How Much of These Hills Is Gold
C. Pam Zhanag, 2020
Pengin Publishing
288 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780525537205
Summary
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 re-imagined 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. (From the publisher.)
Author Bio
Born in Beijing but mostly an "artifact" of the United States, C Pam Zhang has lived in thirteen cities across four countries and is still looking for home. She's been awarded support from Tin House, Bread Loaf, Aspen Words and elsewhere, and currently lives in San Francisco. (From the publisher.)
Book Reviews
Sure to be the boldest debut of the year…. C Pam Zhang grapples with the legend of the wild west and mines brilliant new gems from a well-worn setting…. The story is heavy with layers of trauma…. On the one hand, the novel is in close touch with the entire tradition of wild west mythology and film…. At the same time, the story feels completely original… [as] the classic western is given a rich new shading as race, gender, sexual identity, poverty and pubescence come into play. The novel is thick with detail, metaphor and oblique allusion ... at its core is a chilling sense of the utter loneliness and isolation felt by Lucy and Sam.
Guardian (UK)
[This] thoroughly engrossing saga… starts out slow.… [But] in section two… the tale [is transformed] into a fully immersive epic drama packed with narrative riches and exquisitely crafted prose…. How Much of These Hills Is Gold succeeds as a riveting account of one family’s struggle to make ends meet in the American West…. But the novel is also a much-needed homage to the untold history of American immigrants… giving a voice to the "honest folks" of color who were enslaved, robbed, raped or murdered in the process…. Zhang captures not only the mesmeric beauty and storied history of America’s sacred landscape, but also the harsh sacrifices countless people were forced to make in hopes of laying claim to its bounty.
San Francisco Chronicle
(Starred review) [E]xtraordinary debut, a beautifully rendered family saga, centers on a pair of siblings…. Gorgeously written and fearlessly imagined, Zhang’s awe-inspiring novel introduces two indelible characters whose odyssey is as good as the gold they seek.
Publishers Weekly
(Starred review) This moving tale of family, gold, and freedom rings with a truth that defies rosy preconceptions. The description of human and environmental degradation is balanced by shining characters who persevere greatly. Highly recommended. —Henry Bankhead, San Rafael P.L., CA
Library Journal
(Starred review) The journey of these two children… force us to confront just how "white" the history we've been taught is…. [Zhang has] creat[ed] a new and spellbinding mythology of her own. Aesthetically arresting and a vital contribution to America's conversation about itself..
Kirkus Reviews
Discussion Questions
1. In How Much of These Hills is Gold, Pam Zhang crafts a reimagined American West, filled with magic and myth, at the height of the Gold Rush. The epigraph reads: "This land is not your land" but within Chapter One, Lucy recalls Ba’s words: "You remember you belong to this place as much as anybody." (24). What do you think the novel is saying about birthrights? Are they inherited or claimed?
2. Much is made about the burial process—for loved ones; for things and animals; for past selves. Is there a right way to honor the dead as seen in the novel? What does Sam’s decision to take the two silver dollars from Ba’s burial tell us about their relationship?
3. Ba and Sam are prone to fanciful storytelling. Consider the many stories told within the novel, as well as the tellers. What are the differences between the stories that the characters tell one another and the stories they tell themselves? To what extent is myth involved in the creation of each character’s origin story?
4. Bodies, like the land, are often claimed. At the end of Part Two, Sam is "born" as Ma "dies." Dissect the ways in which, Lucy, Sam, and Ma adhere to or subvert gender norms throughout the novel.
5. Compare and contrast the various teachers in the novel, their specific motivations, and their successes. Billy to Ba; Teacher Leigh to Lucy; Ba to Ma. etc.,—what kind of education does each receive? What are the power dynamics in evidence between teacher and student?
6. Ba helps Sam become the boy he always wanted to be, meanwhile Lucy and Ma are thick as thieves. Discuss the differing family dynamics. Why does Ba choose to tell Sam Ma’s secret, but not Lucy? Why doesn’t Ma seek out Lucy after she’s disappeared if they’re so close? In what ways do Sam and Lucy exemplify characteristics of each of their parents?
7. In Part Three, Ba speaks through the voice of the wind and hopes that Lucy hears it in the night. How does the revelation of Ba’s true origin affect your reading of him throughout the book? Did learning his side of the story change your perspective about his behavior and motivations?
8. The novel places a large significance on gold and Ba’s belief that prospecting is a talent. The other mountain folk, however, think striking gold has all to do with chance. In what ways does the novel interrogate these ideas? What other factors are at play in one’s ability to strike gold?
9. The environment is as much a character as Lucy and Sam’s family and is often anthropomorphized. Analyze the relationship between the characters and the natural world, as well as animals, both real and imagined. Why do you think the author chose to name the chapters after recurring natural elements?
10. When we encounter Lucy and Sam in Part Four, Lucy has chosen to settle in the town of Sweetwater, and Sam chooses life on the trail. Consider the dichotomy and tension between civilization and wilderness in the novel. Are there elements of each in the other?
11. Throughout the novel, Lucy often asks "What makes a home a home?" Does she ever find a sufficient answer to that question? Consider Ma’s homeland across the sea, the family’s home in town, Lucy’s place in Sweetwater. Are there degrees to what can make a "home"?
12. What do you think Lucy asks the gold man for at the conclusion of the novel? Why do you think the author chose not to name it?
(Questions issued by the publisher.)