I'm always of the opinion that there are not enough stories that are told from non-human protagonists, and The Only Harmless Great Thing by Brooke Bolander gave me a dip into something quite different from my usual fare. It's alternative history, with a little magical realism thrown in that re-envisions the horrors of the Radium Girls by way of pachyderm lore. This shortish tale shakes its fists at the injustices of this world perpetrated by capitalism, the patriarchy, and our species' love for cruel spectacle.
This is not an easy read, and Bolander's style is simultaneously dream-like and poetic, while offering some hard hitting themes as she slip-slides between a human narrative and elephants' meanderings and myth. I honestly don't have much more I can say about this story except that it left me scratchy behind the eyes – which can be both a good and bad thing.
I suspect this is one of those titles that's not going to work for those who take issue with strong feminist themes in literature. All the viewpoint characters have some form of issue with males, for their own reasons. I'm able to separate myself from the characters, so I didn't ave any issues with this. Additionally, Bolander does not spoonfeed readers as she shifts between different points of view without overtly identifying the viewpoint character – so you're going to have to read for contextual cues quickly to figure out which of the protagonists is at the helm. Honestly, this didn't bother me either, as those cues are pretty obvious to attentive readers. If she was intending for this to be a jarring experience for readers, it does work.
Bolander revels in narrative ambiguity, with many questions unanswered – I like stories that challenge me. And maybe, because this is a shorter read, it's easier to digest in small bites, and it's memorable.
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