The Only Harmless Great Thing by Brooke Bolander
Brooke Bolander’s The Only Harmless Great Thing (2018) is a lyrical, often moving, and sometimes searing novella that sets itself in an alternate reality that entangles two historical events: the public electrocution of Topsy the elephant at Coney Island in 1903 and the “Radium Girls” scandal in the early 1900s. That the two events were not simultaneous as in the novella is only part of the “alternate” part of this alternate reality. More central to the plot is the fact that elephants in this world are sentient.
Read More
Update: Yesterday was Independent Bookstore Day and I ordered the first two volumes of this.
Well done, Mandy! Thanks for your interesting and VERY well-written review. Your enthusiasm for the book in question will likely…
thanks for this! While I enjoy graphics, I confess it's an area I'm always far less aware of (save for…
Mandy, thank you for this great review. Today is Independent Bookstore Day and I will be at a specialty store…
Me, too! I think independent bookstore are enjoying a golden age, and I plan to continue to support that. One…