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4.19 AVERAGE
4.19 AVERAGE
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
This was a very moving story of courageous women who although very sick, fought back against the corporations that made them sick. They paved the way for laws and organizations that protect workers from occupation hazards. I was in tears at times, not believing that even with evidence presented that left no doubt as to the cause of their illnesses, the companies lied through their teeth.
This is a hard one to review. I had heard about this issue when I was in school, but the story in its long form presentation here is tragic and almost beyond belief. I appreciated the amount of research the author did to bring every detail to life. It was an important story and I’m glad I read it. What was experienced by these women is far beyond what I ever learned in school. In fact what we learned in school was so whitewashed it proves the author's point that almost no one really cared about the extreme suffering of these women.
That being said, I did not enjoy reading the book. I thought the writing was trite...it was as if the author was trying to mimic the wording choices of the past. Or as it might be phrased in this book, “the author’s voice was that of a bygone era”...that’s how the whole book read. She used a lot of hackneyed phrases, when she was writing and not quoting person from the past, "apples didn't fall far from trees", "the company shamelessly lied through its teeth", "followed her sister to that undiscovered country" "she was joined on the other side by her dad" "Now as Grace slept peacefully, others would have to take up her torch" "he was kindly looking with sticky-out ears" "Peg started bleeding continuously down below". ..."the murders were now unveiled in the cold light of day", "the radium girls did not die in vain" "her beautiful golden hair and fair coloring" "perfect teeth and beaming smile" . I could go on and on!!! The author wanted us to know the girls/women and not just what happened to them, but for me, the writing style was so annoying it actually accomplished just the opposite. I see by GoodReads that I am in the minority here, and it's not as if I could write better myself...but I also know if I would have turned in this kind of writing in college I would not have received a very good grade!!
5 stars for the story, 2 stars for the writing... I would still recommend the book because of the historical accuracy and importance of the story.
That being said, I did not enjoy reading the book. I thought the writing was trite...it was as if the author was trying to mimic the wording choices of the past. Or as it might be phrased in this book, “the author’s voice was that of a bygone era”...that’s how the whole book read. She used a lot of hackneyed phrases, when she was writing and not quoting person from the past, "apples didn't fall far from trees", "the company shamelessly lied through its teeth", "followed her sister to that undiscovered country" "she was joined on the other side by her dad" "Now as Grace slept peacefully, others would have to take up her torch" "he was kindly looking with sticky-out ears" "Peg started bleeding continuously down below". ..."the murders were now unveiled in the cold light of day", "the radium girls did not die in vain" "her beautiful golden hair and fair coloring" "perfect teeth and beaming smile" . I could go on and on!!! The author wanted us to know the girls/women and not just what happened to them, but for me, the writing style was so annoying it actually accomplished just the opposite. I see by GoodReads that I am in the minority here, and it's not as if I could write better myself...but I also know if I would have turned in this kind of writing in college I would not have received a very good grade!!
5 stars for the story, 2 stars for the writing... I would still recommend the book because of the historical accuracy and importance of the story.
dark
emotional
inspiring
sad
tense
This should be required reading in every high school curriculum, before our children enter the workforce, to make them aware of the sacrifices that it took to keep them safe at work, and also to create a healthy distrust of the corporate entities they work for, as they always value profit over individual lives.
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
DNF. I think it's important story and I knew what I was getting into, but the injury descriptions were too much for me /:
I really wanted to love this book. The story is extremely interesting but unfortunately it loses me in the writing. It gets very confusing with all the location and time jumps. And there were just too many names mentioned to keep an overview and feel deeply for these women. I wished the book would focus on just a few of the women but actually tell their story more in detail. Also side note but it was a bit weird how often the author mentioned how pretty or attractive those women are would've loved to know other things about them
A part of our history I never knew anything about. Unbelievable what the young girls went through physically and emotionally.
dark
informative
sad
slow-paced
I actually DNF, but want credit for the boring hours I spent getting to main point of this book. Fascinating history, but WAY over told. No need to know every detail about what each girl looked like and what her home life was like. This could have been a Times article, or even a series of articles. It didn’t need to be a 400 page book.