The Cold Millions: A Novel

Product Description

“One of the most captivating novels of the year.” – Washington Post 

NATIONAL BESTSELLER
A Best Book of the Year: Bloomberg | Boston Globe | Chicago Public Library | Chicago Tribune | Esquire | Kirkus | New York Public Library | New York Times Book Review (Historical Fiction) | NPR’s Fresh Air | O Magazine | Washington Post | Publishers Weekly | Seattle Times | USA Today 
A Library Reads Pick | An Indie Next Pick
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Beautiful Ruins comes another “literary miracle” (NPR)—a propulsive, richly entertaining novel about two brothers swept up in the turbulent class warfare of the early twentieth century.
An intimate story of brotherhood, love, sacrifice,  and betrayal set against the panoramic backdrop of an early twentieth-century America that eerily echoes our own time, The Cold Millions offers a  kaleidoscopic portrait of a nation grappling with the chasm between rich and poor, between harsh realities and simple dreams.
The Dolans live by their wits, jumping freight trains and lining up for day work at crooked job agencies. While sixteen-year-old Rye yearns for a steady job and a home, his older brother, Gig, dreams of a better world, fighting alongside other union men for fair pay and decent treatment. Enter Ursula the Great, a vaudeville singer who performs with a live cougar and introduces the brothers to a far more dangerous creature: a mining magnate determined to keep his wealth and his hold on Ursula.
Dubious of Gig’s idealism, Rye finds himself drawn to a fearless nineteen-year-old activist and feminist named Elizabeth Gurley Flynn. But a storm is coming, threatening to overwhelm them all, and Rye will be forced to decide where he stands. Is it enough to win the occasional battle, even if you cannot win the war?
Featuring an unforgettable cast of cops and tramps, suffragists and socialists, madams and murderers, The Cold Millions is a tour de force from a “writer who has planted himself firmly in the first rank of American authors” (Boston Globe).

Amazon.com Review

Spokane in 1909 might not sound riveting—but when brothers Gig and Rye arrive from Montana, they land in a town teeming with interesting characters. Add in Jess Walters’ prodigious talent as an author who can weave a damn good story, and you’ve got one of the most accomplished and readable novels of the year.
—Chris Schluep, Amazon Book Review
Editors’ pick: Jess Walters’ novel teems with interesting characters in one of the most accomplished and readable novels of the year.”—Chris Schluep, Amazon Editor

From School Library Journal

Gr 9 Up—When his mother dies, Ryan, 16, joins his 23-year-old brother, Gig, for a life on the road. They travel from Montana and reach Spokane, WA in time for the free speech riots of 1909. Teen readers will see that current demonstrations and complaints about police brutality have a long history. Handsome, charming Gig suffers in jail after speaking out while Rye is helped by 19-year-old Ellen Gurley Flynn, union organizer and agitator for the poor, the cold millions. Curious readers will want to learn more about this real-life character. Rye joins her to visit nearby towns to try to raise money for the cause while Gig sits in jail. They almost lose their lives in a mining camp because of a terrible betrayal and return without the money Flynn was able to raise. The poverty and violence of the early 20th century may be upsetting to some readers, but Walter brings the struggles of the time to vivid life. Most characters are white. VERDICT A page-turner by a talented author who depicts fascinating characters both real and imagined.—Karlan Sick, formerly at NYPL

Review

“Vibrant…. Filled with a gusto that honors the beauty of believing in societal change and simultaneously recognizes the cruel limits of the possible….
The Cold Millions is reminiscent of the work of John dos Passos and EL. Doctorow…. [A] spirited and expansive novel.” —
Wall Street Journal