Mighty

A Novel

De: Bud Smith

A romping and rearing all-American epic: one failing dairyman’s search for true love, self-worth, and answers surrounding the murder of his wayward father—éminence grise and namesake of Mighty, Wyoming

Bartholomew “BeeBee” Byrd has struck a deal with the devil. That devil happens to be his father, Mighty Turner, a former itinerant preacher who’s left a trail of bastard children in his wake. For five more years, Mighty will continue to fund BeeBee’s struggling dairy farm, as long as he supplies a prime steer for each of Mighty's infamous yearly luaus.

When, at the fifth and final luau, Mighty turns up dead, BeeBee begins frantically writing to the CIA, addressing his plaintive letters to “Faceless Shadow.” But he’s not after the truth behind his father’s murder. What BeeBee really wants is any and all information regarding the whereabouts of “Yugoslavian” exchange student, Nikki Dizdarevic, who “coincidentally” disappeared the night of the murder. She may or may not have committed the crime, but she’s most certainly the love of his life.

Written in BeeBee’s cracked, courtly voice, the letters pile up into a bizarre and beguiling dossier, a tangle of personal history, family lore, and state secrets. It’s all too strange—and too sincere—for the CIA to ignore: bank heists and bomb shelters, wolf attacks and astral projections, major conspiracies and minor poets, a vanished hippie commune and a high-security-clearance grandmother with a background in brainwashing.

Mighty is a novel of a thousand joys—a tug-of-war between love and doom—and one only Bud Smith could write.

Reseñas de la Crítica

“A thrilling and funny tale that defies pigeonholing. I haven't loved a book with this many drawings since Vonnegut. What else can I say—no matter what kind of book you think you like, you like Mighty.” —Madeline Cash, author of Lost Lambs

“Nobody builds a sentence like Bud Smith. His prose is exuberant, funny, big-hearted and full of wonder, rigged to look easy right up until it knocks the wind out of you. The charming Mighty follows BeeBee Byrd as he questions love and grief and his place in the world, conjuring the whole strange lore of his family one earnest letter at a time. Rae Buleri's tattoo-worthy illustrations gallop alongside this rollicking story, and the whole book feels like a treasure, handmade and singular.” —Kimberly King Parsons, author of We Were the Universe