Scan barcode
sakeriver's review against another edition
A well-written and moving tragedy, I thought. I think it’s interesting how Bolander juxtaposes the oppression and exploitation of women with the disregard for non-human others—here elephants are shown as unequivocally sentient. And possibly one could make of this story an allegory of race relations and particularly American treatment of indigenous people, although I’m not sure whether that’s intentional or not. Something to think about, anyway.
violentvixen's review against another edition
5.0
Liked this very much. The unique style and voices for each perspective worked very well. Would love to see more exploration of the world after the story takes place.
jensey's review against another edition
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.5
weltenkreuzer's review against another edition
4.0
Ich habe ein wenig gebraucht, um reinzukommen. Dann aber wird die Vermischung von Vergangenheit und Zukunft, von Wahrheit und Fiktion sowie von Tier und Mensch wirklich interessant und inspirierend.
balletbookworm's review against another edition
4.0
A very intriguing alternate history mashup of two real-life events: the Radium Girls and the electrocution of an elephant on Coney Island. The length is just right. I don't think it would have held for much longer.
arachnichemist's review against another edition
5.0
A bittersweet story about a woman and an elephant working at a radium factory. Both knew they were dying and wanted to make sure their suffering was remembered. I loved how the elephants were brought to life and a glimpse into their minds was really well done. A lovely novella.
goosemixtapes's review against another edition
5.0
(2022 monthly goals: whichever book has been on my TBR longest)
(1/25 off the 2022-specific TBR)
this is a book about cultural narratives and about the untold horrors of US manufacturing history and about how no one gets stepped on forever without learning to bite back. it's also about elephants glowing in the dark. and it's really fucking crazy good. it's been on my to-read list for years, in part because i adore brooke bolander's work and in part because "what if one of the radium girls was an elephant" is a god tier concept. and this novella fully delivers in under 100 pages. the multi-timeline storytelling. the placement of storytelling as the center of it all. bolander is a genius i think and also i think i need a fainting couch
(1/25 off the 2022-specific TBR)
No matter what you did, forty or fifty or a hundred years passed and everything became a narrative to be toyed with, masters of media alchemy splitting the truth's nucleus into a ricocheting cascade reaction of diverging alternate realities.
this is a book about cultural narratives and about the untold horrors of US manufacturing history and about how no one gets stepped on forever without learning to bite back. it's also about elephants glowing in the dark. and it's really fucking crazy good. it's been on my to-read list for years, in part because i adore brooke bolander's work and in part because "what if one of the radium girls was an elephant" is a god tier concept. and this novella fully delivers in under 100 pages. the multi-timeline storytelling. the placement of storytelling as the center of it all. bolander is a genius i think and also i think i need a fainting couch
jamesdanielhorn's review against another edition
4.0
Ok, so while the last one was too long this one was too short. Equally as impressive writing, equally depressing/important subject, equally abstruse plot points, and I liked it equally as much. The Only Harmless Great Thing was very good and Brooke Bolander deserves this novella’s acclaim, but this book could have been incredible with a little more development.
nerdsbianhokie's review
sad
3.25
Overall pretty good, especially once I worked out the structure. What I don't understand, however, is why the New Jersey workers have southern accents.
kralaa's review against another edition
4.0
I took a little bit to get into the flow of the story but I ended up really enjoying it. It combined the stories of the Radium Girls and Topsy the elephant in a really unique and interesting way.