Every now and then we encounter a new book that we’re so excited about we want to shout it from the rooftops, so we've created a special tag to distinguish it from the rest: Tattered Cover Book of the Month (formerly called Tattered Cover V.I.B.)!
Our latest selection is:
How Much of These Hills Is Gold by C Pam Zhang
"With this debut, C Pam Zhang demonstrates the sweeping narrative reach of Rebecca Makkai or Kamila Shamsie and the microscopic attention of a child playing pick-up sticks. The land and the story are odysseys, both, but the characters ache of precision. Zhang's writing feels brilliantly ambidextrous for the way that it uses third person to simultaneously create the varied hauntings of two siblings. Lucy and Sam travel many of the same Gold Rush paths together, but they filter the world vastly differently through their experiences of their own genders-- Lucy through the girlhood she was raised to embody and Sam through the boyhood Sam has always longed for. About luck and the soreness of desire, about history and folklore, this novel will make Zhang known immediately for her huge ambition and for her unwavering care." -- Afton Montgomery, Adult Book Buyer
"How Much of These Hills is Gold is a blazing new addition to the mythic literature of the west, and should sit right beside Lonesome Dove on anyone’s shelf. As Lucy and Sam navigate the promise and curse of the Gold Rush, Zhang shines a light on a story of the west that is too often written out of history. Full of adventure and exquisitely crafted, this is a truly unforgettable debut." -- Bethany Strout, Director of Buying
Purchase this and previous Books of the Month below:
Bestselling British writer Tessa Hadley's The Past brings four middle-aged siblings and their families together for what might be their last summer holiday in the family's country home. Old family dynamics and surprising new twists make for a delightful, entertaining and thought-provoking novel. Hadley's storytelling deftly weaves the family's past, with all its ghosts and memories, jealousies and nearly unconditional love in with its present reality of squabbling and deep affection. Each player in The Past is uniquely engaging: from fading beauty Alice with her ex-boyfriend's 20 year old son Kasim, in tow, sister Frans's odd and captivating young children Ivy and Arthur, Harriet, lonely and harboring a dark and secret longing, and all the others, each with an agenda, all under one roof. The perfect storm for an utterly wonderful, brilliantly crafted novel. The Telegraph calls The Past keenly intelligent, and I certainly agree. A wonderful way to begin your reading year. -- Cathy Langer, Tattered Cover Lead Buyer
