A Times Book of the Month for readers of Golden Hill and Cloud Atlas.

It is 1800, and the future of Chicago hangs in the balance, to be decided on the outcome of a game of chess. Win or lose, the result will reverberate through the next 100 years of history, and the players’ lives, the lives of their descendants, and the city itself will never be the same again …

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‘A sprawling epic … An absorbing fictional chronicle of a city and its place in American history.’

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‘There is much of the panache of David Mitchell’s Cloud Atlas here: it is an epic story that sweeps the reader from a single log-house to a mass of steel-frame skyscrapers. It moves from bloody tragedy to financial skulduggery and farce, all through a subtle variety of narrative voices and perspectives. A notably rich, rewarding read.’

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‘Daring and unruly … Jonathan Carr ambitiously attempts a reconstruction of the development of Chicago … Often entertaining and very readable.’

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‘A wondrous, bold and playful first novel. Seductively fascinating characters, real and imagined, populate this fiction with their interweaving and intergenerational stories. But the hero’s journey belongs to the city itself … An exhilarating ride.’

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‘Carr's debut novel is an impressive literary experiment blending epistolary narratives, fragmented journal entries, and historical book chapters into a sprawling chronicle about the founding and development of Chicago in the 19th century … An ambitious literary debut that occupies a liminal space between alternative history and experimental literature.’

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‘Carr's kaleidoscope debut embroiders fact with fiction to tell an alternative history of Chicago's 19th Century in a symphony of voices. Using real-life historical figures, colorful stories and fictional journal entries, Carr traces Chicago's rise to an industrial titan and all-time great American city.’

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‘These mini biographical sketches impart serious commentary on aspects of history such as racism, greed, and love.’

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‘Carr’s prose is often amusing and heartfelt and pulls readers through the joys and pains of the people who made Chicago a city … if you are looking for a gritty, unapologetically unique “alternative” history of the Windy City, this is the place to start.’

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‘The rise of Chicago in the 19th century provides the frame for a trove of colorful stories and characters in this entertaining debut novel … Carr has a sure touch, and in many extended anecdotes, his narrative skills show exceptional detail, pacing, and tension. A solid storyteller enlivens a rich patch of American history.’

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‘An enticing debut ... a gritty and entertaining fictional history of a great American city.’

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‘Carr’s intricately woven debut evokes the history of nineteenth-century Chicago while showcasing important but little-known historical figures and fictional people from different walks of life who contribute to its development. The chronologically arranged chapters vary in style, from straightforward narrative to spot-on pastiches of news articles and diaries to excerpts from a compiled ‘alternative history’ text whose contents are cleverly self-referential … Ambition, injustice, and opportunity all play roles as Chicago expands outward and upward. Over time, the disparate stories, which span the entire century, intersect in delightfully unexpected ways.’