Captivating tale honours forgotten heroes
The Cold Millions Jess Walter Harper
In 2012, Jess Walter's breakout bestseller, Beautiful Ruins, brought movieland hilariously and brilliantly to life. The Cold Millions attempts to bring that same verve to the pitiless realm of Spokane, Wash., in 1909, where Walter hunkers down with homeless workers, railway tramps and union organizers.
Through the alchemy of Walter's voice, The
Cold Millions is a work of irresistible characters, harrowing adventures and rip-roaring fun. In a country of amnesiacs that observes Labour
Day with the energy of a repressed yawn, this story is a rousing celebration of the forgotten heroes who shed blood to ensure the dignity of American work.
The Cold Millions is a concoction of tales swirling around the violent repression of labourers in the early 20th century. With Spokane doubling in size every six years, the city “felt like the intersection of Frontier and Civilized,” he writes, “the final gasp of a thing before it turned into something else.” Freely mixing real and fictional characters in the tradition of E.L. Doctorow, Walter takes us back to a period of rising xenophobia, when moneyed interests whipped up alarm about “filthy foreigners,” godless socialists, and union organizers who still trouble the cashmere dreams of American capitalists.
At the centre of this thrilling battle are 16-year-old Rye Dolan and his older brother, Gig, two of the most likable characters you'll ever meet. Orphaned and penniless, Rye and Gig are just a sliver of “the cold millions” — who are repeatedly lured into dangerous jobs, swindled out of their wages and driven off by club-wielding thugs.
Gig is a charming idealist so handsome he turns heads on the street. He may have no formal education, but he knows “labour ought to share in the wealth it produces.” Rye idolizes Gig and follows him to a free speech rally that gets them both beaten and arrested. That misery leads to even more hazardous ordeals.
There's no guarantee our young heroes will escape alive. The only guarantee is this tragicomedy is one of the most captivating novels of the year.