David Lannarck, Midget: An Adventure Story

It's 1932, and the circus has rolled into Cheyenne. For David Lannarck, the constant spectacle of his own body, the gawking, the cruel jokes, the endless mockery, has worn him down to nothing but exhaustion. All he wants is a quiet life, a place where his size doesn't define his existence. Then a tall stranger named Sam Welborn pulls him out of danger, and suddenly David sees a door opening. The two form an unlikely partnership: David will help care for bear cubs, and Sam will take him far from the ring and into the open spaces of the American West, where a man might be judged by his wits instead of his height. What follows is a rough and tumble adventure through Depression-era ranch country, where two men from opposite ends of the height spectrum must rely on each other to survive dust storms, hostile land, and the constant struggle to build something lasting. It's a period piece, definitely rooted in its era's attitudes toward difference, but at its heart it's a story about wanting to matter, to belong somewhere, to be more than the object of someone's laughter.