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4.19 AVERAGE
4.19 AVERAGE
The story was compelling but the writing was not
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Cancer, Chronic illness, Death, Medical content, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Miscarriage
emotional
informative
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
The Radium Girls tells the story of the real-life dial painters who were dangerously exposed to radium in the line of their work and then left out to dry by the companies that employed them and exposed them to that danger in the first place.
I appreciated the attention to detail that the author paid to the girls themselves, the real-life women who lived and suffered and died all for the act of painting luminous clocks. The amount of detail made the women and what they went through that much more real. It’s clear that a lot of care and research went into the writing of this book, and it is a harrowing tragedy to wade through.
That being said, my biggest critique of the book is the way that it novelizes the story, at times in a very dramatic voice. With all of the research that went into this, I wish it was more just stated fact and less dramatization. The whole situation that the radium girls were in was harrowing enough without the use of dramatic narrative language. “This is a non-fiction book; just state the facts,” is how I felt at times. I suppose the narrative aspect does make the historical nature of the reading more palatable for some readers, but it wasn’t for me.
I appreciate the story of the radium girls and the effect that their lives had on history, but I wouldn’t read this particular book about them again.
I appreciated the attention to detail that the author paid to the girls themselves, the real-life women who lived and suffered and died all for the act of painting luminous clocks. The amount of detail made the women and what they went through that much more real. It’s clear that a lot of care and research went into the writing of this book, and it is a harrowing tragedy to wade through.
That being said, my biggest critique of the book is the way that it novelizes the story, at times in a very dramatic voice. With all of the research that went into this, I wish it was more just stated fact and less dramatization. The whole situation that the radium girls were in was harrowing enough without the use of dramatic narrative language. “This is a non-fiction book; just state the facts,” is how I felt at times. I suppose the narrative aspect does make the historical nature of the reading more palatable for some readers, but it wasn’t for me.
I appreciate the story of the radium girls and the effect that their lives had on history, but I wouldn’t read this particular book about them again.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Cancer, Chronic illness, Death, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Infertility, Miscarriage
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
slow-paced
dark
informative
sad
slow-paced
emotional
informative
sad
slow-paced
A shocking tale of corporate cruelty and indifference, this book highlights the tragic story of the doomed young women who paved the way to the modern occupational protections employees are now entitled to. The author does a good job of honouring the women for who they were in life and the loss their families felt in their premature passing. She did not shy away from the horror of their deaths, but focussed on their endurance and bravery in the search for justice.
At times the large cast and multiple locations made the story difficult to follow, and it was not always told in a linear way, jumping from tale to tale. I wish it had been a little shorter and more straightforward, but overall it was an excellent recount of the experience of these poor women and the wrongs they suffered.
At times the large cast and multiple locations made the story difficult to follow, and it was not always told in a linear way, jumping from tale to tale. I wish it had been a little shorter and more straightforward, but overall it was an excellent recount of the experience of these poor women and the wrongs they suffered.
Fascinating story that just went on a little too long for my taste. I was ready for the court cases and the fallout (no pun intended) much earlier in the narrative.
It’s crazy reading about how they interacted with those radioactive materials! Reading about the lip pointing was so disturbing!
It’s crazy reading about how they interacted with those radioactive materials! Reading about the lip pointing was so disturbing!
informative
sad
medium-paced