Originally published: Great Britain: Faber & Faber, 2016.

Of all things, a blizzard isn’t what Tasha Endicott expected. Rather than spending her weekend at a glitzy dance, she’s stranded with the Macdonalds at their country home. Thurly Macdonald is certainly handsome, but his quiet life of faith is a far cry from Tasha’s modern tastes. But Tasha soon finds her heart drawn to a love she’s never known but desperately needs. Can she abandon her world for his?

A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK OF THE YEAR A WASHINGTON POST NOTABLE BOOK OF THE YEAR ONE OF BARACK OBAMA'S FAVORITE BOOKS OF THE YEAR ONE OF NPR'S BEST BOOKS OF 2020 LONGLISTED FOR THE 2020 BOOKER PRIZE FINALIST FOR THE 2020 CENTER FOR FICTION FIRST NOVEL PRIZE WINNER OF THE ROSENTHAL FAMILY FOUNDATION AWARD, FROM THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF ARTS AND LETTERS A NATIONAL BOOK FOUNDATION "5 UNDER 35" HONOREE NATIONAL BESTSELLER “Belongs on a shelf all of its own.” —NPR “Outstanding.” —The Washington Post “Revolutionary . . . A visionary addition to American literature.” —Star Tribune An electric debut novel set against the twilight of the American gold rush, two siblings are on the run in an unforgiving landscape—trying not just to survive but to find a home. Ba dies in the night; Ma is already gone. Newly orphaned children of immigrants, Lucy and Sam are suddenly alone in a land that refutes their existence. Fleeing the threats of their western mining town, they set off to bury their father in the only way that will set them free from their past. Along the way, they encounter giant buffalo bones, tiger paw prints, and the specters of a ravaged landscape as well as family secrets, sibling rivalry, and glimpses of a different kind of future. Both epic and intimate, blending Chinese symbolism and reimagined history with fiercely original language and storytelling, How Much of These Hills Is Gold is a haunting adventure story, an unforgettable sibling story, and the announcement of a stunning new voice in literature. On a broad level, it explores race in an expanding country and the question of where immigrants are allowed to belong. But page by page, it’s about the memories that bind and divide families, and the yearning for home.

Gold Hill is a product of the frontier days, when bold men sought golden riches despite ongoing hardships. The 1860 discovery of the famous Gold Hill Pocket, overlooking the present townsite, brought about its name with a gold rush that continued for decades and spilled into the nearby creeks and valleys, including mines with names like the Millionaire, Lucky Bart, and Roaring Gimlet. In 1884, the railroad bypassed neighboring settlements, which made Gold Hill a center depot and created ghost towns along the way. While the cry of Gold! Gold! Gold! filled the air, women and families drove in roots that tamed the town. When the areas mining and lumbering industries phased out, Gold Hill was then rediscovered in the late 20th century by folks searching for a small-town life, exquisite surroundings, and proximity to the legendary Rogue River. Wine tasting and vineyards replaced areas where stagecoaches once stopped and orchards grew.

Twelve-year-old Koichi wants to be a samurai like his father but when their clan is defeated in battle, they move to America in 1869 to become farmers. Based on the real-life Wakamatsu colony, founded by exiles from Japan, near Sacramento, California.

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