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How Much of These Hills Is Gold
How Much of These Hills Is Gold | C. Pam Zhang
71 posts | 72 read | 74 to read
Set against the twilight of the American Gold Rush, an electric debut novel of two siblings, on the run in an unforgiving landscape -- trying not just to survive but to find a home. Ba dies in the night, Ma is already gone. Newly orphaned children of immigrants, Lucy and Sam are suddenly alone in a land that refutes their existence. Fleeing the threats of their Western mining town, they set off to bury their father in the only way that will set them free from their past. Along the way, they encounter giant buffalo bones, tiger paw prints, and the specters of a ravaged landscape; as well as family secrets, sibling rivalry, and glimpses of a different kind of future. Both epic and intimate, blending Chinese symbolism and re-imagined 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. On a broad level, it explores race in an expanding country and the question of where immigrants are allowed to belong. But page by page, it's about the memories that bind and divide families, and the yearning for home.
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rachelsbrittain
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What's in a first line? A whole lot tbh. Come consider a few great ones with me and maybe find some great new reads for Pride month.

https://bookriot.com/compelling-first-lines-of-queer-books/

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shawnmooney
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Bite-sized Book Chats: The 51st Episode

A playlist of all episodes in the Bite-sized Book Chat series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLU-61cZp1pQdBH5V0Zb9q-2ujl4PY8nhf

Chat #1: with Soubhi from Austin

How Much of These Hills Is Gold by C Pam Zhang

Chat #2: with Ange from Sunderland in the northeast of England

The Anomaly by Hervé Le Tellier
Adriana Hunter (Translator)

shawnmooney Chat #3: with Lara from Newfoundland

Vanishing Cornwall: The Spirit and History of Cornwall by Daphne du Maurier
Christian Browning (Photographer)

Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier

Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier

Chat #4: with with Alba from Puerto Rico

Che by Spain Rodriguez

Red Rosa: A Graphic Biography of Rosa Luxemburg by Kate Evans

Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art by Scott McCloud

2y
Soubhiville 😲❤️📚 how exciting! 2y
shawnmooney @Soubhiville You were a great guest! 2y
32 likes3 comments
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Tonton
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Pickpick

Mythic tragedy of Chinese immigrant family told through the story of orphaned siblings Lucy and Sam, set during the Gold Rush in the harsh deserts and mountains. The ending undid me.

Graywacke Glad you liked this one. I struggled with it. 2y
Tonton @Graywacke It‘s tough for sure! 2y
32 likes1 stack add2 comments
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Soubhiville
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May brought me some wonderful books! Among my favorites are the tagged, The Girl with the Louding Voice, The Ruthless Lady‘s Guide to Wizardry, Ten Steps to Nanette, and Gallant. Interesting that all 3 of these memoirs are (at least partially) about the author‘s relationships to their moms.

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Soubhiville
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Pickpick

I feel strange saying I enjoyed this profoundly sad book, but I really did.

Lucy and Sam grow up with a gold prospecting father and a mom who came from Asia hoping for a better life. Theirs is an unstable unpredictable poverty, ever shifting.

They are followed by tragedy and hardship into separate adulthoods, and the juxtaposition between hope and the inevitability of luck.

I don‘t think I‘ve ever read anything quite like this before.

Soubhiville Another great recommendation from @alysonimagines 💜📚 2y
Karons1 I picked a copy up of this for Q9.00 !!! In the works a few weeks ago it‘s on my TBR ? 2y
ICantImReading I have this one sitting on my shelf, I need to get to it! 💛 2y
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shawnmooney I didn‘t think I was interested in this book but now you have intrigued me with your review. How about coming on my Bite-sized Book Chats series via Zoom to chat about the book for 10 or 12 minutes? If you have no idea what I‘m talking about, the playlist is here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLU-61cZp1pQdBH5V0Zb9q-2ujl4PY8nhf. Would love to have you on as a guest! 2y
Soubhiville @shawnmooney oh wow, thanks! I‘m on vacation until the 18th, but I‘d be happy to chat sometime after that. 😊 2y
shawnmooney @Soubhiville Awesome – enjoy your vacation and I will touch base with you again shortly after the 18th!

Hey, I hope you had a fab vacation! Looking forward to doing this Bite-sized Book Chat whenever you‘ve come up for air. Drop me a line at shawnmooneyinjapan@gmail.com and we can make a plan. Thanks!
(edited) 2y
alysonimagines @Soubhiville So glad you enjoyed! 🖤 Even though this book completely devastated me, I was compelled to buy my own copy after I read it. It‘s a gut punch, but so achingly bittersweet too. 2y
72 likes2 stack adds7 comments
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CollapsingLibrary
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Hoping to finish this book today and start my classic of the month! Nothing better than reading on the porch listening to birds sing

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CollapsingLibrary
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#currentlyreading on this gorgeous Sunday afternoon

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rachelsbrittain
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Pickpick

Two siblings set out to bury their Ba in the Old West in this historical fiction novel unlike any other. The story is told almost in reverse, beginning with their fathers death and moving back through their childhoods and how their Ma and Ba met before completing Lucy and Sam's story. It‘s beautifully and hauntingly written.

53 likes1 stack add
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rachelsbrittain
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Sunday reading 📚

Soubhiville A friend recommended this one to me. Are you liking it? Also you‘ve made me want a bubble tea 😋 2y
rachelsbrittain @Soubhiville I'm enjoying it so far! I'm only about 60 pages in and it's surprised me multiple times. And the bubble tea was my first time trying Brown sugar boba-- so good, highly recommend! 😊 2y
Soubhiville Ooo, yes I‘ll have to try it. 2y
53 likes1 stack add3 comments
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rachelsbrittain
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Loving all three of these books so far!

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rachelsbrittain
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1. Black Water Sister, How Much of These Hills is Gold, and The Verifiers

2. Browsing!

3. Physical: How Much of These Hills is Gold

Ebook: A Marvellous Light

Audiobook: The Verifiers

#WeekendReads

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rachelsbrittain
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Currently reading

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TiminCalifornia
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Pickpick

Told through the eyes of Lucy, a girl living in the western territories during the gold rush. Of Asian ancestry, her family stands out from the flood of migrants from the east. I was captivated by the story and its eerie and melancholy voice, a striving for hope strained by desperation. Yet the reader sees Lucy‘s strengths and weaknesses just as Lucy sees those of her sibling Sam and their parents. Unforgettable story.

#bookspin

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! 2y
48 likes1 stack add1 comment
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Rachiiebookdragon
Mehso-so

Read first 2 chapters then decided to listen to the audiobook instead as it wasn‘t gelling with me reading it. This book was interesting but odd, not sure if I am the intended audience. 3.5/5 Read for prompts for #PopSugarReadingChallenge2022 and 52BookClubReadingChallenge2022

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IselaKay
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Pickpick

✨First book of 2022✨

This was a great read about a Chinese-American family who are not just trying to survive in the Wild West, but are trying to belong in spite of how people don‘t really see them, but just stare and treat them like outsiders. Siblings Lucy and Sam later feel differently about where home is—but help each other along their journey.

Recommend.

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mjtwo
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Pickpick

13-17 Oct 2021 (audiobook)
An American Chinese family quest for gold in the American west.
I enjoyed the first two parts (the blend of myth and history, two young orphans trying to find a place to belong and Ba‘s retelling) but found the third problematic. Perhaps there were few options for girls like Lucy in the Wild West, but I did not welcome her ending. I would have preferred her to continue to reject Ma‘s lesson that beauty is its own weapon.

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Jolynne
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Pickpick

A different history, an honest history, not the romanticized history of the American West we are taught. This novel is a honest look at the greed that drove the exploitation and abuse of so many.

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bekakins
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Pickpick

Really enjoyed this months selection from Books That Matter! A very different perspective on gold rush America, and an excellent choice for pride month! 🏳️‍🌈

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LadyCait84
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Pickpick

Showing the vicious circumstances a family endures while trying to carve out a life in an Old West built of both history and myth, the story is one of heartache. Sometimes the poetry in the prose makes the specifics unclear, but the impact remains sharp as the characters wrangle with the ideas of home & land & self & inheritance.

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kaysworld1
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HeatherBookNerd
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Pickpick

A tale of two orphaned Chinese American children coming of age in the California gold rush in the late 1800s. Loved this first parts of this, but it lost me in part four. It just didn‘t connect well with the rest of the book. I did enjoy lots of it though, and I appreciated getting to see a less known perspective of this slice of American history.

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Tattooedteacher
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I part of this indie store Book Drop and this month I received this book. It‘s always a surprise, as you don‘t pick the book like others. This one looks rather interesting. Adding it to May‘s #bookspin

ICantImReading I just got my copy of this today for the “Books for Tea” mailing! 😍 3y
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Lindy
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I‘ve had Zhang‘s book for over 6 months without cracking the cover, so I decided to watch her event in the LA Times Festival online. It worked! I‘m very much looking forward to starting it soon.

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Melismatic
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Pickpick

This was fabulous, nuanced, deep, and super layered. Story of two Asian-American children trying to make their way as well as their parents.

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bernadette
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Pickpick

Starts off bleak and a bit gruesome but the author captures the intensity, the dreams, the family myths that build up in an immigrant family as they search for a place to call home. Zhang depicts the children‘s curiosity and romanticism of their parents‘ home country well and also the sense of being separate and disconnected from both old and new lands. I have mixed feelings about the end but didn‘t see them getting a happier ending....

Cathythoughts Nice review 👍🏻I have this one lined up to read 3y
14 likes1 comment
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Teresereading
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Pickpick

Got some reading in at the hairdresser's. Can you see my favourite gold shoes? This was amazing but perplexing. I will be thinking about it for a while. Two sisters survive a host of calamities, racism, starvation etc.
Really interested to see what others think....

Teresereading Such a sense of unease and menace while reading it 3y
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bernadette
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Just started and enjoying it but a little worried about how bleak it may get because the premise is pretty grim: 2 siblings, children of Chinese immigrants, on the run during the American Gold Rush. My daughter just studied the gold rush last year so will be interesting to see how it compares to another book we read about a Chinese immigrant searching for gold.

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Erin.Elizabeth10
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Pickpick

This book was incredibly unique. I have not read any Westerns before, and it was very interesting to read a Western with the central characters being Chinese American and all of the complexity that brought. The writing style wasn‘t personally my favorite, but it was very well written. I found myself more attached to the characters than I thought I would be! I‘m glad I gave it a try.

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Floresj
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Pickpick

I wasn‘t sure if I‘d like this one (almost abandoned it 3 chapters in), but the character development early on paid off in the second half. Set in the Gold Rush, two siblings grow up under the weight of their family history. Excellent debut novel!

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Chelsea.Poole
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Pickpick

A beautiful golden cover holds a literary (at times too much so?) piece of historical fiction, which made many “best of” lists in 2020. I can certainly understand why; there were parts that were amazing for me. But ultimately it‘s not one of my “best of” books. A book I enjoyed but not sorry that it‘s over, if that makes any sense at all. Hard lives lived in the gold rush era.

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Graywacke
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Mehso-so

Zhang takes the (depressing) stories of early Chinese gold prospectors in California and generates a heavy twist. It‘s an awkward book. The prose is poetic, but doesn‘t always work. Stasis is ok. Dialogue is terrific. But with plot this prose just feels forced, painfully so. Yuck. Not for me. The last two hours of listening were awful. (My 7th on the 2020 Booker Longlist)

mrozzz AGREE! Did not understand the hype around this one. 3y
Graywacke @mrozzz 🤷🏻‍♂️ (glad it‘s not just me. 88% positive on Litsy) 3y
53 likes1 stack add2 comments
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akfreeborn
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Pickpick

This was beautiful and so sad. This family had so much difficulty belonging in the prospecting, mining and railway west. Even those who seemed to be kind, never were and these young kids learned over time how precarious their position was in this land not their home. The author addresses that they belonged as much as anybody but the world didn‘t accept that

Cathythoughts Looking forward to reading this one 👍🏻❤️ 3y
35 likes1 comment
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alysonimagines
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Pickpick

When their father dies, leaving them orphans, siblings Lucy and Sam go on a cross-country journey to find a resting place for their father and a new home for themselves. Although their quest is far more difficult than they anticipated, the siblings realize everything in their past has made them stronger than they ever thought they could be. This story mesmerized me and then swallowed me whole—exquisitely raw, devastating, and indelible. 🖤🖤🖤

alysonimagines P.S. I checked out an ebook copy from the library and loved this story so much that I bought my own hardcover as a birthday present for myself. It‘s that good. 3y
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Cathythoughts
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@Kaddele Many , many thanks for my lovely #jokabokaflodswap
I love everything... I‘ve just had a bit of Santa & he is delicious.. I love milk chocolate!
Thankyou , I look forward to seeing your posts .. a new Litsy friend. X
A very Happy Christmas to you & yours.
Looking forward to reading this book ❤️

And Happy Christmas & Thankyou @MaleficentBookDragon

rockpools How lovely! And I‘m curious about that book - I look forward to seeing your review. 3y
squirrelbrain This is one of only two on the Booker Longlist that I didn‘t get round to reading - looking forward to your review! 3y
batsy Lovely 😍 3y
See All 7 Comments
Crazeedi Merry Christmas!🎁☃️ 3y
Mitch Ahh - this is on my TBR. It‘s has such glowing praise! Hope it‘s good 🥳 3y
Centique Merry Christmas Cathy. I‘m sorry the wee package I sent you didn‘t make it on time! Such are the postal issues of 2020. I hope it makes you smile when it finally arrives. In the meantime have a lovely Christmas day however you are celebrating 💕🎅🎄💕 3y
Kaddele So glad it got to you on time and in one piece :) I actually got myself a copy of the book as well - it sounds great. Looking forward to reading what you think about it! Merry Christmas! 💓 3y
66 likes7 comments
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AlizaApp
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Pickpick

A novel about two Chinese-American siblings in the Gold Rush west, and their attachment to the land. They are constantly wondering not just if they belong to the territory, but whether any of the land and its bounty could belong to them.

33 likes2 stack adds
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AlizaApp
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What an epigraph to start this book, about two Chinese-American siblings in the Gold Rush west. And so appropriate right before Thanksgiving!

Texreader 😳 3y
Teresereading I loved the epigraph 3y
32 likes2 comments
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erzascarletbookgasm
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Pickpick

‘What makes a home a home?‘ ‘Home‘ is always changing to Lucy and Sam, left orphaned by a Chinese immigrant father and a mother who were among the thousands of Chinese who came for a better life -some to prospect gold, others falsely lured to work in mines. Though born in America, the siblings were never treated like they belong, never treated equally. As they journey to find their place, we‘re told of the harsh landscape, and ⬇️

erzascarletbookgasm .. hostile treatments to the immigrants, the natives of the land, the effects of the gold rush on the environment. A brilliant, haunting debut with themes of belonging, identity, family, racism, gender; interweaves with mythical images, but at the heart of the story is the beautiful unspoken bond between the two siblings. The short prose, shifting stories felt disjointed at times but the work felt original, with so much truth. 3y
erzascarletbookgasm .. Not many stories are about or told from the Chinese immigrants perspectives during the gold rush in the Wild West, and their contributions to the building of the Central Pacific railway, Zhang‘s feat is impressive and a welcome.
3y
TrishB Great review Jessie 👍🏻 3y
See All 8 Comments
LeahBergen Fantastic review! 3y
batsy Nice review ❤️ I've been wondering about this and now I definitely want to read it. 3y
Cathythoughts Wow to your review & stacked 3y
erzascarletbookgasm Thanks, @TrishB @LeahBergen @batsy @Cathythoughts 🌷 Look forward to hear your thoughts when you read it, Suba, Cathy. 3y
Brimful Such an unusual and powerful book! 2y
74 likes2 stack adds8 comments
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CaitlinR
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Pickpick

Can you imagine anything more difficult than trying to discover what “home” means when you‘re Chinese in mid-nineteenth century western America: The Gold Rush, the railroad, the bigotry.

This beautiful family story is told through the eyes of the daughters Lucy and Sam, their Ma and Ba, and those who impact their lives. I‘m not sure I‘ve ever encountered stronger female characters, or a better sense of place.

“Gold grass gold grass gold”

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Emilymdxn
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Pickpick

I liked this bleak and complex novel about families and where immigrants are allowed to belong. It was hard to read a lot of the time and while I don‘t usually enjoy books about early settlers in America but the writing made me like this even if it was cruel and difficult.

#scarathlon2020 #teamharkness @StayCurious +6 pts

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Oryx
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Pur-lease....🐾

Cathythoughts 😁🥰 3y
Mitch Those eyes. 🥰 3y
Gissy Ahhh so cute🐶❤️ 3y
See All 7 Comments
erzascarletbookgasm 🥰 Also, look forward to your thoughts on the book. 3y
squirrelbrain I look forward to your thoughts too, it‘s one of the only two Booker Longlist books I didn‘t get to. 3y
Oryx @squirrelbrain @erzascarletbookgasm About a third of the way through - it's really good so far. 3y
paper.reveries You simply cannot say no to those eyes. UGH! 3y
61 likes1 stack add7 comments
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Mitch
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Just seen this today so won‘t get the book read in the next 24hrs - but definitely going to join in next month. Anyone else???

https://altaonline.com/alta-book-club/

ImperfectCJ I just registered! I don't think I can make it tomorrow (and definitely can't read the book by then), but I plan to join for November's meeting. 3y
Mitch @ImperfectCJ it looks fun doesn‘t it - and I love the book selection 3y
KVanRead Thanks for sharing, love this👏 Definitely going to sign up. 3y
TheBookStacker Oh I live in California just moved earlier this year! I will be joining for next month! 3y
45 likes4 comments
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AnneCecilie
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Bailedbailed

I always feel bad about bailing on a book, but it‘s time to face it, that right know this book is not for me.

I don‘t connect with the writing and have read 100p the last week in a 270p book. I also don‘t want to pick it up to continue reading. Maybe if it makes it to the Booker Shortlist or even win, I will give it another go.

Cinfhen Good call...don‘t force a book that isn‘t working for you!! But I do love your cover/edition 4y
AnneCecilie My #BookSpin book for September was a library book and I‘ll use this book for that @TheAromaofBooks 4y
TheAromaofBooks Sounds good!! I always know it's time to bail on a book if reading it sounds like a terrible chore instead of something fun and interesting. 4y
59 likes3 comments
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vivastory
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Pickpick

“The best thing about stars is you can see them in any shape you want. Make any story. Better, even, when the person beside you doesn't see them the same way.“
Zhang's debut novel begins with siblings Lucy & Sam carrying their decomposing father Ba in a trunk atop a stolen horse*. Set on the West Coast during the Gold Rush, Zhang's book is very much in the genre of revisionist westerns & anti-westerns👇

vivastory (books like Blood Meridian, Sisters Brothers, Butcher's Crossing etc) We learn more about Lucy & Sam's parents & the discrimination that they faced, with their mother being an immigrant & Lucy & Sam themselves frequently mistaken for immigrants despite being born in California. This is one of the core themes in Zhang's book. A sense of belonging & how it can be complicated by having immigrant relatives & feeling estranged from your own land due to 4y
vivastory constant discrimination & disenfranchisement, despite feeling a strong attachment to the land. There are multiple themes & they are masterfully explored: identity, familial bonds & loyalty, what real justice looks like etc. This is the third book on the Man Booker Longlist I haveread, & this is the first one I've read that I am hoping will proceed to the shortlist. I can't wait to see what Zhang writes next. Highly recommended. 4y
vivastory (*For those who might be thinking that this is a contemporary As I Lay Dying, rest assured it's not)

4y
See All 20 Comments
MsMelissa Okay, you‘ve convinced me to add this one. Great review! 4y
vivastory @Book_Fiend_Melissa Thanks! It's 270 pages, but I found it to be utterly compelling. I just couldn't stop reading. 4y
vivastory @Book_Fiend_Melissa I forgot to mention in my review that a MAJOR theme in this book is learning to accept others, esp family even if they feel differently. The way Zhang tackled this was very well-done I think 4y
MsMelissa Excellent! When do you plan on tackling The Shadow King? I could start it soon if you‘re just about ready. I assume you are close since you seem to be tackling the long list these days. 4y
JamieArc I‘m finishing Love and Other Thought Experiments, and just started Redhead, but am really looking forward to this one! 4y
vivastory @Book_Fiend_Melissa Definitely. I was thinking about starting it Monday or Tuesday. I'm going to read Love & Other Though Experiments & then I thought we can tackle Shadow King if that's okay? 4y
vivastory @JamieArc I'm looking forward to your thoughts on these! I'm starting Love & Other Thought Experiments tomorrow. My apologies if I've sent you this link, but you might be interested in the following interview between Eric Karl Anderson & Sophie Ward (I haven't watched it yet, I'm saving it for after I finish the book):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9YB_krC_Zk
4y
erzascarletbookgasm I‘m interested to read this. I don‘t think much has been written about the Chinese immigrants to the US during the Gold Rush (at least I don‘t). 4y
vivastory @erzascarletbookgasm It feels like it hasn't been represented in novels at least 4y
BarbaraBB All your reviews make na stack or buy books, it‘s getting out of control 😃💕, so please tell me the two Bookers I can ignore 😉 4y
KVanRead Great review! This is right up my alley - definitely going to have to read it. 4y
vivastory @BarbaraBB You're too kind! I enjoyed both Such a Fun Age & Redhead By the Side of the Road, but honestly am not invested in either one of them making the shortlist. 4y
vivastory @KVanRead I think you'd really dig it! 4y
BarbaraBB Agree on SAFA. I haven‘t read Redhead and won‘t bother! Thanks! 4y
Kalalalatja Sounds very good! 4y
JamieArc @vivastory I don‘t think you‘ve sent me that link, so thanks! Love and Other is definitely...interesting! 4y
MsMelissa Timing‘s perfect! I‘ll get it out and ready to go. 4y
83 likes8 stack adds20 comments
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vivastory
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I'm only 50 pages in, but I'm greatly enjoying Zhang's novel.

75 likes1 stack add
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erzascarletbookgasm
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#3books #writtenbyapoc I am interested to read!

Cathythoughts These look good 👍🏻❤️ 4y
rockpools Also, 3 books with awesome covers. Tempted by all of these. 4y
OriginalCyn620 Great choices! 4y
Deblovestoread Can‘t wait to read Transcendent Kingdom. Loved Homegoing so much! 4y
69 likes4 comments
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rmaclean4
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September is going to be a great reading month!!

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shaynarae
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Pickpick

This book! We can start by saying how important it is to finally have a novel about Asian immigrants during the gold rush. Zhang has a talent for giving just as much information as necessary to develop a full story and characters, to explore identity from a multitude of angles without doing any of them a disservice, and still manages to write a novel less than 300 pages. Beautifully minimal and moving.

22 likes1 stack add
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BookwormM
Pickpick

#BookerLonglist2020 Book 5 my favourite so far possibly helped by the fact I am currently watching Deadwood - the book has non of the bad language the series does.

Love the new look at the gold rush and how it affects all those involved

Full review here https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3506191872

26 likes1 stack add