Watching Gideon by Stephen H. Foreman

GIDEON PICKETT WAS BORN WITHOUT THE ABILITY TO SPEAK. This has never bothered his father, Jubal. He understands his son better than anybody, and though the boy has never uttered a word, the two could be no closer. This Gideon is no ordinary child: His powers of observation, strength, and extraordinary threshold for pain make him almost otherworldly, though to Jubal he's just a moody, hungry sixteen-year-old kid. He would do anything for his boy. So, in 1953, Jubal Pickett makes the decision to buy a red Ford Flathead V-8 truck and travel with Gideon from Mississippi to the desert canyon lands of Utah to strike it rich in uranium prospecting. On their journey, they encounter Abilene Breedlove, a country-girl-meets-femme-fatale. Jubal is smitten. Abilene sees only opportunity, but she joyfully jumps into her end of the bargain and climbs aboard.

PD Nov 2009 | 272pp