Reviews

The Cold Millions by Jess Walter

manugareau's review against another edition

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informative medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.75

kangaruthie's review against another edition

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5.0

I wasn't sure to expect from this book, since I felt pretty lukewarm about Beautiful Ruins. I was surprised, in fact, by how much I loved it. It could partially be because it takes place in the Pacific Northwest, where I grew up and still live, and I loved learning more about the history of Washington state. I also really loved the characters, who felt convincingly multifaceted in their motivations and struggles. Though this novel is set in the 1900's, its commentary on themes such class, racism, and power still ring very true to our society today.

katel1970's review against another edition

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4.0

A moving story.

janeeileen's review against another edition

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4.0

I really enjoyed this book. It's an action-filled historical novel set in 1909 Spokane. The main characters are brothers Gig and Rye Dolan, who travel the rails looking for work, and Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, an activist trying to help the IWW labor union. Struggles depicted are relevant today. Parts of the book are great but backstories disrupt main storyline.

chasrotramel2024's review against another edition

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5.0

One of my favorite novels to be honest. Captivating, fully realized. Emotionally resonant. A great book.

gwalt118's review against another edition

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4.0

This is my first novel of Jess Walter's collection, and it did not disappoint. The Cold Millions is immersive historical fiction with vibrant characters and a strong sense of place.

The Dolan brothers are union men, trying to find work in the early 20th century. Gregory (Gig - a clever pun to the gig economy, as Walter explains in his acknowledgements) lands himself in jail after a labor rally, and Ryan (Rye) gets caught up with some good and bad people trying to get Gig out of jail.

One of the good people Rye meets and befriends on this journey is Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, who was a real person - a suffragist and labor union advocate. Walter pushes the novel forward through Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, and it is masterful writing. Walter brings Spokane, WA to life in this novel. The work camps, mining economy, etc. is uniquely Pacific Northwestern at the turn of the century.

Some of this novel's themes ring true today: income inequity, the lower class fighting for work and pay (minimum wage increase debate, anyone?), the social divide between the "haves" and "have-nots," the trashing of nature without a care for the future, and so on. In his acknowledgements, Walter states that the realization of this thematic connection to present day makes him classify the novel as contemporary historical fiction...and really, how cool is that?!

I appreciated the epilogue at the end, and I usually don't enjoy epilogues. It was a powerful ending to a novel and it provided Walter with a venue to state his thoughts on social justice issues, which he obviously cares about strongly. I listened to a podcast where Walter described this novel as a "love letter to labor," and that certainly rings true in the epilogue.

I liked this book a lot more than I thought I would. I really enjoyed the writing and Walter's craft of the novel. This book did what historical fiction is supposed to do - it taught me about something I wasn't very familiar with (labor unions in the U.S. at the turn of the 20th century) in an entertaining way, with fictionalized versions of real people and creative versions of fictitious people.

lngoo's review against another edition

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  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

I enjoyed another book by the same author but for some reason could not get into this. I just didn’t care about so many of the characters.

jesse5's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative tense medium-paced
Last 100 pages are wildly intense, couldn’t put it down

ben_r's review against another edition

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5.0

Two brothers, trying to keep their heads above water, searching for work in the tumult of the early twentieth century. Walter presents a story of love and longing amidst poverty and riches, graft and kindness.

duparker's review against another edition

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4.0

3.5 Stars Really enjoyed the characters and the story, when the book stuck to the main story line. Some of the offshoots distracted from the overall enjoyment, but it was doable. I liked that the story took place in a location you don't tend to see as a setting. That was a great change from the norm. There was a classic flow to the book, with orthogonality and creativity to set the book apart.