Reviews

i feel prey to my own expectations with how much of these hills is gold. it definitely took me a while to get into the book and get comfortable with zhang's writing style, which surprised me. as a whole, it was a bit of a struggle, with some bright moments of deeply emotional and affecting segments. i found the structure effective and the setting evocative, but never got lost in the story.

abi_dutton's review against another edition

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I just couldn’t get into this book and the writing style.

orlaghreads's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

sophusface's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

dre_'s review against another edition

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4.0

i felt the following issues deeply in this read: racism, misogyny, gender dysphoria, violence against women, child abandonment, child abuse, alcoholism, the tragedy of the railroads, mines, gold rush - the forgotten histories of the people who built the rail, the racist nature of the way history gets passed along - and violence, in general. this book is dark, there's no levity: even in places where a smile or laugh might have been appropriate, i couldn't shake the anxiety that attended the entire experience of reading it. i loved the style, the magical realism, the superstition, the talking ghosts. this isn't really a review - just a record of my own experience. i'm glad i read it, but it was tough, unforgettable. empaths take heed.

michalow's review against another edition

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5.0

A wonderfully imagined story with stunningly beautiful language. I'm looking forward to reading Zhang's next book.

alicebme's review against another edition

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2.0

Beautifully written, but not in a style I enjoy. I did not enjoy reading this book at all. I really liked that the mother runs away. I did not like the whorehouse ending. I get it, but I did not like it. There’s also some real trauma going on with Sam. I’ve been thinking a lot about trauma partially informing (NOT CAUSING) a person’s sexual preference and/or gender identity a lot lately, especially after reading the allegations from Marion Zimmerman Bradley’s daughter.

Also, what the fuck, white people and rich people and men?!

My brain needs a big fucking break from this topic.

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