Novel of the Gold Rush – How Much of These Hills is Gold by C Pam Zhang

Submitted: 8th April 2020

Gold Rush – How Much of These Hills is Gold ?

Novel of the Gold Rush – How Much of These Hills is Gold by C Pam Zhang – I’ve read many novels set in the days of the Gold Rush but never quite like this before. We see that time, the excitement, disappointment and longing through the eyes of two Chinese-American siblings, 12 year old Lucy and 11 year old Sam. Through the four sections of the book, we follow them in a non-linear narrative as it flows from one, then the other as we see their journey as outsiders not just in a country but in a time of economic excitement.

Booktrail the locations in How Much of These Hills is Gold

Setting: The days of the Gold Rush

Booktrail the locations in How Much of These Hills is Gold

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The Gold Rush was an exciting time in America. There were promises of great wealth and an end to the struggles you and your family were facing. Wealth beyond your wildest dreams. Thousands of people flocked here and fought to find the riches.

This is a unique angle to the story as we see this time through the eyes of two children who have lost their mother and father. They look for somewhere to bury their father and so go on a journey which will lead them to unexpected places. This is a tale of belonging, of facing hostility and their search for an identity in a confused time and place.

The background of their plight is of course the American West, the Gold Rush and a land where the buffalo roam free. Their story transcends this landscape bringing in the complexities of being an immigrant during these times, of the shared immigrant experience and wanting to find a place to belong. Belonging in every sense of the world is explored and examined here. Lucy and Sam might be very different and want different things but their story is one that many share.

What I really enjoyed here was the way the author mixed in myth and mysticism, folklore and culture in a way I’d never read before. The American dream seen through the eyes of Chinese Immigrants.

There was a lot to like here, including the Chinese cultural references, the idea of immigration, leaving ones home, finding a new one and dealing with racism along the way. Very relevant today when the Americans feel as if these newcomers are stealing their jobs and potential wealth.

The language of the novel simply adds to its weaving, lyrical yet hard-hitting message.