The Friday 56 is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice where every Friday you pick a book and turn to page 56 or 56%, and select a sentence or a few, as long as it's not a spoiler. For the full rules, visit the the page HERE
Book Beginnings is a weekly meme hosted by Rose City Reader that asks you to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you're reading.
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.
Beginning: "There is a secret beneath the mountain's gray skin."
56: "The morning gets hotter. Sweat pops on her forehead, running down into her eyes to sting them shut."
Comments: A while ago, this novella was a Tor.com eBook Club title, but I've known about it since it came out in 2018. I kept telling myself I was going to read it but didn't. But, last month, I finally got around to The Only Harmless Great Thing! My 56 comes from page 46, because the story is very short. What are you reading this week?
Ominous snippets but I want to know more! happy weekend!
ReplyDeleteThe subject is pretty dark, because it's based on the history of the radium girls (just a fictionalized version with speculative aspects). Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you have a great weekend!
DeleteI'm not crazy about the cover, but I am interested in the book. Happy weekend!
ReplyDeleteThis book sounds so good. I read The Radium Girls last year, I'm sure it is related to this book.
ReplyDeleteFrom what I know, it's based on the same history as The Radium Girls. I also read that book a while ago, and parts of The Only Harmless Great Thing ended up feeling very familiar. Thanks for stopping by. Have a great weekend!
DeleteThis sounds like an emotional, gut-wrenching book.
ReplyDeleteIt was, but I went in with the expectation that it would be poignant. Thanks for stopping by! Have a great weekend!
DeleteI hope you enjoy this one. Have a great weekend!
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by, and I hope you have a great weekend too!
DeleteThis sounds really interesting! Thanks for sharing. Hope you have a great week! :)
ReplyDeleteIt was a thought provoking novella. Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you had a great weekend!
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