The Only Harmless Great Thing by Brooke Bolander

Title: The Only Harmless Great Thing
Series: n/a
Author: Brooke Bolander
Source/Format: Tor.com ebook club; eBook
More Details: Alternative History; Science Fiction
Publisher/Publication Date: Tor.com; January 23, 2018 

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Synopsis from Goodreads...

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.

I’m steadily making my way through all of the old Tor.com ebook club freebie titles that I haven’t read. The next one I wanted to mark off my TBR list this year was this one.

If, like me, you’ve read a book called The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America’s Shining Women—Kate Moore’s eye-opening historical nonfiction about the women who worked at radium-dial factories—then you can already guess the exact kind of tragedies that take place in Brooke Bolander’s 2018 novella, The Only Harmless Great Thing.

I was hooked, and I quickly got invested in some of the cast of characters. But that was because I found the side of the story that took place in the past particularly riveting—including the perspective of Topsy, and the other elephant related passages. I wanted to root for them, and I wanted it to work out. But, going into the novella, I knew it wasn’t going to be that kind of story. This one, through its tragedy, was about the message, but that’s exactly what made The Only Harmless Great Thing memorable for me. And, as I was reading it, I was strongly reminded of my experience with The Radium Girls. The story was very good in a lot of respects, as a work of fiction. But it also captured the same infuriating tone and behavior—just like the actual history it was partially based on—with the injustice of the situation and the open callousness of the people in charge.

At the end of the day, The Only Harmless Great Thing was meaningful and poignant, and I'm glad I finally read it. 

 

Music Monday (249): Remi Wolf, Tevin Campbell, Gaelle

Rules:

• Music Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Lauren Stoolfire at Always Me that asks you to share one or two songs that you've recently enjoyed. For the rules, visit the page HERE 

Breana: I wanted to mention another one of my favorite songs by Remi Wolf. This one is called Buzz Me In, and, just like Volkiano, it comes from her Juno album. Give it a listen!

Adri: I've been listening to Rain by Gaelle. I like how chill and soft it is.

Andrea: Hi all! This week, I'm listening to Can We Talk by Tevin Campbell. Have an amazing week!

What are you listening to this week?

The Friday 56 (238) & Book Beginnings: The Only Harmless Great Thing by Brooke Bolander

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.

Synopsis from Goodreads...

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? 

Silver Nitrate by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Title: Silver Nitrate
Series: n/a
Author: Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Source/Format: NetGalley; eARC
More Details: Fantasy; Historical Fiction; Mystery
Publisher/Publication Date: Del Rey; July 18, 2023

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Synopsis from Goodreads...

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Daughter of Doctor Moreau and Mexican Gothic comes a fabulous meld of Mexican horror movies and Nazi occultism: a dark thriller about the curse that haunts a legendary lost film--and awakens one woman's hidden powers.

Montserrat has always been overlooked. She’s a talented sound editor, but she’s left out of the boys’ club running the film industry in ’90s Mexico City. And she’s all but invisible to her best friend, Tristán, a charming if faded soap opera star, though she’s been in love with him since childhood. Then Tristán discovers his new neighbor is the cult horror director Abel Urueta, and the legendary auteur claims he can change their lives—even if his tale of a Nazi occultist imbuing magic into highly volatile silver nitrate stock sounds like sheer fantasy. The magic film was never finished, which is why, Urueta swears, his career vanished overnight. He is cursed. Now the director wants Montserrat and Tristán to help him shoot the missing scene and lift the curse . . . but Montserrat soon notices a dark presence following her, and Tristán begins seeing the ghost of his ex-girlfriend. As they work together to unravel the mystery of the film and the obscure occultist who once roamed their city, Montserrat and Tristán may find that sorcerers and magic are not only the stuff of movies.

Silvia Moreno-Garcia is a favorite author over here on my end of Our Thoughts Precisely. I’ve read a handful of her books: Gods of Jade and Shadow, Mexican Gothic, Velvet Was the Night, The Daughter of Doctor Moreau, and The Return of the Sorceress. Earlier this year, I was lucky enough to nab an eARC of her latest novel from NetGalley. I couldn’t read it right away, because there were other ARCs that were ahead of it. However, once it was June, it was the first one on my list.

Silver Nitrate promised to be thrilling and dark, and full of curses and magic. What I got was an incredibly immersive story that was exactly the right amount of horror, fantasy, and historical fiction. Set in Mexico City in the 90s, it had a focus on films and occultism. There were pop culture references, but there was a particular emphasis on the work of a fictional director named Abel Urueta and one of his movies. However, the aforementioned film wasn’t just any. It was incomplete, and it came with its own particularly troubled infamy—and a dangerous mystery that spanned decades.

I liked how Moreno-Garcia approached this aspect of the story: the historical details and how they influenced the fantasy ones. The occultism was an important part of the overall magic, but that was combined with commentary about prejudice and the cherry-picking—the twisting and claiming—of knowledge and traditions from other people. Creating an ensemble of bone-chilling antagonists that were menacing shadows across much of the story, producing some of the eeriest moments of Silver Nitrate.

This book also had wonderfully complicated characters, but that’s something that—after reading now six novels—I know this author does well (and it’s something I look forward to). The POVs consisted of Tristán, a soap opera star who sought an opportunity to revive his career, and Montserrat, a sound editor frustrated with the film industry. There were decades of history between the two, spanning back to their childhood. They knew each other and their respective habits. Their relationship—though complicated and not without its hiccups—felt organic and real, and it was something I truly loved about this book.

At the end of the day, Silver Nitrate is another exceptional novel from Silvia Moreno-Garcia. Among the ones I’ve read, it’s one of my top-favorites to date.

 

About the author....

Silvia Moreno-Garcia is the author of several novels, including Mexican Gothic, Gods of Jade and Shadow and The Daughter of Doctor Moreau. She has also edited a number of anthologies, including the World Fantasy Award-winning She Walks in Shadows (a.k.a. Cthulhu's Daughters). Mexican by birth, Canadian by inclination.

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Disclaimer: this copy of the book was provided by the publisher (Del Rey) via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review, thank you! 

Music Monday (248): FKA Twigs featuring Daniel Caesar

Rules:

• Music Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Lauren Stoolfire at Always Me that asks you to share one or two songs that you've recently enjoyed. For the rules, visit the page HERE 

Breana: Over the weekend, I revisited FKA Twigs' 2022 mixtap, Caprisongs. It's been a minute since I last listened to it in full, and, oh man, I forgot how good it was! And I really wanted to share another one of my favorite songs for today's Music Monday. Give a listen to Careless featuring Daniel Caesar!

What are you listening to this week?