How Much of These Hills Is Gold: A Novel

In this electric debut novel set against the twilight of the American gold rush, two siblings are on the run, trying not just to survive but to find a home.

NATIONAL BESTSELLER * ONE OF BARACK OBAMA'S FAVORITE BOOKS OF THE YEAR * LONGLISTED FOR THE 2020 BOOKER PRIZE * A NATIONAL BOOK FOUNDATION "5 UNDER 35" HONOREE

“Belongs on a shelf all of its own.” —NPR

“Outstanding.” —The Washington Post

“Revolutionary . . . A visionary addition to American literature.” —Star Tribune

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.