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A review by reg_litbytes
The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women by Kate Moore
dark
emotional
informative
sad
slow-paced
3.5
TLDR: An emotional take on true historical events focusing on the humanity of the victims while still being informative. Leans a bit into the fictional. Went on a little too long and felt repetitive. I zoned out a few times.
TRIGGER WARNING: Graphic descriptions of disease
THE GOOD: I truly appreciate what the author is doing in this book - focusing on giving life to the women who suffered. The stories were laid out in a way that I felt how the suffering of each were all interconnected. I could feel the hopefulness, the grief, the helplessness, and the triumph of each victim that were given the spotlight. Lives and futures were ruined and I found myself getting mad and frustrated along with the victims. I wish I could look at pictures of each of them as they were being described - before and after the exposure. The goal of the author was to humanize the victims in contrast to how the other books covering the same topic has done - more scientific. So do take note that if you intend on reading this, it can often lean into the fictional. It does this by filling in some details that the author is unlikely to have known (ex. what the victims have been thinking and feeling apart from what they themselves have written).
THE BAD:
It went on too long that I found myself, at times, zoning out. The epilogue was proof enough that this didn't have to be as long as it is. Or maybe… it was meant more to be read on print than on audiobook? It got repetitive but understandably so because the victims all went through, more or less, the same horrors. Unfortunately, halfway through, I just couldn't wait to find out how they were able to resolve the issues and the impact on society (which the epilogue was able to cover).
THE NARRATION:
The narration was mostly fine but not something I would remember in the long term. I didn't feel comfortable speeding it up to more than 1.5x; but then again I don't usually speed up audiobooks.
TRIGGER WARNING: Graphic descriptions of disease
THE GOOD: I truly appreciate what the author is doing in this book - focusing on giving life to the women who suffered. The stories were laid out in a way that I felt how the suffering of each were all interconnected. I could feel the hopefulness, the grief, the helplessness, and the triumph of each victim that were given the spotlight. Lives and futures were ruined and I found myself getting mad and frustrated along with the victims. I wish I could look at pictures of each of them as they were being described - before and after the exposure. The goal of the author was to humanize the victims in contrast to how the other books covering the same topic has done - more scientific. So do take note that if you intend on reading this, it can often lean into the fictional. It does this by filling in some details that the author is unlikely to have known (ex. what the victims have been thinking and feeling apart from what they themselves have written).
THE BAD:
It went on too long that I found myself, at times, zoning out. The epilogue was proof enough that this didn't have to be as long as it is. Or maybe… it was meant more to be read on print than on audiobook? It got repetitive but understandably so because the victims all went through, more or less, the same horrors. Unfortunately, halfway through, I just couldn't wait to find out how they were able to resolve the issues and the impact on society (which the epilogue was able to cover).
THE NARRATION:
The narration was mostly fine but not something I would remember in the long term. I didn't feel comfortable speeding it up to more than 1.5x; but then again I don't usually speed up audiobooks.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer, Chronic illness, Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Terminal illness, Blood, Medical content, and Grief