The Only Harmless Great Thing
by Brooke Bolander
What is it about:
In the early years of the 20th century, a group of female factory workers in Newark, New Jersey slowly died of radiation poisoning. Around the same time, an Indian elephant was deliberately put to death by electricity in Coney Island.
These are the facts.
Now these two tragedies are intertwined in a dark alternate history of rage, radioactivity, and injustice crying out to be righted. Prepare yourself for a wrenching journey that crosses eras, chronicling histories of cruelty both grand and petty in search of meaning and justice.
What did I think of it:
As I loved Bolander's short story that was nominated for this year's Hugo Awards, I had to read her entry for Best Novelette of course.
*insert wildly flailing and blubbering piggy*
This is such a painfully beautiful story!
This alternate history has elephants working in a factory to paint the dials and numbers on watches with radioactive paint. As the story unfolds you get to know the girl who is instructed to teach them, and one elephant who is slowly getting to her breaking point. In between there are parts where elephants tell each other the stories of their ancestors.
I can not even tell you how much this story gripped me, how much I was rooting for the characters, and how much I cried over this book. I can tell you that I immediately ordered a print copy of this book when I finished it, and that I'll definitely will read more by Bolander.
Why should you read it:
It's a painfully beautiful story.
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