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    The Cold Millions: A Novel
    The Cold Millions: A Novel
    The Cold Millions: A Novel
    Audiobook11 hours

    The Cold Millions: A Novel

    Written by Jess Walter

    Narrated by Edoardo Ballerini, Gary Farmer, Marin Ireland and

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

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

    NATIONAL BESTSELLER • A Library Reads Pick • An Indie Next Pick

    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 

    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).

    Editor's Note

    Unforgettable characters…

    “Beautiful Ruins” author Jess Walter brings us the adventures of two freight-train-jumping orphaned brothers and the unforgettable characters they encounter in 1900s Spokane. Vaudeville performers, union organizers, suffragettes, and burlesque dancers swirl around the brothers as they yearn for a better life during turbulent times. “All the Light We Cannot See” author Anthony Doerr calls “The Cold Millions,” “a literary unicorn: a book about socio-economic disparity that’s also a page-turner, a postmodern experiment that reads like a potboiler, and a beautiful, lyric hymn to the power of social unrest in American history.”

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperAudio
    Release dateOct 27, 2020
    ISBN9780063033863
    The Cold Millions: A Novel
    Author

    Jess Walter

    Jess Walter is the author of six novels, including the bestsellers Beautiful Ruins and The Financial Lives of the Poets, the National Book Award finalist The Zero, and Citizen Vince, the winner of the Edgar Award for best novel. His short fiction has appeared in Harper's, McSweeney's, and Playboy, as well as The Best American Short Stories and The Best American Nonrequired Reading. He lives in his hometown of Spokane, Washington.

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    Reviews for The Cold Millions

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    • 5/5
      Great adventure, wonderful cast of characters, well read. Thought provoking. Engaging from beginning to end.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      Great story. Awesome history with great characters will read him again

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      I won't lie --- I wasnt convinced by the first chapter. Even when I slowed the narration to 80% it still felt fast. However, once I got a few chapters into it, I became hooked until the end.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      What and incredibly good story! One of better I've listened to in awhile.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      Great story, loved the setting and characters. The vignettes from each different point of view was unique and refreshing, and the use of different voice actors to portray them was enjoyable. My only real quibble is that it felt at times a bit on the nose and propagandistic. I get that some of this is just the perspectives of the characters, but the IWW Socialists were a bit glorified and the big bad millionaires were a bit simplified. There’s plenty of truth in that time period without the oversimplification; in some ways that cheapens things. I do recommend it though. Good listen.
    • 5/5
      Beautiful, profound, and poetic! I couldn't stop listening. The best book I've listened to for years!
    • 5/5
      This novel was rich and vivid. The characters were all plausible and woven together with such tension that at times I had to make myself confront the next chapter with unease. The voice talent was incredible.
    • 5/5
      Well written. Well read. Thoroughly enjoyed. What more could anyone ask for?
    • 5/5
      Yes! I loved it; informative and entertaining. I highly recommend .
    • 5/5
      Wow! What a story!! A little difficult in the beginning but, once it got rolling….it really drew me in. So many colorful characters with excellent performances by numerous narrators. Highly recommend…this one’s a keeper!
    • 4/5
      Digital audiobook performed by Edoardo Ballerini, Gary Farmer, Marin Ireland, Cassandra Campbell, MacLeod Andrews, Tim Gerard Reynolds, Mike Ortego, Rex Anderson, Charlie Thurston, and Frankie Corzo. 4**** Set in the early twentieth century, this novel focuses on the two Dolan brothers: sixteen-year-old Rye and his older brother Gig. Rye just wants a steady job and a home. Gig is more idealistic, fighting along other men to form unions and demand fair wages and better working conditions. Together, they live by their wits – hopping freights and forming alliances with those they feel might be able to help them. In addition to the two Dolan brothers, Walter populates the work with a wide variety of memorable characters, from Jules (a Native American from Coeur d’Alene) to Ursula the Great (a vaudeville singer who performs with a live cougar) to Elizabeth Gurley Flynn (a nineteen-year-old feminist) to Lemuel Brand (a wealthy mining magnate). There are plots and subplots, twists and turns, allies who are really enemies, double and triple crosses, good guys who are really bad guys (and vice versa). Based on actual events in 1909 Spokane, Washington (the Free Speech Fight and the formation of the International Workers of the World), at the novel’s core is a class struggle that is reminiscent of what America is undergoing now just over a hundred years later. The story is told from multiple characters’ points of view, and some scenes are related more than once, giving the reader additional insight as the point of view changes in the same scenario. Walter has the ability to really put the reader right into the heart of the scene; I practically heard the sound of the train on the tracks, smelled the odor of unwashed bodies, felt the chill of a cold jail cell. Walter is a masterful storyteller and I was engaged and interested from beginning to end. I listened to the audio which was masterfully performed by a cast of talented voice artists. This really brought the characters to life for me and made it easier to discern the changes in point of view. However, I think the complexity of the story might be better appreciated if read in text first.
    • 5/5
      this historical fiction is a story after my (socialist) heart. It takes place in Spokane around the first decade of the 20th century.
      When the wobblies are arrested on Free speech day in Spokane, I liked the songs they sing in jail:
      "Later, brazier had them sing, and they kept it up all night long -- 'up with the masses' -- songs from the iww songbook -- 'down with the classes.' In every flat accent -- 'death to the traitor who money can buy' -- to piss off the jailers -- 'cooperation is the hope of the nation' -- and raise their own spirits -- 'strike for it now or your Liberties die.' Finally, the jailers offered to take them out to use the toilet if they would just stop."

      Lem brand, a silver mining magnate who, along with other millionaires, run the town and its police force, tries to hire 17-year-old Rye Dolan to infiltrate the iww and report back to him. He brings him to his mansion, and rye is overcome with the obscene wealth of it:
      ".. he cleared his throat and asked brand, 'I don't suppose you have War and Peace by count Tolstoy?'
      brand looked around at his books as if he'd never seen them before. Then he looked at willard, who had been standing by the door. Willard nodded.
      'All five of them?'
      Willard shrugged and nodded again.
      It was too much. All of it, too much, and Rye cried at the too-muchness of it. This incredible room of books -- how he wished Gig could spend a single day in such a room, two stories of leather and gilt volumes and a heated floor and Brandy so sweet and Rich it coated your insides. The thought of his bookish brother in that stone jail while he was here -- it was all just too much.
      The unfairness hit Rye not like sweet Brandy but like a side ache -- a physical pain from the warmth of that heated floor and the softness of that chair and Gig not knowing any of it -- and Lace and Danny and Ma and Da too -- Rye never could have imagined it, either. But now he knew, and he would know the next time he was curled up in a cold box car, that men live like this, that there was such a difference between lem brand and him that brand should live here and Rye nowhere."

      Elizabeth Gurley Flynn figures largely in this book. A true hero, she fought hard for the rights of laboring men and suffragettes. Rye accompanies her on the train to Seattle to raise money and give speeches. At this point we don't know yet if rye is working for brand or not:
      "Gurley came back from the dining car with a man and a sandwich. The sandwich was wrapped in waxed paper, the man enduring a Gurley lecture, '.. not trying to convince you of anything except that which you claim to believe,' and without a beat, she handed Rye 'turkey and cheese,' then back to the man, 'while you fret over a few extra pennies going to the poor,' then to Rye, 'they were out of mustard,' then back to the man, 'the rich live on untold millions in interest and inheritance, all of it unearned, by your own definition of free handouts and proof of your inherent hypocrisy, now I hope you will pardon my candor and my brusqueness, but good day, sir,' and she dropped into the seat next to Rye. 'Did you want coffee?'
      Reminding me of "neighbors" on nextdoor.com, despairing that San Jose is building mini houses for a chosen few of the unhoused, meanwhile ignoring the fact that our tax-supported government hands out billions to billionaires and corporations and allows them to go without paying taxes.
    • 5/5
      After Ryan’s mother died, the sixteen year old headed to Spokane to meet up with his older brother, Gig. In 1909 Spokane was a booming town, looking to be the future of Washington state. It hoped to be even bigger than Seattle, as Spokane had the surrounding mines and lumber as well as the river.Ryan arrived just prior to the free speech riots of 1909. His brother was active in the labor movement. When Ryan joined him, both brothers were jailed for speaking out during the protests. Ryan, being only 16, was freed from prison after being helped by real-life 19 year old pregnant Ellen Gurley Flynn who called herself an advocate for ‘the cold millions’ - the poor who were working in unsafe conditions for very small wages. It’s a well told story of billionaires pulling the strings and the connected police corruption and brutality. The complex characters exhibit shades of grey in their motives and actions.Although I have lived in this area most of life, I enjoyed learning history that I had not heard before – including that of the Montana ghost town of Taft, ‘the wickedest city in America’. I have passed its sign many times going over the hill from Spokane to Missoula, but had no idea of its past.I’ll look for more by this author.
    • 4/5
      The Cold Millions is the story of two tramp brothers, Gig and Rye, who speak out against the work practices of the wealthy mine owners in Spokane, WA. When a cop is killed, the police come down hard on the protestors. Elizabeth Gurley Flynn speaks on behalf of the workers. Lem Bland is the mine owner and manipulator of many of the players. The story takes place primarily in 1909 and 1910, with the epilogue in 1964. This novel details the struggles for workers rights, and the dirty tactics that the owners took to quiet the uprisings. The love between Gig and Rye was so strong, the brothers sacrificed so much for each other, it was very touching. While much of the novel was difficult, I felt there was some redemption in the end.
    • 5/5
      This is a very well researched piece of historical fiction written with a lot of thought and heart. Two brothers, the last remaining of their family, are scrabbling to live in the Northwest. Gig, the older brother, loves literature, alcohol, and the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW...Wobblies). Rye, barely 17, is just trying to keep his head above water and get on in the world. Set in Spokane from 1909 - 1911, when exploitive employment agencies were in cahoots with the wealthy mine owners as the only means for a man to find work. The city authorities impose a ban on free speech to prevent the labor movement from gaining a foothold in the city. And the Free Speech fights ensued.Though mostly fiction, the author draws on actual events and people involved in the Labor Movement of that time, with Elizabeth Gurley Flynn playing a central role.Though there is some brutality, the book poses philosophical questions about what it means to be involved in causes larger than oneself. And provides differing perspectives from some of the key characters in the novel.
    • 5/5
      I loved this plot-driven historical novel. Set in the state of Washington in the first decade of the 20th century, this is the story of the IWW, the "Wobblies," a conjoining of many labor unions fighting for fair wages. Gregory (Gig) and Ryan (Rye) Dolan, two Irish-American brothers living rough, looking for work when they can get it, ride the rails west from Montana to Spokane. When their paths cross that of Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, a young woman at the forefront of the labor fight, they find themselves embroiled in one of the most notorious anti-union actions of the early new century. Both are arrested, along with hundreds of others, but Gurley Flynn gets young Rye released based on his age (not quite 17) and his innocent face. Rye is determined to secure his brother's release as well; after all, his brother really just fell into the Free Speech Action that day, he was not really an organizer or leader of the movement. And besides, it's hard for Rye to imagine life without Gig, his older brother who has looked after him since they were orphaned.How the brothers' fortunes unfold within the context of this fascinating and important bit of our national history provides for a captivating story. The narration moves between characters in an unusual manner, one which only the most skilled writer could pull off successfully. Jess Walter makes it work. Rye is the centerpiece but we get some first-person narrative from a handful of other characters, giving us a glimpse into their backgrounds and motivations of which Rye is never fully aware. This enriches the reading experience and, in the end, I could not put it down until I finished.
    • 4/5
      Local history - focusing on the IWW Free Speech protests and the subsequent crackdown by city authorities and police in Spokane WA in 1909. A bit of a heavy lift (lots of early 1900 details and miserable working/living conditions of down and outers, etc) Lots of violence, a couple sex scenes and seedy settings make for compelling if grim reading. Author ambitiously juggles lots of characters & for awhile, they were hard to keep track of...but as the book continues I was able to get them sorted properly in spite of multiple narrators chiming in on certain chapters. Two of the narrators actually die before the book's halfway done! It's told from mainly Ryan Dolan's perspective, younger brother to Gig Dolan, an IWW sympathizer and ne'er do well; as the book continues we live through the perilious journey "Rye", his brother, and the mysterious Early Reston take with the socialist leader Elizabeth Gurley Flinn. Several key intense climactic scenes reward the patient reader; the ending, narrated by Ryan Dolan in the 1960s was poignant and satisfying. High interest to anyone who wants to get a "feel" for the rough & tumble, corrupt history of Spokane and the 1910s of our country. Definitely an adult read.
    • 4/5
      Set in SpoRane and other parts of the Northwest, this is a rollicking historical novel filled with colorful characters. Rye, just turning 17, leaves the Midwest after all his family has died. He searches in Washington for his charming brother Gig, who is there attempting to find his fortune. The mines are thriving businesses as is the attempt to organize the workers into Unions. Gig becomes involved with the IWW which is the most radical and is arrested. Rye does everything he can to obtain release for his brother.Elizabeth Gurley Flynn (a real historical person) is only 19, is pregnant, but is totally fearless in her attempts to organize and energize the workers. Ursula the Great is a vaudeville singer who performs with a live cougar. Both of these women become important in the lives of the two brothers.Cold hearted killers, a wealthy businessman, and an old Indian are also important players in this interesting novel set in an area not usually the topic of historical fiction. A good read!
    • 4/5
      In the early 20th century the Pacific Northwest was booming, driven by the railroads and lumber. People flocked to the area in hopes of prosperity. Some became wealthy, but most were lucky to eke out a living while subjected to poor labor conditions. Things eventually came to a head with attempts to organize under the International Workers of the World. The Cold Millions tells this story through events that took place in Spokane, Washington in 1909. Ryan “Rye” Dolan leaves home at 16 to join his brother Gig, who has established himself as an eloquent speaker for the labor movement. The movement attracts support from national figures like Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, who went on to found the ACLU. The brothers are soon taking part in a protest. The police come down hard, partly out of vengeance for the recent murder of an officer, and Gig lands in prison. Elizabeth enlists a reluctant Rye in her cause, and at the same time Rye tries to curry favor with a wealthy businessman in hopes of securing Gig’s release. He finds himself caught up in a complicated web of corruption, and struggles to determine whom he can trust. He loses some of his idealism and begins to question whether Elizabeth’s efforts will be successful, as well as his role in the unionization campaign.This novel was chock full of surprising plot twists and memorable characters, with a denouement that neatly tied up the loose ends and an afterword describing the author’s research process and delineating fact from fiction. I enjoyed this and it piqued my interest in learning more about the history of this time and place.
    • 4/5
      Interesting characters but at times I found the story line dragging. Epilogue made the book for me. ( I did love Jess Walter's Beautiful Ruins)
    • 4/5
      This was a thoroughly enjoyable combination of setting, period, and historical period—the IWW labor wars in the first decade of the 20th century in the Pacific Northwest—with two itinerant Irish American brother running up against bosses, corrupt cops, and anarchist double-crossers. The pace was good, the writing very nice, and even though it was a boys' tale, there were a few fine kickass women characters as well, including real-life labor agitator Elizabeth Gurley Flynn and the fictional, wonderful Ursula the Great, who does a burlesque act with a live puma and moves up in the world from there. The teenage protagonist, Ryan Dolan, is terribly sweet, too.
    • 5/5
      After reading Jess Walter’s newest novel, The Cold Millions, you will not be surprised to learn that he lives in Spokane, Washington and knows well its rich labor history. This book has an engaging and clever story, some wildly colorful characters, and it all moves through Spokane’s oftentimes violent labor history of the early 1900s. This was when the Industrial Workers of the World (Wobblies to many) flooded the streets—and eventually the jails—in an attempt to break a corrupt system of kickbacks between employment agencies and crew bosses, a system where everyone fed like hogs at the trough of graft, while workers got rough jobs for a short time. The novel’s characters use every larger-than-life nuance of that word character. The Dolan brothers, Gig and Rye, come from Montana and are very different from each other. The sixteen-year-old Rye is looking for a steady income and a home as he figures out who he is. The older brother, Gig, chases women, enjoys the tenderloin district, while also fighting for union men getting a fair shake, as they battle the corrupt police and the big money controlling things from behind the scenes. Gig has read just enough Nietzsche and Rousseau to be dangerous. When the two brothers are arrested, Rye’s young age becomes public knowledge, and efforts are made to eventually free him. Along the way, Rye becomes drawn to a nineteen-year-old feminist and activist, the fearless Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, who butts heads with most everyone and got him freed. (Flynn was an actual rabblerousing historic figure, a communist, and eventually one of the founders of the A.C.L.U.) There’s also the dramatic Ursula the Great who’s a vaudeville singer who performs with a cougar in a cage. I loved the side story of how the once-ferocious bear she once performed with ruined the act when it fell in love with Ursula. Ursula introduces the brothers to something much more dangerous than her cougar, a mining magnate who’s got his fingers into everything. One last character, Del Dalveaux, is a detective working for that magnate, and Walter cleverly weaves him throughout the storyline. The book is about conflict and the harder edge of life. Sullivan, the head of the police, is a major factor when it comes to knocking heads together and attempting to keep things from constantly boiling over and threatening the status quo, as the working man and the moneyed interests are battling. Though certainly not original, a question that really struck me in this book of magnates, socialists, communists, corruption, and idealists, was the following question. Is it enough to win the occasional battle, even if you cannot win the war? Social progress is always frustrating, but it’s fundamental to what many of us aspire to be. With this book, Walter has blended actual historical events and people with his novel, and it’s a curious work. I don’t mean the fictional side is shortchanged whatsoever, the novel’s characters are completely fleshed out and very engaging as they struggle with their lives. Though I’ve always been drawn to stories of class warfare, I found myself split between the loves and losses of the main characters, and the history itself, but the ending was both very clever and stunning. Altogether, this novel wasn’t as satisfying as his previous novel, Beautiful Ruins, was to me, but very few books are.
    • 4/5
      “All people, except this rich cream, living and scraping and fighting and dying, and for what, nothing, the cold millions with no chance in this world.”The Cold Millions is a sweeping historical novel set at the beginning of the labor union movement in Spokane, Washington, focusing on two brothers, Gregory and Ryan Dolan. At 21, Gig is a charming, surprisingly articulate young man, Rye, only 16, is his brother’s shadow. Orphaned, they have joined the mass of itinerant workers, tramps riding the freight trains in search of work where they can find it. While Rye’s one wish is simple - a job, a home, a family; Gig gets wrapped up in the energy and chaos of the Free Speech Riots as The Industrial Workers of the World, aka Wobblies, fight for change. When the brothers are arrested during a riot, their paths diverge. While Gig endures a brutal incarceration, Rye is quickly released and is determined to free his brother. Soon he too is bound up in the cause, and is courted by a man set on stopping it. Told with acumen, compassion, wit, and a hint of nostalgia, this story is ambitious in scope. Walter explores a dramatic period of social change and its issues - wealth vs poverty, ownership vs labour, rights vs responsibilities, nationalists vs immigrants, arguments that have still not been resolved in the US a century later. Yet this is also a coming-of-age story, an intimate tale of brotherhood, love, friendship, loyalty and betrayal, and even a murder mystery. While Rye is the story’s anchor, there is a large cast of characters. Walter draws real historical figures into the novel including Police Chief John T. Sullivan who was a strict enforcer of law, and a vigorous defender of Spokane against the Wobblies, and their activities; the ‘redoubtable, estimable, formidable’ Elizabeth Gurley Flynn a young activist and orator, and takes inspiration from others to create a distinct, colourful cast. Brief vignettes from the perspectives of people who cross paths with the brothers interrupt the linear narrative, but also enrich it.I feel Walters has been influenced by several classic American novels, particularly those by John Steinbeck, and perhaps Mark Twain and others, with similarities found in themes and characters.While I don’t feel the connection with the history in the way an American might, The Cold Millions is an entertaining, fascinating, and unexpectedly timely novel.
    • 5/5
      Wobblies in WashingtonReview of the Harper Books hardcover edition (Oct. 2020)The Cold Millions is an epic family saga that mostly takes place in the years 1909-1911 in Spokane, Washington State, USA. That time period may sound limiting for an 'epic', but there is a closing epilogue that takes it much further into the 20th century.The story centres around the brother duo of Gig and Ryan Dolan, two orphaned Irish immigrant sons on the tramp in the western United States. 24-year old elder brother Gig is bedeviled by his wandering ways and a predilection for alcohol. 16-year-old Ryan is protective of his brother and hopes to somehow make a life for them both. The brothers are swept up in the Spokane Free Speech Movement in November 1909 organized by the Industrial Workers of the World, also known by their nickname The Wobblies.Author Jess Walter does an excellent job of incorporating the true-life story of the Wobblies in Washington and introduces several fictionalized real-life characters into the plot, with the teenaged worker organizer Elizabeth Gurley Flynn chief among them. Various fictional mining millionaires, police, wobblies, detectives and anarchists fill in the cast. There is a major plot twist about half-way through which turns things quite murderous and suspenseful.I read The Cold Millions as part of a Book of the Month subscription to Parnassus Books First Editions Club. My continued thanks to Liisa, Martin and family for that excellent gift!
    • 3/5
      The writing was fine, but I didn't care for the storytelling approach, given some characters are historical figures.
    • 5/5
      Jess Walter is one of my favorite authors. I have read all of his books and he never fails to entertain. His prose is excellent, he creates memorable characters, and he does it in a page turning manner. In this book you can add historical fiction. Walter, who is from Spokane , uses the 1909 free speech labor riots in Spokane as the back drop to the novel. The main characters are Rye and Gig Dolan(16 and 24 year olds) who are orphans from Montana who go from town to town living the hobo, day laborer life. The story shows them caught up in the riots. Walter creates great characters: crooked politicians, good and bad police, rich owners, labor leaders and great minor characters real and fiction. One the main real characters is Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, a 19 year old firebrand who works hard to expose corruption and try to help the plight of the exploited workers. She actually ended up founding the ACLU and was part of the labor movement for her entire life. Walter brings her to life with his portrayal. You really are able to connect with the plight of people in those times and many of the issues we are currently facing in 2021 were on display in Spokane in 1909. A great way to learn about an area of history that we need to know more about as we consider what kind of society we want in our country. If you have never read a book by Walter then this is a great place to start.
    • 5/5
      This book tells the story of labor riots in Spokane in 1909-10. Some of the characters, such as Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, actually existed, and a lot of the events actually happened. The book mostly focuses on two brothers, Gig and Rye. They're poor laborers, trying to make their way in the world. Gig is the older brother, and he's an idealistic union agitator. Rye is naive in the worst and best sense of the word - despite the tough life he's lived, he thinks the best of everyone and fails to see how much danger he's in. The events of the book come close to dashing his spirit, but his optimism survives. Walter handles the mix of fact and fiction expertly: the characters all feel very real, the extensive historical research is unobtrusive, and the storyline is satisfying. The writing is excellent - you genuinely care about the characters, and it's hard to put the book down. The story builds to a well-crafted climax that is both surprising and inevitable.Some of the characters are a little too black-and-white, and there's very little moral grey area - the bad guys are all totally bad and totally unsympathetic (the exceptions being a policeman who gets one POV chapter where his criminal actions are justified with sheer stupidity, and a private eye who does some morally questionable things that ultimately help the good guys).This book is also a commentary on current events. Rye reflects on what it is like to be swept up in historical events, and how sometimes you don't have total control over your own actions because you are caught in the tide of events that are bigger than you. The powerful rich guys who want to suppress the working class so they can make more money are the bad guys, but when people help each other, they can overcome that suppression and be successful.
    • 4/5
      At this time when our democracy is once again being threatened, Walters takes us back to 1909, and the fight for free speech, income equality and the right to make an honest, fairly paid living. The comparisons between then and now are palpable.Gig and Rye are brothers, Rye only 16, as orphans Gig feels responsible for his younger brother and does his best to keep him safe. In Spokane, where this novel takes place this proves difficult, there is change coming, hard-fought change, and it is hard to stay in the sidelines. These two characters are wonderfully drawn, as are the other important characters in the book. Elizabeth Hurley Flynn is a young woman, a real person from the past, who takes up this fight as well as others. She is a tempest in a storm, a whirly gig and takes on men much older than she. She along with many fight for workers rights, free speech in a corrupt town, where the income disparity is on full display.This is an historical novel, an adventure story, a story of many lossess and few wins. A story of humanity, highlighting the debt we owe those who came before, those who stood up and fought for what they believed was right. We need more of those now. The authors note was informative and appreciated."they killed the world and called it progress.""cruelty and hope should never be served together.""All people except this rich cream, living and scraping and fighting and dying, and for what, nothing, the cold millions with no chance in this world."ARC from Edelweiss.
    • 5/5
      Put simply, “The Cold Millions” is fantastic. I almost passed on reading Walter’s work. Given my ever-growing list of “must-read” books, I wasn’t sure that a novel about two brothers involved in the labor movement in the early 1900s would grab me. Nothing against brothers, the labor movement or the early 1900s. It’s just that the thumbnail summary didn’t really entice me. I’m grateful that a handful of rave reviews convinced me to read it. The characters are truly intriguing. The plot keeps moving with every passing twist and turn. The author even serves up an enlightening dose of fascinating history. The book has inspired me to add Walter’s “Beautiful Ruins” to the bulging list I referred to earlier. I’ve sat here for a few minutes, thinking to myself, “But I can’t give 'The Cold Millions' five stars – the highest tier on the ratings totem pole.” My inner voice provided a terse but convincing reply: “Why not?”
    • 5/5
      “...I slipped the porter a buck for a whiskey, then another when the train slowed the last five miles, forest, foothills, farms, and finally, Spokane.I couldn't believe how the syphilitic town had metastasized. Smoke seeped from twenty thousand chimneys, pillars to an endless gray ceiling. The city was twice the size of the last time I'd hated being there. A box of misery spilled over the whole river valley.” “Books that hadn’t been cracked since they were shelved. Give money to a monkey and he’ll fill his cage with bananas. Give the same money to a dim American and he’ll build a show library every time.” It begins in 1909, in the rough and tumble town of Spokane, WA. The Dolan brothers, Rye and Gig have been jumping freight trains, finding day work and any trouble they can stir up. Things begin to shift, when Rye, the youngest is drawn to a young, pregnant union organizer named Elizabeth Gurley Flynn. The brothers then find themselves in a tumultuous and ugly, union battle, with Gig landing in jail and Rye mixing it up with some very dangerous characters. I have been a fan of Jess Walter for many years. His last book, Beautiful Ruins was an absolute joy to read and he returns here, after a long absence and delivers his best book. Something Steinbeck would have admired. The writing and story-telling is stellar, throughout, populated with indelible characters, that stick with you long after you finish the last perfect sentence. Walter has also done an immense amount of research, sprinkling in a few real life characters, including Flynn. This his love letter to his hometown. Bruises and all.