[MRC]≡ PDF The Only Harmless Great Thing Brooke Bolander 9781250169488 Books

The Only Harmless Great Thing Brooke Bolander 9781250169488 Books

Download As PDF : The Only Harmless Great Thing Brooke Bolander 9781250169488 Books

The Only Harmless Great Thing Brooke Bolander 9781250169488 Books

Brooke Bolander delivers another powerful, poetic, and abstract piece of art. But will YOU like it?

What it is: The Only Harmless great thing floats between multiple perspectives, time periods, and (I would argue) writing styles in an almost Faulknerian way. It challenges the reader to go slow, to reread, to understand. And, ultimately, to feel.This results in a work much like many of her short stories (some of which are free online and you should check out if you're considering purchasing this book. I suggest "Sun dogs"). Bolander uses poetic prose, to deliver a raw, emotional story that, like most ambitious art, will divide readers. Which leads too...

What it isn't: This is not a straightforward non-fiction tale. We are not given a neat cast of characters, an easily readable plot, or clear directions on how to read what we are given. There are no, "We are now in 19-whatever" road signs easing our passage through this historic retelling.

What will they say: Some readers will struggle with this work. That's ok. In fact, perhaps the best part about "Harmless..." is its compactness. If you struggle with non-linear storytelling, ambiguous prose, and unresolved plot lines then this could be your dipping-in-your-toe moment. You can take your time with this piece, struggle with it, let it breathe, and still finish before you get that frustrated feeling of spending too much time on one book. However, know this, in addition to everything mentioned above, Bolander doesn't pull punches when it comes to describing the decay (both physical and spiritual) inherent in this story. I would put the descriptions in this book up against the best noir on the market today. It is raw, heartbreaking, gut punching, and above all else, beautiful. A book that, if you give it your time, you will find yourself coming back to years later.


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The Only Harmless Great Thing Brooke Bolander 9781250169488 Books Reviews

I don't read much short fiction. I've always been a person who loved to slog through intense and complicated worldbuilding that was expertly crafted in the discount space of 1,000 pages.

Then I started to hear about this book. I started to hear people rave about the book.

I don't know how she did it, but the author manages to craft such a complex setting that it actually stunned me. No one should possess the talent to do what Bolander has done here and claim to be just a normal writer. This book pulls at you and in my case, taught me about the Radium Girls and their tragic spot in our history.

This is an outstanding story from a truly gifted person and I look forward to seeing more from them.
I knew I'd love The Only Harmless Great Thing before I bought it because I have knelt before Brooke Bolander's prose many times before and cooled my hot head beneath its flowing language. What I didn't know is that I'd want to hug her heroes and interlace my fingers with theirs as they raised their fists (or what have you) to strike at things miles wider than themselves. Things that very much deserve to be struck. Yesterday, I peeled open the electric cover, read this book around work and around life, and resented the hell out of every interuption that came my way.

Coming to a new Bolander piece, the mind has to wade in slowly. It has to pause sentence by half-sentence to translate a work of English-as-we-wish-it-would-be into the English we use over countertops and through car windows. As she overthrows clichéd phrases again and again, she reminds us how large life truly is and how we fail as thinkers to make the connections that would open up worlds to us.

Should we thank our publishers above who know enough to deliver her verbal delicacies to us like events on some secret holiday schedule of need? Or should we curse our culture because life in general isn't written like this? (Just imagine an existence of Bolander-scribed street signs and vacuum cleaner directions! *sigh*) We should do both. Be thankful for what work of hers we get, and shout at life for always leaving us wanting more.
Everything about this book was deeply immersive. In a way, it reminded me of A Clockwork Orange in that it dumps you into the middle of a lexicon that you may not completely understand at first, but somehow by the end of the story, you know exactly what the characters are talking about. The alternative take on history was so well-blended that there were times I was questioning which part of the narrative was rooted in historical truth... and I'm a historian. My only gripe is that I would have loved for the ending to play out instead of just being implied, but otherwise, this is an incredible and transformative short story.
Brooke Bolander's THE ONLY HARMLESS GREAT THING is not a book you can read in fits and starts. Instead, set aside a bit of time to read it from cover to cover. Immerse yourself completely in the story of Regan, a young woman dying from radiation poisoning, and Topsy, the elephant she's assigned to train to do the job that is killing her. Interspersed with their tale are glimpses of the future in the form of Kat, a scientist who has developed a warning system for a nuclear waste dump and is now tasked with selling the idea to the ones who will carry it out elephants. But that's not all... there's also a fable about the strength and wisdom of the elephant, there are poems and songs, and there are news stories. All of this in less than 100 pages!

Bolander's novella is both brutal and gorgeous. Every sentence has purpose, and even the horrific episodes are beautifully written. The females--both human and elephant--are strong and compelling characters. This is a book that will have more meaning with subsequent readings--in fact, I recommend finishing the book, pausing to reflect, and then starting over again. Repeat as necessary.
Brooke Bolander delivers another powerful, poetic, and abstract piece of art. But will YOU like it?

What it is The Only Harmless great thing floats between multiple perspectives, time periods, and (I would argue) writing styles in an almost Faulknerian way. It challenges the reader to go slow, to reread, to understand. And, ultimately, to feel.This results in a work much like many of her short stories (some of which are free online and you should check out if you're considering purchasing this book. I suggest "Sun dogs"). Bolander uses poetic prose, to deliver a raw, emotional story that, like most ambitious art, will divide readers. Which leads too...

What it isn't This is not a straightforward non-fiction tale. We are not given a neat cast of characters, an easily readable plot, or clear directions on how to read what we are given. There are no, "We are now in 19-whatever" road signs easing our passage through this historic retelling.

What will they say Some readers will struggle with this work. That's ok. In fact, perhaps the best part about "Harmless..." is its compactness. If you struggle with non-linear storytelling, ambiguous prose, and unresolved plot lines then this could be your dipping-in-your-toe moment. You can take your time with this piece, struggle with it, let it breathe, and still finish before you get that frustrated feeling of spending too much time on one book. However, know this, in addition to everything mentioned above, Bolander doesn't pull punches when it comes to describing the decay (both physical and spiritual) inherent in this story. I would put the descriptions in this book up against the best noir on the market today. It is raw, heartbreaking, gut punching, and above all else, beautiful. A book that, if you give it your time, you will find yourself coming back to years later.