First published 1943
The Masons are a family adrift, chasing the promise of a better life across the rugged American West. Father Bo's reckless quest for fortune drags them from town to town, each stop more precarious than the last. As the Depression tightens its grip, Elsa and their two boys endure Bo's violence and their own grim circumstances, struggling to maintain hope in the face of relentless adversity. Through it all, they're bound by an unbreakable family bond, even as it's tested to the limit by the crushing realities of their hardscrabble existence.
Genres: american-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: family-drama, found-family, rags-to-riches
Setting: American West
Period: Great Depression
563 pages · Paperback · Penguin
Content warnings: abuse, domestic-violence