SPOKANE, Wash. — Local author Jess Walter's latest novel set in Spokane is earning high praise from national media outlets.
"The Cold Millions" follows two brothers, Rye and Gig Dolan, who jump freight trains and line up for day work in the early twentieth century. Gig is a member of the Industrial Workers of the World — also known as the "Wobblies" — a labor union that fought for fair pay and acceptable working conditions.
Its cast of characters navigating Spokane's turn of the century landscape include a vaudeville singer, real-life activist and feminist named Elizabeth Gurley Flynn and a mining magnate.
The novel has been named to at least four prestigious lists compiling the best books of 2020. Auntie's Bookstore in downtown Spokane has also sold what may be a record-breaking amount of copies for any title at the shop.
Editors and reviewers at The Washington Post named "The Cold Millions" one of the top 10 best books of 2020.
"Walter structures his book about two lovable, penniless brothers trying to make ends meet in Spokane, Wash., as a concoction of tales swirling around the violent repression of laborers in the early 20th century," the newspaper wrote about the novel. "The result could have been an earnest historical novel about the brutal struggle for fair wages, but Walter has instead created a rip-roaring work of harrowing adventures and irresistible characters, including the real-life Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, a pregnant 19-year-old who’s also an indomitable union firebrand."
The Oprah Magazine also included it on its list of the 20 best books of this year, calling it an "electrifying historical adventure." A full review from Leigh Haber, the magazine's Books Editor, is available to read online.
Walter's novel also made the cut for lists published by Kirkus Reviews and New York Public Library.
Walter, who is author of six other novels, a nonfiction book and one book of short stories, is no stranger to receiving accolades for his work.
U.S. President Barack Obama named Walter's 2013 collection of short stories, titled “We Live in Water: Stories,” as one of his favorite books of 2019. He added that Walter’s book, along with others listed, helped make his 2019 “a little brighter.”
Walter has also been named a finalist for the National Book Award and a winner of the Edgar Allan Poe Award, along with several other nominations for his fiction works.
Walter began his writing career in 1987 as a reporter at The Spokesman-Review, where he was a finalist for the 1992 Pulitzer Prize as part of a team covering the shootout and standoff at Ruby Ridge in North Idaho.
He lives with his wife Anne and their three children in Spokane.
