Aside from being a phenomenally good read, The Cold
Millions published last month includes a hidden gem: its Acknowledgements. I have definitely never said that before,
ever. In fact, I seldom read the Acknowledgements section of any book.
Written by bestselling author Jess Walter (Beautiful
Ruins), The Cold Millions is a fictionalized history of union and “Wobbly”
organizing in the mining and timber industries of the Pacific Northwest
(Washington State, Idaho and Montana). “Wobbly” is the slang term for members
of the Industrial Workers of the World. The novel is an understandable lesson
on labor vs. industrial robber barons in American history.
The reason the Acknowledgements section is so great is because it is a “how-to” manual on writing historical fiction. Walter did his homework, studying local history (the book is set in Spokane, where he lives) and meticulously researching relevant events in labor organizing in the first decades of the Twentieth Century; and key figures from the movement, one of the most prominent of which is Elizabeth Gurley Flynn – the protagonist in the novel -- better known to history as one of the founders of the ACLU and later as a member & Chairwoman of the American Communist Party.
Rebel Girl Song (written by Joe Hill)
Walter took these events and fictionalized versions of several real individuals -- Flynn, Acting Spokane Police Chief John Sullivan, labor
lawyer Fred Moore, and many others -- and tied them altogether with a completely fictional
cast of characters: showgirls Ursula the Great (the original and her successor),
and the Dolan brothers -- Gig, and his younger brother Rye who serves as the
primary narrator in the book. The result
was action packed and convincing novel, with a compelling Epilogue.
Recommendation: Yes, a great reminder of a largely forgotten
period of American history.
No comments:
Post a Comment