Book description
Bo Mason, his wife, Elsa, and their two boys live a transient life of poverty and despair. Drifting from town to town and from state to state, the violent, ruthless Bo seeks out his fortune - in the hotel business, in new farmland and eventually, in illegal rum-running through the…
Why read it?
1 author picked The Big Rock Candy Mountain as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
Bo Mason drags his wife and two sons around the West chasing the next sure thing—Montana, Saskatchewan, Utah. Stegner grew up in that family, and you can tell: nobody writes the father this honestly who hasn't been the son.
What stops it being a simple indictment is Elsa, and the fact that the boys get something real out of the hard country even while it's costing them. I moved my family 2,650 miles on an idea of mine. The difference I'd claim is that mine was for them—and this book is the one that makes me check that claim. They…
From Vince's list on Vince Strawbridge's favorite books about what one generation hands the next.
If you love The Big Rock Candy Mountain...
The Golden Promise of Cripple Creek
When her wealthy politician boyfriend dumps her, disgraced social media influencer Maeve Mooney retreats to her family ranch—only to tumble down an abandoned mine shaft and straight into 1901 Cripple Creek, Colorado.
It's a world of glittering wealth, gritty saloons, and ongoing tensions between miners and powerful mine owners. Using…
Want books like The Big Rock Candy Mountain?
Our community of 13,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like The Big Rock Candy Mountain.
Share your top 3 reads of 2026!
And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.
164
readers submitted
so far, will you?
