The Jucklins

Bill Hawes insists that sitting still all day is proof of industry. Then he tries to cheat a band of gypsies in a horse trade—and wakes to find one horse dead and the other too stiff to leave the stall.

In rural northern Alabama, where neighbors prize their own refinement and have plenty to say about Bill’s awkwardness, even a bid for admiration can go badly wrong. His family calls him lazy; Bill believes he is simply patient, kindhearted, and underestimated. After a humiliating night at a party and a fight that leaves him branded a brute, he turns inward, determined to make something of himself—and begins to look toward teaching and the law. Can a young man everyone laughs at find a way to earn their respect without losing the kindness he values?

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