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A review by jcstokes95
The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women by Kate Moore
dark
emotional
informative
sad
slow-paced
2.5
Unfortunately, I feel like I’m giving a somewhat conflicted review here. The story contained within this book is harrowing and elicited a lot of fury from me as I read. We follow a score of women, in New Jersey and Illinois, who worked for USRC, painting dials with radium, unknowingly pouring poison into their systems for years. I should say, the poor women did not know, the company knew radium was dangerous from its creation. The main reactions I had while reading were wanting to scream OR wanting to find these men’s grave to shit on them. So….in that sense, Kate Moore really does get to the core of the story, which had been pretty much untold through a humanitarian lens.
However, I don’t feel I can call this book a runaway favorite because Moore’s writing style is substantially lacking. The chapters were punctuated with what felt like trite little speeches in the author’s voice. But they became repetitive… as did some of the evidence she was providing. I read this via audiobook, and at times I felt like I’d heard the line before in reference to other women. This made the 16 hour runtime feel like it could have been more succinct, thus having a larger impact. Something in Moore’s voice lacks the warmth to fully bring parts of this story to life. But I can’t fully fault her, because it’s clear the research for this book must have been painstaking. And I respect that she has created a real, readable record of these stories.
These women suffered from conditions that are frankly nauseating to read about. I can’t imagine living in the pain they did. Or having the strength of character and dignity they carried to fight a corporation which was so sinful. I mean, there is a point where they essentially steal a fucking body. And publish private medical information of a dead woman. I read this feeling only rage, so I recommend it, even though there are shortcoming in how it is written and structured.
However, I don’t feel I can call this book a runaway favorite because Moore’s writing style is substantially lacking. The chapters were punctuated with what felt like trite little speeches in the author’s voice. But they became repetitive… as did some of the evidence she was providing. I read this via audiobook, and at times I felt like I’d heard the line before in reference to other women. This made the 16 hour runtime feel like it could have been more succinct, thus having a larger impact. Something in Moore’s voice lacks the warmth to fully bring parts of this story to life. But I can’t fully fault her, because it’s clear the research for this book must have been painstaking. And I respect that she has created a real, readable record of these stories.
These women suffered from conditions that are frankly nauseating to read about. I can’t imagine living in the pain they did. Or having the strength of character and dignity they carried to fight a corporation which was so sinful. I mean, there is a point where they essentially steal a fucking body. And publish private medical information of a dead woman. I read this feeling only rage, so I recommend it, even though there are shortcoming in how it is written and structured.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Terminal illness, and Medical trauma