The Cold Millions
by Jess Walter
2mentions
1recommended by
2HN commenters
2020–2025first – last mentioned
50% recommend50% neutral
"Orphans Gig and Rye Dolan don't have a penny to their names. The brothers work grueling, odd jobs each day just to secure a meal, and spend nights sleeping wherever they can with other day laborers. Twenty-three-year-old Gig is a passionate union man, fighting for fair pay and calling out the corrupt employers who exploit the working class. Eager to emulate his older brother, Rye follows suit, though he can't quite muster Gig's passion for the cause. But when Rye's turn on the soap box catches the eye of well-known activist and suffragette Elizabeth Gurley, he is swept into the world of labor
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…women who eventually immigrate to Japan. The front half of the book is wonderfully paced to spend time with the characters. The back half can feel a bit rushed, but it becomes more of a page turner. The Cold Millions by Jess Walter is another period novel about union organizing in the Pacific Northwest around the turn of the century, and follows two brothers. The depth of research makes this book wonderfully vibrant.
on “Ask HN: What did you read in 2025?” ↗…about Amazon was broken by a writer named Lauren Gurley. Elizabeth Gurley Flynn was a famous union organizer who fought the Pinkertons more than a hundred years ago. Coincidentally, the new novel The Cold Millions by Jess Walter portrays Elizabeth Gurley Flynn and the Pinkertons in Spokane in 1909. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Gurley_Flynn (A quick search shows Lauren Gurley is a prolific writer on…
on “Amazon reportedly has Pinkerton agents surveil workers who try to form unions” ↗