Toast.x2

  Permanence is a matter of perspective. As a squishy human that is merely a bag of meat and liquid, I view anything that is harder than my own body as permanent. I subconciously evaluate things around me and identify whether I could be killed or damaged by it landing on me, if it is impossible to move by hand, or is arguably a large dense rocklike element. These perspectives influence the scale and breadth with which I interract with others, my mental stability, and how I move about the world with confidence. I never gave much thought to the confidence and sense of reliability manifested by the percieved longevity of these objects. By proxy, I never gave much thought to Sand as an element or a composite requirement of construction of the same. It was just sand, something for childrens playgrounds, for cats to pee in, and someplace to visit on the coast that comes home in your shoes. Sand is little and light weight. It is the antithesis of permanence. It is the big sister of dust. ...

  It is a fine novella you created here, Brooke Bolander. I golf clap in honor of your book and simultaneously accept your apologies for making my soul cry bloody snot tears of angry sad mad. Not for the weak of heart! Serious. In this alt-history novella, the horrifically sad history of Topsy the Elephant (electrocuted for entertainment and ticket sales) is merged with the history of the Radium Girls. In this reweaving, the women poisoned by radium in watch factories of the early 20th century have begun replacing their cancer ridden work force with trained elephants. These enslaved Elephants can taste the poison they are ingesting and do what is possible to avoid the whip. Mixed throughout the novella are vignettes of Elephant history, passed down pack stories, and lore. Along side those are a loose plotline of Humans negotiating with modern Elephants to be pushed to poisoned reservation lands. These lands are offered as penance for past Human crimes, but are a different kind of p...