Thom reviewed The Cold Millions by Jess Walter
Review of 'The Cold Millions' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
This was a good story with many well-written perspectives. Set in historical Spokane (circa 1909), it gives both history and corruption with compelling narrative.
The IWW and itinerant workers provide an excellent backdrop for this orphan story. Chapters bounced
around various characters and even a bit in time, some with cliffhangers. It refers to War and Peace in a few ways, but knowledge of that epic isn't required to enjoy this. The Cold Millions wasn't an easy book to set down, and I'm glad I got it from the library when I did. Made for a great weekend of reading.
I love history. I've read one other Jess Walter, his collection of short stories, which wasn't great. This is much better, and of course historical fiction. The author did his homework, and I've seen pictures of the buildings (and read capsule histories of the principle events - and Taft Montana). …
This was a good story with many well-written perspectives. Set in historical Spokane (circa 1909), it gives both history and corruption with compelling narrative.
The IWW and itinerant workers provide an excellent backdrop for this orphan story. Chapters bounced
around various characters and even a bit in time, some with cliffhangers. It refers to War and Peace in a few ways, but knowledge of that epic isn't required to enjoy this. The Cold Millions wasn't an easy book to set down, and I'm glad I got it from the library when I did. Made for a great weekend of reading.
I love history. I've read one other Jess Walter, his collection of short stories, which wasn't great. This is much better, and of course historical fiction. The author did his homework, and I've seen pictures of the buildings (and read capsule histories of the principle events - and Taft Montana). I've heard the audiobook is spectacular, and plan to re-read this in that form soon. Recommended!