Jess Hardy is such an interesting author, a bit like Jane Smiley in that every book has a different tone and feel to it. This started out slow for me, but it was fantastic.

Gig and Ryan find themselves riding the rails and living the hobo life. Gig is in his twenties and responsible for Ryan, sixteen, after the death of their parents. Gig, a dreamy idealist, is caught up in union activities, appalled at the disparity between the lives of workers and those of the capitalists who grow rich on the work of others. Ryan just wants a home and people he can love and who love him.

The two find themselves in Spokane, Washington, where even day laborers have to kick back part of their wages to get a job. When there is a protest, the brothers go and both end up in jail. Ryan is released fairly quickly due to his age but Gig is imprisoned for weeks. He comes out a broken man and hits the rails again, leaving Ryan behind.

Ryan isn't sure what he thinks about the union and its activities but he knows he loves Gig and will do anything to get him released. He finds himself in company with a fiery union activist, Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, used by her and the union as an example of what the other side will do even to a child. He helps Flynn travel and even sneaks out her articles to a newspaper but ultimately decides he wants a steady job. Along the way, he meets characters such as a bar singer who Gig loves but who is on the take with a local tycoon, detectives who want to bust the union and lawmen who seem to love justice only for the rich.

This book was named a best book of the year by many publications such as Kirkus, NPR, many newspapers and libraries. It portrays the fight in the early twentieth century between capitalists and union workers when it was a fight just to have a union. Workers were treated as just another form of capital and little concern was given to their needs. Life was hard for the many and extravagant for the few who owned the factories and wharves that made the money. It is based on some true characters such as Flynn. Readers will learn history along with cheering for Ryan and his hopes for a stable life. This book is recommended for readers of historical fiction.

This book reminded me of This Tender Land or The Lincoln Highway - stories of young men, usually brothers, who are eager to escape poverty but do not live in a society that allows it without violence.

Ooh time goes by and if i don't write the review right away...sigh. I'm trying to be better. The best i can do right now is give a star count...

Jess Walters never seems to settle for writing the same type of book twice. This time around, he delves into the blue collar working world of the early 20th century Pacific Northwest. Gig and Rye are brothers, young men who describe themselves as tramps--itinerant workers who travel and pick up jobs where they can. Once exposed to the radical labor organizing of the International Workers of the World, aka the Wobblies, the two take different courses. Walters paints a vivid picture of the time and place--the brutality of the Spokane police, charged with breaking up protests and strikes, the instability of life on the road (or rather, on the rails), the fierce commitment of idealists who never cease to believe in a better tomorrow. Fully realized characters propel the reader through the simple but compelling plot. Recommended for all fans of historical fiction.

I love Jess Walter's writing. I just found myself to not care terribly about what was going on. This very likely could have been a reader problem, and not a book problem, since reading during a pandemic is nearly impossible.

This book started out a little slow but once it got going it was so good. I liked how you were in the perspective of different characters sometimes even to their death.

Listen to my interview with Walter on Writer's Voice and read the show notes:
https://www.writersvoice.net/2020/12/jess-walter-the-cold-millions-lara-vapnek-rebel-girl/

THE COLD MILLIONS by Jess Walter (Beautiful Ruins) received starred reviews from Booklist, Kirkus, and Publishers Weekly. And while the characters (16 year old Rye and his 23 year old brother Gig) are engaging, I found myself struggling to relate to their nomadic lifestyle choices. Set in 1909 in Montana and Spokane, Walter draws on real life events related to labor strife and efforts at unionizing. I do think it would be interesting to compare some of the scenes to today's news, but I simply could not stay engaged with this novel – I tried reading and listening to the audio book. Therefore, I am giving it a neutral rating of three. School Library Journal also recommended THE COLD MILLIONS for grades 9 and older. The writing style and turn of phrase is extremely well-done - do consider giving it a try.

This had an interesting premise, but I felt like it rambled on. Far too many characters and too many chapters from the mention of one until that character returned. I think my favorite part was the epilogue which neatly tied things up.

Labor unrest and unionizing in early 20th century Spokane didn't, on the face of it, sound to me like the most exciting subject for a novel, but when the author is Jess Walter, whose "Beautiful Ruins" is one of my favorite books, I immediately overcame my initial hesitation. Thankfully! Because "The Cold Millions," despite its sober subject and setting among homeless workers and labor organizers, is full of the kind of joyous, rollicking fun that I enjoyed so much in "Beautiful Ruins." Like that earlier novel, "Millions" also introduces a sprawling cast of unforgettable fictional characters--the recently orphaned itinerant laborer Rye and his idealistic older brother Gig; Gig's paramour, stripper Ursula the Great, and her industrialist svengali Lemuel Brand; hardboiled detective and fixer Del Dalveaux and his nemesis, the mysterious drifter Early Reston--and then mixes them with historical figures such as firebrand labor organizer Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, Spokane police chief John Sullivan, union leaders John Walsh and Frank Little, and labor lawyer Fred Moore.

Rye and Gig, however, are the heart of the story, as the labor struggle plays out in their lives during the tumultuous winter of 1910. Walter is a master of surrounding his characters with the kinds of tiny touching details that make you love them (remember Pasquale's Adequate View Hotel from "Beautiful Ruins"?) Gig's prized volumes of "War and Peace," which he lugs from place to place as a kind of talisman of his dream of becoming educated, are just such a detail, and Rye's encounter with a haberdasher selling a particular type of glove (I won't ruin it here) made me love him more than I've loved a fictional character in I don't know how long. As "The Cold Millions" barrels toward its knuckle-biting climax, I couldn't put it down, and Walter delivers one of the most satisfying endings I've read. Highly recommended.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Publishers for providing me with an ARC of this title in return for my honest review. Loved it.

QUICK TAKE: I'm a huge Jess Walter fan, but even I paused before picking up this story of unionizing brothers in the 1900s (sounds riveting, haha). I should have trusted Jess, because this ended up being one of the bigger surprises of the year for me. Captivating storytelling, incredibly well written characters, a plot that moves at a quick clip, and educational as well! If you haven't read A BEAUTIFUL RUIN yet, I highly recommend you start there, but this was a fantastic follow-up.

Quite different from Walters' first book, Beautiful Ruins, in style, setting, etc. Reads like a western.

Always love Jess Walter and this did not disappoint. I learned a lot and will look forward to his next book!

Wow! This book! There is so much covered and so many characters involved in this historical novel of the labor wars in Spokane in the first decade of the 20th century. The story is told from multiple points of view, so at first was a bit choppy for me, but once I got into the story, I didn't want to put it down. The author provides a wonderful bibliography for anyone wanting to learn the facts behind this novel.

This is mostly Rye's story. He starts out as a 16-year-old tramp and day laborer, traveling with his older brother. They are in Spokane as the tensions between police and indigents are coming to a head. Unions are agitating for workers' rights and violence is a regular occurrence.

There are spies and money and intrigue throughout the book, with people never knowing just who to trust. The inequalities between the wealthy and the poor are stark. And the hope for better lives is strong.

While reading this, I couldn't help thinking of the way social justice issues keep coming around again, whether it's justice for the working person, women, people of color, or really anyone who struggles for rights, the same battles need to be fought again and again. There are so many parallels between the struggles at the turn of the last century and those of today.

My thanks to HarperCollins and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I am, admittedly, not a huge fan of historical fiction particularly when it comes to American history but Jess Walter's The Cold Millions won me over. The parallels Walter draws between the happenings in the novel's 1909 setting and contemporary America pack a punch. Issues of police violence, income inequality, and free speech are woven into the fabric of this book as Walter even writes about historical figures such as labor organizer Elizabeth Gurley Flynn.

What a fascinating read! So many themes are touched upon and done so quite masterfully.
Brotherhood reigns supreme in this book. The story of two brothers trying to make their way in life in the early twentieth century certainly kept me rooting for them. Their story is intertwined with the beginning of unions versus owners, rich versus poor, and decency versus corruption. This is historical fiction at its best. If you don't know that much about the stirrings of organized labor, you will learn quite a bit. Above all, the reader will be moved by the basic human decisions one may have to confront in life.
The history presented here might have occurred a while ago. Yet, the story is so relevant and timely today.

I really enjoyed this book and have already recommended it to our library book clubs. They often want to read Western fiction, but not more cowboys/ranching type books. This will be a perfect fit!

While I really enjoyed Beautiful Ruins, this book is not for me. I'm sure that many people are going to love it. It just doesn't hold my interest. ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

THE COLD MILLIONS is the first novel by Jess Walter that I’ve read, but I’m sure it won’t be the last. It took me a few chapters to get into the story, but once I did, I couldn’t put it down. The characters were real, the settings were vivid, and the history was fascinating. And I really wanted to give Rye a hug.

I did not know very much about this part of labor history. Not only did Walter’s words bring events to life, but he also included quotes from contemporary sources. It’s almost always a good sign when finishing a book makes you want to learn more about a topic or person. For a lover of history, this book was a joy to read.

The cast of characters were great, but I developed a special fondness for Rye. He wore his heart on his sleeve for everyone to see. Walter did an excellent job of making nearly all the characters multi-dimensional, even the “bad guys”.

I’m deducting half a star because the pace was a little slow going at the start and because the epilogue was a tad awkward. Rounded up, THE COLD MILLIONS gets five stars.