of Westerns, and this isn't up there with the very best of them, but it's a cracking read with some great characters. There's no doubt Paddy Crewe has a bright writing future ahead of him, there are some beautiful sentences in this, so much so that I would find myself re-reading lines in admiration.
I do think some of the stylistic choices were unnecessary and will likely deter some readers at the very beginning (as it almost did with me) - for example the use of the ampersand in replacement for the word 'and' throughout the whole book, the strange use of capital letters at the beginning of some words. But you could tell a lot of heart has gone into the making of this novel.
The novel as a whole has an almost Forrest Gump/Good Lord Bird kind of narrative and characterisation about it, which ultimately makes Yip and particularly his friend Dud Carter leap off the page, and I really warmed to it. My big criticism of the book is the way it went down the travelling show route with Yip being a mute - I feel it's been done to death and it was a little too obvious. Plus it leads to the separation of Yip and Dud which for any reader I'm sure, is the highlight of the book! I so loved the journey they were on together and it was a such a shame to see them separated. 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.
Overall a really promising debut with a lot of heart and soul, and some superb writing. I look forward to seeing what Paddy Crewe does next!
A really solid good yarn! Let's face it, I've read a lot of Westerns, and this isn't up there with the very best of them, but it's a cracking read with some great characters. There's no doubt Paddy Crewe has a bright writing future ahead of him, there are some beautiful sentences in this, so much so that I would find myself re-reading lines in admiration.
I do think some of the stylistic choices were unnecessary and will likely deter some readers at the very beginning (as it almost did with me) - for example the use of the ampersand in replacement for the word 'and' throughout the whole book, the strange use of capital letters at the beginning of some words. But you could tell a lot of heart has gone into the making of this novel.
The novel as a whole has an almost Forrest Gump/Good Lord Bird kind of narrative and characterisation about it, which ultimately makes Yip and particularly his friend Dud Carter leap off the page, and I really warmed to it. My big criticism of the book is the way it went down the travelling show route with Yip being a mute - I feel it's been done to death and it was a little too obvious. Plus it leads to the separation of Yip and Dud which for any reader I'm sure, is the highlight of the book! I so loved the journey they were on together and it was a such a shame to see them separated. 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.
Overall a really promising debut with a lot of heart and soul, and some superb writing. I look forward to seeing what Paddy Crewe does next!