“And wasn’t that the real reason for traveling, a reason bigger than poorness and desperation and greed and fury—didn’t they know, low in their bones, that as long as they moved and the land unfurled, that as long as they searched, they would forever be searchers and never quite lost?”, “I don't see how you can claim to own a place and treat it so poor, there are methods of getting what you want without tearing at the land like a pack of wild dogs.”, Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Debut Novel (2020), Reading Women Award Nominee for Fiction (2020). The story follows two young siblings traversing the Western United States at the end of the gold rush. I wondered whether it meant after Ma. [14] In 2021, the novel was the winner of the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature for Adult Fiction, a finalist for the PEN/Hemingway Award,[15] and a finalist for the John Leonard Prize by the National Book Critics Circle.[16]. A question that came to my mind was whether the novel derives its momentum from the magnificent language rather than from the story itself. In How Much of These Hills is Gold, Lucy and Sam, 12 and 11, children of Chinese laborers, take their father's body on a journey through the California hills in the middle of the Gold Rush. I like your review and as I am reading the book now and reading different reviews I agree with your point of view. News, author interviews, critics' picks and more. It’s dark and a little gruesome in places and I wasn’t quite expecting this to be as sad as it was. The author weaves together a family’s history, Chinese folklore (tigers), racial prejudice, transcontin. In this story, however, two Chinese siblings, Lucy and Sam, who have become orphans live a different reality. But it also reveals the flaws and false revisions in the American mythos, the ways we have never fully overcome the brutalities on which this country was built, and how much was lost, destroyed, and stolen in the pursuit of profit along the way.” They are Chinese-American and look different from almost everybody else. A question that came to my mind was whether the novel derives its momentum from the magnificent language rather than from the story itself. How Much of These Hills is Gold uses the framework of historical adventure fiction to follow a Chinese American family during the American gold rush, specifically two siblings who recognize their own power amidst the colonial project that is the United States’ expansion westward. Characters were a little too cliché in many cases as well. [4] The novel occurs in the American West, a setting explored in novels Zhang read when young, including East of Eden, Lonesome Dove, and Little House on the Prairie. It is set in the hills of California during the time period 1842 to 1862. Although the story told is fairly interesting, I felt the structure worked against it: it starts out with the death of the parental figures and their children on the lam; then segues back to a long flashback on the courtship of the parents and their early days in Calif; then a single long chapter narrated by the dead father; then a final section taking place 5 years after the main action ... it's a LOT to ke. “How Much of These Hills Is Gold” is one of several new or forthcoming books by Asian-American writers set in 1800s America. To Lucy, the primary narrator, “the hills roll by with a speed that makes them liquid.” “What makes a ghost a ghost? It is a story of establishing a sense of home, identity, and belonging. “How Much of These Hills Is Gold,” a debut novel by C Pam Zhang, is a tough-minded, skillful and powerful corrective to that omission. [9], Critics highlighted the lyrical quality of Zhang's writing. "Though he lived not even two decades..." but Lucy was 11? With both of their parents gone, Sam and Lucy pursue different lives based on their different beliefs and desires. [10][11] In his review of the book for The Irish Times, Oliver Farry wrote that the book's prose was "reminiscent" of authors Cormac McCarthy and Toni Morrison. I normally enjoy stories set in the Wild West but I found the pace of this one much too slow. [4] She did not originally intend to write a novel,[5] and after completing the first chapter, Zhang stopped working on the project for a period. how much of these hills is gold by C Pam Zhang ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 7, 2020 A first-time novelist explores timely questions about home and belonging in a story set during the gold rush in a reimagined American West. [2] How Much of These Hills Is Gold was published in North America by Riverhead Books and in the UK and Commonwealth by Virago Press. Though Start by marking “How Much of These Hills Is Gold” as Want to Read: Error rating book. As I read I had the impression that the author inhabits language in this story she's telling, rather than living inside of her characters. C Pam Zhang. April 2020. But don't you think the book is over-hyped? C Pam Zhang’s stunning debut novel examines the myth of the American West from the vantage point of marginalized Chinese immigrants whose role in the California Gold Rush has rarely been acknowledged. The phrasing is clumsy, for one thing, but the chronology even more so. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of, Published ***SPOILER Her first novel, How Much of These Hills Is Gold was long-listed for the 2020 Booker Prize. This lead me to think that Ba is indigenous, and looks Asiatic, so Ma thought he was Chinese. The setting is the California hills during the Gold Rush. This is such an impressive debut, with writing that takes the reader to this desolate, dry, dreary west. I'm not going to write a lengthy review of this book. In her debut novel, C Pam Zhang tells the story of an immigrant family and two newly orphaned siblings who are on the run in a reimagined, gold-rush-era American West. Zhang asks, do you claim the land or does it claim you? It's a pleasure to read. How Much of These Hills Is Gold tells us that stories—like people, like the rough and stunning landscape of California itself—are constantly in the process of being made, broken, and finally remade into something tender and new.” —Lauren Groff, The New York Times–bestselling author of Fates and Furies I noticed now and then, as I read, that I was reacting to scenes not as human happenings, but as beautifully told, abstract what-ifs. Poignant, haunting, beautiful. The story begins in 1862 and focuses on two sisters Lucy,12, and Sam,11 (who identifies as male.) [6] The first chapter was written without conducting research, as Zhang did not want research to "stifle" her writing. About the Author. Sometimes the characters seemed to suffer simply because the author could imagine fantastic scen. Nobody cares. As the story opens, siblings Lucy, 12, and Sam, 11, have just been orphaned by the death of their father. Author (s): C. Pam Zhang (Goodreads Author) ISBN: 0525537201 (ISBN13: 9780525537205) Edition language: English. I noticed this, too, and it bothered me. She did not originally intend to write a novel, and after completing the first chapter, Zhang stopped working on the project for a period. Just a moment while we sign you in to your Goodreads account. How Much of These Hills Is Gold is a 2020 debut novel by author C Pam Zhang. As the dream fades with no gold to prospect, the father resorts to working in a coal mine where the pay is low and the temptations run high. Free UK p&p over £15 She arrives in California (known as gam saan , or “gold mountain”) with 200 other hopeful immigrants under the false promises of riches. Lucy’s and Sam’s journeys, together and apart reflect on identity, family, “what makes a home a home”, memories. Overall, a solid debut, but maybe too polished to draw me in. In 2020 her debut novel, How Much of These Hills is Gold, was longlisted for The Booker Prize. Buy this book. Lucy and Sam are left orphaned and homeless early in the book; their search for belonging, along with their fraught relationship, lie at the heart of the novel, which nevertheless midway takes a Faulkneresque detour and reveals the backstory of the siblings’ parents, from the perspective of their dead dad. Riverhead, $26 (288p) ISBN 978-0-525-53720-5. This book started off slow for me- I feared it would be another book that I was reading just because I had too (book club) and not enjoying. Zhang has created a vocabulary and a cadence for this novel that is unique, and that carries the story forward from one page to the next. In the end, I put it down to a mistake: perhaps it meant three decades, so he was under 30 when he died. I like your review and as I am reading the book now and reading different reviews I agree with your point of view. In How Much of These Hills is Gold, we begin in 1862 when Sam and Lucy's parents have both died and they are orphaned in the hills of California. by Riverhead Books. See guidelines for writing about novels. Spoiler: Ba is Chinese. These are value judgments unique to my way of reading. The writing is so rich that maybe it doesn't matter to most readers but it did to me. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. Sometimes the characters seemed to suffer simply because the author could imagine fantastic scenes for them to suffer through, rather than their suffering being intrinsically important to their human story. How Much of These Hills Is Gold by C Pam Zhang. The story begins in 1862 and focuses on two sisters Lucy,12, and Sam,11 (who identifies as male.) It is a story told mostly through the eyes of Lucy, a child of Chinese immigrant laborers. C Pam Zhang words paint a breathtaking landscape that reminds me of the grand vistas depicted in the western movies of the 50’s and 60’s. As the story opens, siblings Lucy, 12, and Sam, 11, have just been orphaned by the death of their father. This started out very promising, but the further in I went, the less enchanted I became. Mirandi Riwoe is the author of the novella The Fish Girl, which was shortlisted for the Stella Prize and the Queensland Literary Award for Fiction. 4.5 Bleak, dark, gritty and thoroughly unforgettable. I wondered whether it meant after Ma... but no, that was three years. How Much of These Hills Is Gold tells us that stories--like people, like the rough and stunning landscape of California itself--are constantly in the process of being made, broken, and finally remade into something tender and new.' Maybe we're both missing something! Can a person be haunted by herself?”. C Pam Zhang’s How Much of These Hills Is Gold unfolds the story of a family struggling to survive the years following the Gold Rush. To see what your friends thought of this book. They seek a place to bury him. Billy indicates that Ba's parents have slanted eyes like his and that's how Billy knows the dead people are the parents. How Much of These Hills Is Gold NPR coverage of How Much of These Hills Is Gold by C Pam Zhang. The distance the two siblings in How Much Of These Hills Is Gold travel is undefined, and there’s no way of knowing, as few locational and cultural references exist in the novel.Yet the setting sprawls, alternating between wonder and fear of the unknown in crackling, atmospheric prose. Welcome back. C Pam Zhang. Zhang has created a vocabulary and a cadence for this novel that is unique, and that carries the story forward from one page to the next. They are Chinese-American and look different from almost everybody else. Although the story told is fairly interesting, I felt the structure worked against it: it starts out with the death of the parental figures and their children on the lam; then segues back to a long flashback on the courtship of the parents and their early days in Calif; then a single long chapter narrated by the dead father; then a final section taking place 5 years after the main action ... it's a LOT to keep straight, especially trying to fill in various gaps. Both epic and intimate, blending Chinese symbolism and reimagined history with fiercely original language and storytelling, How Much of These Hills Is Gold is a haunting adventure story, an unforgettable sibling story, and the announcement of a stunning new voice in literature. How Much of These Hills Is Gold. My second reading was following its longlisting for the 2020 Booker Prize (something which as per my original review's ending did not surprise me at all). C Pam Zhang’s debut novel of Chinese immigrants who came for the railroads and the gold rush, How Much of These Hills is Gold, is a haunting tale of family, home, and belonging. It was longlisted for the Booker Prize[1] and won the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature for Adult Fiction. Time out of mind, maybe not to s happy place, but to a place that makes one want to learn more. She has also written for the Golden Globes, the New Yorker, and the New York Times, and she … How Much of These Hills Is Gold (Hardcover) Published April 7th 2020 by Riverhead Books. Who knows - maybe a sequel, which I’d love because I’d like to find out where Lucy and Sam’s futures take them. I'm sure I'm missing something. The book chronicles their struggle in a world defined by racism and povert. C Pam Zhang makes a splashy debut with her searingly unique novel, How Much of These Hills Is Gold, a Western set in the gold rush-era mid-1800s that follows two young sisters, Lucy and Sam, trying to survive on their own after the death of their father. But don't you think the book is ove. The plot follows their growth and development as they encounter many obstacles and challenges. i see this often wit popular authors too when they write a book that isn't as good as their previous readers still say it's a good book because everyone does. [he's not actually from China and furthermore, can't actually speak/understand Chinese, he only *sounds* like he does, due to being good at birdcalls. Feb. 24 2020 Chasing the dream of gold, hoping it will bring a comfortable life, Chinese immigrants take their two American born children from place to place out west. I'm confused about Ba's ethnicity. Further suggestions might be found on the article's talk page. In How Much of These Hills is Gold, we begin in 1862 when Sam and Lucy's parents have both died and they are orphaned in the hills of California. C Pam Zhang was born in Beijing but is mostly an artifact of the United States; she has lived in thirteen cities across four countries and is still looking for home. April 7th 2020 The first chapter was written without conducting research, as Zhang did not want research to "stifle" her writing. Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read. The children’s prospector/ miner father, Ba has died and the children whose mother had died earlier must bury him and survive. A well written debut novel to boot. The novel occurs in the American West, a setting explored in novels Zhang read when young, including East of Eden, Lonesome Dove, and Little House on the Prairie. Ma longs for China. C Pam Zhang’s debut novel, “How Much of These Hills Is Gold,” is a brilliant re-envisioning of the western. That's the best I've come up with. 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