About this item
Mildred Groves is an unusual young woman. Gifted and cursed with the ability to see the future, Mildred runs away from home to take a secretary position at the Hanford Research Center in the early 1940s. Hanford, a massive construction camp on the banks of the Columbia River in remote South Central Washington, exists to test and manufacture a mysterious product that will aid the war effort. Only the top generals and scientists know that this product is processed plutonium, for use in the first atomic bombs. Mildred is delighted, at first, to be part of something larger than herself after a lifetime spent as an outsider. But her new life takes a dark turn when she starts to have prophetic dreams about what will become of humankind if the project is successful. As the men she works for come closer to achieving their goals, her visions intensify to a nightmarish pitch, and she eventually risks everything to question those in power, putting her own physical and mental health in jeopardy. Inspired by the classic Greek myth, this 20th century reimagining of Cassandra's story is based on a real WWII compound that the author researched meticulously. A timely novel about patriarchy and militancy, The Cassandra uses both legend and history to look deep into man's capacity for destruction, and the resolve and compassion it takes to challenge the powerful.
About the Author
Sharma Shields is the author of a short story collection, Favorite Monster, and two novels, The Sasquatch Hunter's Almanac and The Cassandra. Sharma's writing has appeared in Electric Lit, Slice, The New York Times, Slate, Kenyon Review, Iowa Review, Fugue, and elsewhere, and has garnered such awards as the Washington State Book Award, the Autumn House Fiction Prize, the Tim McGinnis Award for Humor, a Grant for Artist Projects from Artist Trust, and the A.B. Guthrie Award for Outstanding Prose. She received her B.A. in English Literature from the University of Washington (2000) and her MFA from the University of Montana (2004) . Sharma has worked in independent bookstores and public libraries throughout Washington State and now lives in Spokane with her husband and two young children. She is the Board President for the Friends of the Spokane County Library District and has also served on the programming committee for Spokane's Spark Central.Representation: Julie Stevenson with MMQLit.
