The Only Harmless Great Thing
The Only Harmless Great Thing is a 2018
The title is taken from John Donne's 1612 poem The Progress of the Soul, and is his description of an elephant.[1]
Synopsis
In a world where
Reception
Kirkus Reviews found it to be "rich (and) poetic", and observed that its "commentary around workers' rights, animal rights, and women’s rights" produces "a work grounded in injustice and outrage" which "never feels preachy", but also noted that Bolander's "gorgeous and vigorous" prose can hinder readability, as can the "frequent scene shifts".[2] Publishers Weekly considered it to be "disjointed" and "hard to follow", with little "plot or (...) emotional hook", but nonetheless stated that Bolander's "lyrical writing is pleasant".[3]
Award
The Only Harmless Great Thing won the
| Year | Award | Category | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Nebula Award | Best Novelette | Won | [4] |
| 2019 | Hugo Award | Best Novelette | Shortlisted | [6] |
| Locus Award | Best Novelette | Won | [5] | |
| Shirley Jackson Award | Novella | Shortlisted | [8] | |
| Theodore Sturgeon Award | — | Shortlisted | [7] | |
| World Fantasy Award | Novella | Shortlisted | [9] |
Origins
Bolander has described the story as the result of having read a Twitter poll in which Helena Bell asked which of several options she should write about next; two of the options were "elephants" and "radium poisoning".[10]
References
- ^ Elephants, and Remembering the Worst of History in The Only Harmless Great Thing, by Alisdair Stuart, at Barnes & Noble; published January 24, 2018; retrieved July 5, 2019
- ^ THE ONLY HARMLESS GREAT THING, reviewed at Kirkus Reviews; published November 15, 2017; retrieved July 5, 2019
- ^ The Only Harmless Great Thing, reviewed at Publishers Weekly, published December 11, 2017; retrieved July 5, 2019
- ^ Science Fiction Writers of America; retrieved July 5, 2019
- ^ a b Announcing the 2019 Locus Award Winners, at Tor.com; published June 29, 2019; retrieved July 5, 2019
- ^ a b 2019 Hugo Award & 1944 Retro Hugo Award Finalists, by Cheryl Morgan, at TheHugoAwards.org; published April 2, 2019; retrieved July 5, 2019
- ^ a b Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award: Finalists, at the Gunn Center for the Study of Science Fiction; retrieved July 5, 2019
- ^ "Gunn Center for the Study of Science Fiction News and Events". Gunn Center for the Study of Science Fiction. Archived from the original on 2012-06-15. Retrieved 2019-05-15.
- ^ "World Fantasy Awards 2019 | World Fantasy Convention". Retrieved 2019-07-25.
- ^ The Big Idea: Brooke Bolander, by Brooke Bolander, at Whatever.Scalzi.com; published January 25, 2018; retrieved July 5, 2019
External links
- Fire, Phantoms, and What Didn’t Make it into The Only Harmless Great Thing, story fragments which Bolander wrote but ultimately did not use