The Radium Girls by Kate Moore

Liz

February 13

The incredible true story of the women who fought America's Undark danger

The Curies' newly discovered element of radium makes gleaming headlines across the nation as the fresh face of beauty, and wonder drug of the medical community. From body lotion to tonic water, the popular new element shines bright in the otherwise dark years of the First World War.

Meanwhile, hundreds of girls toil amidst the glowing dust of the radium-dial factories. The glittering chemical covers their bodies from head to toe; they light up the night like industrious fireflies. With such a coveted job, these "shining girls" are the luckiest alive—until they begin to fall mysteriously ill.

But the factories that once offered golden opportunities are now ignoring all claims of the gruesome side effects, and the women's cries of corruption. And as the fatal poison of the radium takes hold, the brave shining girls find themselves embroiled in one of the biggest scandals of America's early 20th century, and in a groundbreaking battle for workers' rights that will echo for centuries to come.

CW:

Rating

Rating: 2.5 out of 5.

Review

I have had this book for a long time and wanted to read it because I found the battle and its outcomes very interesting.

When I started the book, I was familiar with the historical event, so it was easier to dive into. However, the writing style was the thing that shocked me the most; it was a mix of nonfiction and fiction. It surprised and destabilised me as I wasn't aware of that particularity, and I struggled a lot with it. Even if you know that the author did a lot of research to write this book and gives you details, sometimes it feels like she impersonates the girls, and I found it quite strange. I would rather have a book that is entirely nonfiction or fiction but not a mix.

Talking about details, there is a ton of them, indeed too much. If I hadn't had the audiobook while reading it, I'm sure I would have DNFed it. The author wants to tell this important story, which helps to "improve" the mentality and the laws concerning workspaces dealing with dangerous chemicals. Still, sometimes it's lengthy as you have a description of what's happening every minute in those girls' lives. It's not a bad thing as you learn to know them more and each of them becomes a real person, and not just one of the group, but the downside of it is the amount of information you read which is sometimes the same thing repeated I don't know how many time. Also, I learn fast not to eat while reading it. The number of descriptions of their health problems is unhealthy; this part was repetitive and gory.

Before reading this book, a little knowledge is important as many people are concerned about this story as it happened in different parts of the US and companies, and it can be difficult to follow sometimes. Also, and it's the first time I saw it, the families of those women are present, and we see how they lived in that situation. I found this moment very touching as you know that it doesn't only affect those women who are sick but those surrounding them.

I was happy to read/listen to it as I now have more knowledge about this event, but this book is definitely a one-time read.