The Prospectors: An Epic Historical Fiction Novel Exploring Generational Wealth and Moral Conflict

by Ariel Djanikian

A sweeping rags-to-riches story of survival and greed across American history following a family transformed by the Klondike Gold Rush. “Told in glimmering prose and rich with historical detail, The Prospectors immerses us in the Yukon Gold Rush so deeply, you can feel the grit on your hands.”—Celeste Ng "Smart, surprising, and the sort of adventure that brings to life both a nineteenth-century gold rush and a twenty-first century fight for the family riches that remain."—Chris Bohjalian The middle daughter of struggling California fruit farmers, Alice Bush is accustomed to feeling inferior and destitute. But when her elder sister’s husband strikes a vein of gold in the Yukon Territory, Alice finally seizes control of her destiny by joining a wave of white settlers making the dangerous trek to the Klondike. What follows is an awakening of ambition for the quietly opportunistic Alice, who, by luck and circumstance, becomes tightly intertwined in her sister and brother-in-law’s newfound fortune, as well as the beginning of a generations-long family quest for wealth that unfolds against the icy Canadian wilderness and the booming oilfields of California. One hundred years later, in 2015, Alice’s great-great-granddaughter Anna must grapple with moral conflict and questions of justice as she travels to the Klondike to bequeath her would-be inheritance to the First Nations peoples who paid the price for its creation. Bringing the Klondike and turn-of-the-century California to vivid life, Ariel Djanikian weaves an ambitious narrative of claiming the American Dream and its rippling effects across generations. Sweeping and awe-inspiring,  The Prospectors  is an unforgettable story of family loyalties that interrogates the often-overlooked hostilities and inequities born during the Gold Rush era.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical, Canada, Book Club, Audiobook, Literary Fiction

384 pages, Paperback

First published October 3, 2023

About the author

Ariel Djanikian is the author of The Office of Mercy and The Prospectors. Her work has appeared in The Paris Review, Alaska Quarterly Review, Tin House, The Millions, The Rumpus, and elsewhere. Born in Philadelphia, she holds an MFA in fiction from the University of Michigan. She currently lives in the DC area with her husband, two kids, and puppy and teaches fiction writing at Georgetown University.

Reviews

[Angela M · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars
I don’t remember reading about the Gold Rush in a novel and definitely not in the Klondike. This is a fascinating adventure story. I’m not very adventurous and perhaps that’s why I found it appealing. Gold, then later to oil, a man and his wife find their fortune in the Klondike and that fortune breeds greed, ambition, deceit, manipulation and some truly unlikeable characters .

I liked the writing especially the descriptions of the Klondike. This a family saga with dual time lines, the 1880’s and present. I found it interesting that the main characters are based on the author’s family and other real people. Even though I get the connections between the present and past stories, I felt removed from the present story. Maybe there wasn’t enough of it told to connect to the characters. I didn’t know much about them. Having said that, the recent story does put emphasis on the wrongs done to First Nations people which is an important take away of the novel.

This might have been 4 stars if the connection between the time lines was better executed. Still worth reading. It felt like an accurate reflection of the history. I found the Klondike sections fascinating and learned a lot.

This was my monthly read with Diane . We had been on a roll with 4 and 5 star books, but I guess we can’t love them all.

I received a copy of this book from William Morrow/HarperCollins through Edelweiss.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Prospectors is smart, surprising, and epic: the sort of adventure that brings to life both a nineteenth-century gold rush and a twenty-first century fight for the family riches that remain. It's more than a golden nugget of a novel. It's the motherlode and I absolutely loved it.

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

The grandfather’s attitude until the very end was laughable. I once heard people who’ve always had money are greedier than the people who’ve had to work for it. I think there’s some truth to this. At least it seems true for the grandfather’s children. Aside from the grandchildren trying to make things right and the wronged family, the only character I enjoyed to any degree was Alice’s husband. Ok, her sister seemed to have a moral compass as well, so I can say I liked her too. But for the most part, the whole book was frustrating in that no one really had the moral high ground to the extent they thought they did. No one deserved anything. Yet they all acted like it when the family fortunes were made. 3.5. Rounding up to 4.

[RaeLeigh · Rating 1 out of 5]

The bad review is not because I hated the book. I didn’t. It just wasn’t good. The writing wasn’t good. The characters weren’t good. The plot wasn’t good. Just a boring book I had to trudge through.

[Ashley Simanton · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was a slog. I hated the characters, and the plot was slow and clunky. It was a fantastic idea for a story, just wasn't executed correctly.

[Diane S ☔ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Joanne Leddy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would have preferred more story and information on the gold rush of Alaska and less on the present day drama of perceived guilt / responsibility. 3.5 Stars.

[Mitzi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked up this book for 2 reasons. 1) I knew nothing of the Klondike Gold Rush and I really enjoy historical fiction and 2) I think it's really important to learn about the injustices that Native peoples experienced during different time periods with the hopes that we won't continue to let things like that happen. The Prospectors is based on the actual historical Bush and Berry families who started out as struggling fruit farmers in Selma, California and then went on to strike gold in Canada. There were many struggles that the white settlers experienced in the wilderness but it also brings to light the effect that the gold rush had on the lives and traditions of the First Nations peoples. An interesting tidbit is that 2 of the main characters are actually the author's great-great grandparents and she remembered pieces of their stories that she heard in her childhood. Top that with extensive research and you have a very interesting read indeed!

[Sheri · Rating 5 out of 5]

The “Prospectors” by Ariel Djanikian was a fascinating adventure based on the author’s own family history. It is the story of what took place during the Alaska Yukon Gold Rush. The story involves two families whose struggle for adventure leads to great wealth at incredible odds. Its characters are well developed, and the strength of the two main characters who are women is inspiring. We are bounced back and forth from the late 1800s to present day. We learn how the greed that came from this wealth, precedes the injustice to the native people which comes full circle to affect the current generation. This a powerful and thought provoking book that was impossible to put down.

Thank you NetGalley, William Morrow, and the author for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

[Moonkiszt · Rating 3 out of 5]

A story of the Klondike Gold Rush, The Prospectors uses real people (the author's relatives) for some of the jumping off places into the fiction of her tale.

This is a two-tales woven together presentation - the origin of the problematic circumstances arising out of the rush to dig gold 1897 thru 1904 by the Berry and Bush families, to their generations forward in 2015 trying to give back some of the wealth created by that original gold to the First Nations people.

Although this is one of my interest areas - I have family in Juneau and Anchorage - it was not a sticky read for me. I found no one character whose choices I could get into, or even really relate to, so it was reading at arms' length. Yet there's a bravery in beginning uncomfortable conversations, and that is definitely here.

*A sincere thank you to Ariel Djanikian, William Morrow, and NetGalley for an ARC to read and review independently.*

[Lynette McDonough · Rating 5 out of 5]

A big family saga that's largely focused on the Klondike gold rush. The story alternates from the story of the 1890s in the Alaska to the descendants in the present day. Clarence and Ethel Berry strike it rich and return to their claim with Ethel's sister Alice in tow. It's Alice who has the loudest voice and she's also got a secret. The characters are well developed and interesting You are also introduced to Clarence's brothers Henry and Frank, Jim the indigenous guide and his sister Jane who also has a secret and are entwined with the Berry and Bush clan in the Klondike. In the present day a descendant of Alice's wants to make amends for the wrongs he believes were done to the indigenous tribe during the gold rush and enlists is granddaughter and her husband with the task of righting a wrong. This also has it' own twists and turns.

I enjoyed the ride and was intrigued when I discovered that the story is actually based on the author's own family history. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and would recommend to someone looking for a historical fiction.

[Rosemary Mccaffrey · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read as far as page 250. Couldn’t make myself finish it. I just didn’t care about any of the characters. Might have been me…going through stressful time. But, I needed a good book and this wasn’t it. 🤨

[Jeff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Step back in time, with Peter Bailey. Welcome to the Klondike gold rush of the 1890s.

In The Prospectors, author Ariel Djankikian borrows from her own family history to craft a novel that is one part history, one part mystery; an exploration of diaspora and a striking of pay dirt.

Beginning in present day, we join Anna and Owen as they set out on a mission at her grandfather’s request, to right a wrong from long ago. Faced with an acceptable alternative by the descendants of the aggrieved, the couple finds themselves in a race against time, age, and greed, only generations removed from a similar race to find gold during the short daylight months of the Yukon.

In the Nineteenth Century we travel with Alice Bush, her ailing sister and her brother-in-law from California to the far north, where Clarence Berry works to solidify his newfound fame and fortune by digging up more nuggets of wealth. In his employ are a brother and sister—native people whose lands have been invaded—to help care for his wife and secure their riches. After some gold goes missing, a tale unfolds that leaves the reader questioning who is friend and who is foe? Who is victim, and who is villain? Friendship, love, and bloodlines are tested. Underlying it all: A need for greater status, and more “stuff.”

A brilliant look at America’s “other” gold rush, and a noble acknowledgement of a cruel past, The Prospectors is fun, dark, and important. Who will survive the cold?

[Miss Lili · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not too often you can really like a book but really dislike the main character (Alice)!

[Neda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, I liked the story. But it moved SO slow. A lot of unnecessary details in my opinion. The writing for the gold rush era was a lot better than the contemporary parts.

[Asheley T. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm split on this one and it's because I felt so differently about the two timelines in the story. The largest chunk of the story takes place in the late 1890's way up in Western Canada during the Klondike Gold Rush and follows one family in their pursuit of wealth from mining gold. There is another chunk of the story that is set in present-day times featuring the same family that shows how they all deal with the legacy of their family's wealth and position.

I inhaled the Gold Rush chapters. The first person in the family discovers gold, and then one by one the rest of the family jumps on board with the mining in various ways. I loved watching the family start to have some hope and purpose after a string of setbacks, and it was nice to see them rise socially. There is a ton of greed and betrayal though, and once it rears its head, it really never lets up. I enjoyed the rise of the drama and watching it all unfold. It was interesting to try to put myself into the heads of these people. More than anything, I loved watching how this family adapted to traveling over the land back during the 1890's and how they adapted to living in the harsher climates and conditions up in the mining camps. The adaptation of people to their circumstances throughout different periods of history is my favorite part of historical fiction, and this really checked those boxes for me.

The present-day chapters were a slog for me. First of all, I don't think they were needed. Or at least, I don't feel like they progressed the story at all. I understand that this is the author's story to tell, and as it was about real humans that lived before us (and they were her family!), she probably had a reason for including both time POVs. But I did not enjoy the greed and betrayal in THIS part of the story one bit. There are a lot of layers to this greed and betrayal, and I don't think the resolution was worth the slog to get there. Unfortunately, THIS portion of the story is what pops into my head first when I think about this book.

So, for these two completely different feelings about the two portions of this book, I had to adjust my rating. The present-day ending overshadowed the very best part of this story, and it was what I was left with when I finished the book.

Many thanks to William Morrow for sending me a copy of this book for review via NetGalley. These thoughts are completely my own!

[Trisha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found myself completely swept away with this story. As an audio, this narrator was just wonderful and pulled me right into the story.

It's a dual timeline and I appreciated both. One, a great great granddaughter is trying to fulfill a grandfather's dying wish. In another, a young family is trying to strike it big in Alaska during the gold rush and then, eventually, oil. As with any big windfall of money, this family in Alaska encounters sickness, greed, envy and deceit.

I loved learning about this family. The note at the end that this is based on the author's real family was such a nice treat. I agree with others that said they wished they'd known in the beginning. It would have added such an interesting element, but adding it at the end worked too!

Such a fascinating story about survival, adventure, and taking a chance. I loved it!

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

[Vanessa · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️

I enjoyed the storytelling this author supplied. I was deeply engrossed in the details, but didn’t find this book to be completely predictable. I had a love/hate relationship with Alice, as she was headstrong and courageous, but also furiously stubborn and at times very self serving.

It was interesting for me to ask my self at times who was the villain of this story. The natives to the Klondike or the Californians working the land - or something else like greed and wealth.

All over, an engaging historical fiction stacked with flawed characters that will drive you mad with their choices.

[Melissa B · Rating 5 out of 5]

An exceptional book, based on the author’s own family.
The story of the Klondike gold rush was fascinating. Not knowing anything about this except that it had happened made this extra interesting. I learned so much.
Well written, well developed.
I received this through GoodReads First Reads.

[Annie Stiles · Rating 1 out of 5]

Slow and poorly written

[Alex LB · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Prospectors is an ambitious book. The author tries to tackle a wide range of issues - multigenerational family trauma, indigenous rights, reparations, legacy, the millionaire class. She is also somewhat hamstrung by her own history. Our primary protagonist, Alice, is based on one of the author's ancestors. In my book club of 9 people, no one seemed to relate to or even particularly like Alice as a character. Throughout the entire book, there was a tension between what the author wanted to say (which is, basically, racism=bad, excessive wealth=bad), and what it was necessary for her characters to do, either to drive the plot forward or because it was what they actually did in history. The author failed to paint a fully-realized portrait of any of the indigenous characters, but that was okay, because the white characters were so entirely selfish and horrible that no reader could possibly want any good to come to them. A more interesting and complex novel would have engaged with the tension between morally complicated individual people and their role (and complicity) in an unjust and corrupted system. The book was also too long. The author has a habit of using excessive commas. She starts her sentences in one place and then halfway through decides to take them in a different direction. I am a bit of a hypocrite since I am quite the rambler in most of my communications, but then again, I am writing work emails, not a published novel. I don't think this is necessarily a bad book, but I think readers without a critical eye might take away the basic 'racism=bad' message, without engaging with that idea in any kind of meaningful way.

[Antonella · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Prospectors is a beautifully written historical fiction based on true events and people. It follows Clarence Berry, his wife Ethel, and her sister Alice Bush as they travel to the Klondike during the Gold Rush in 1898. Clarence and Ethel had already staked a claim in the Yukon Territory and Alice wants to join them on their second trip to make her own fortune.

The story spans 1898-1904 and then flips to 2015 where we learn about the Berry/Bush descendants. Parts of the book are based on Alice’s memoir, and in the Acknowledgements section, we learn that the author is a descendant of Alice.

Alice is on the dangerous journey to help her sister Ethel who is in ailing health. When they finally make it to their claims, Alice’s true character emerges: she dislikes her brother-in-law and the helpers he hired: Jim, a First Nation person, who is their packer, and his sister Jane, who is hired as their housekeeper. Alice is a schemer and wants to make her own fortune in any way possible.

In 2015, Alice's great-great-granddaughter Anna, makes the trip to Yukon to help her grandfather make reparations to Jim and Jane’s descendants because he believes Clarence made his fortune by stealing land from the First Nation people.

I liked the parts of the book that took place in the Klondike but I could have done without the story in 2015 because it felt a little politically motivated. The story also jumps from 1898 to 1904 Los Angeles where Alice and Clarence are the best of friends (or fiends), without explanation.

[Dana K · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Prospectors tells us the story of a family who gets lucky at the beginning of the Klondike gold rush. Our main characters are two sisters, one who has married a man with a dream to strike it rich. After their first successful trip they enlist the second sister and his brothers to join them in Alaska. We see the grave dangers or travel to their claims, the struggles with the local indigenous people and the others trying to grab claims. This was definitely the more compelling story of the two timepoints we are given. The second is current time where the descendents of this family are dealing with their riches and the desire for their patriarch to pay reparations to an indigenous family wronged in his family's rise.

I love these type of historical fiction novels that really immerse you in a little known piece of history and provide you a new view with modern eyes on the ethics and politics of the time. The characters varied in their likability but their motives were all relatable. We get a real view of women in the time as well which I thought was fabulously done and gives us both views of women who accept their fates and those who break norms. What I loved most was the afterword which tells us this is all based on the author's own family.

[Jenna Beck · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Prospectors by Ariel Djanikian
⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 (3.5/5)
Genre: Historical Fiction
About 365 pages

The Bushes and the Berrys followed the masses to Yukon Territory during the Klondike Gold Rush. The families made millions off stolen land, and years later, one family member wants to share some of that wealth with those his ancestors neglected. But is it too late? And is that the right thing to do? The Prospectors follows the stories of the gold rush years and Anna and her grandfather trying to restore the scales that were long neglected.

I normally wouldn’t pick up this book on my own, but when it was picked as my book club book last month, I was intrigued. I won’t lie… I STRUGGLED for the first 1/3 of this book. This book is a slow burn, and it took me a while to get invested in the story, but once I did, I was fully in. The family drama was entertaining and convoluted. The characters were complex and not always likable. And it forced the reader to think about their morals and the extensive history of stolen land in America. I don’t think the present-day storyline was necessary since (1) the stories didn’t tie in closely/build off each other a lot and (2) we didn’t get a ton of pages of it anyways.

Favorite Quote: “You’re right,” Owen agreed, though in a way to make me realize that I’d talked myself into a trap. “It is too complicated. Which ends up being super convenient for us. The harm we do to other people is so obfuscated by all these layers of economic transactions that it’s almost totally hidden. It makes it perfectly rational to give up trying to figure out how our actions affect other people.”

[Lolita Kringe · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was hoping to read a book all about mining for gold. Not the case. They had two different years 1890s and the 1990s that they wrote and read about. They had two different readers read about the 1890s and the 1990s. They alternated between those years. Because of this I felt as if it was hard to follow and relate to any character. I felt it was scattered too much to stay with the story line and the characters.

[Izzy · Rating 4 out of 5]

There wasn’t a single character I liked in this book, but that’s kind of the whole point, isn’t it? Thank you Wells :)

[Phyllis Kollar · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5..powerful and thought provoking story of the Klondike Gold Rush...I got so engaged in the past that when the story came back to the present day, I had forgotten we started there.

[Jana · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5
I loved the story of the Berry Bush Family and their discovery of gold in the Klondike. The fearlessness and sense of adventure are admirable.
The dual time line from the late 1800’s to 2015 was not necessary. It was distracting and did not add to the story. As far as I can tell from limited research, the events of 2015 were fictional.
I would have liked some author notes at the end. To explain what was factual and what was not would have been helpful. What happened to the characters? What does the family tree look like today?
The story was based on the author’s own family. What branch is she descended from?

[serenity :) · Rating 1 out of 5]

1.5 -- an insomniacs wet dream,, a miracle cure for the sleepless

[Terri · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m not quite sure how I stumbled on this novel, but a happy stumble it was! I love historical fiction that takes me back in time, grips me with its plot and characters, and teaches me about history at the same time. In my opinion, the Prospectors delivered it all.

I’m afraid the largest source of my knowledge ofthe Klondike gold rush is derived from the Yosemite Sam cartoons of my youth and some very bad westerns. I’m not sure I’ve ever read a novel set in that time period, and I feel I learned a great deal in these pages. Djanikian’s writing carried me on an adventure I can’t even imagine experiencing. The pure bravery that drove people to put themselves through such duress to pursue a dream few of them would have materialized was both admirable and appalling. I was on the edge of my seat on that initial journey to the Klondike.

I can honestly say it never occurred to me that the area had native people who were displaced for the sake of other’s success. I’m so grateful that Djanikian placed such focus on the other side of the story.

The characters are SO real and, in the case of Alice, the character development was expert and shocking!

I loved this novel. You might, too.