Full Description
An artful and gripping new novel that recounts the human and environmental damage caused by actual disasters in Simi Valley, California
In award-winning legal scholar and novelist Yxta Maya Murray's new novel, federal agent Reyna Rodriguez reports on a real-life nuclear reactor meltdown and accidents that occurred in 1959, 1964, and 1968 at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory. An infamous research and development complex in California's Simi Valley, the lab was eventually dismantled by the US government—but not before it created a toxic legacy of contamination and numerous cancer clusters. Toxins and nuclear residue may have been further released by the 2018 Woolsey Fire and 2019 floods in the area.
God Went Like That takes the form of an EPA report in which Reyna presents riveting interviews with individuals affected by the disasters. With imagination and artistry, Murray brings to life an actual 2011 Department of Energy dossier that detailed the catastrophes and the ensuing public health fallout and highlights the high costs of governmental malfeasance and environmental racism.
Contents
I. Introduction
II. Results
Interview with Carlos Mejia, November 22-25, 2019, Canoga Park, California
Interview with Elisa Oumarou, January 10-12, 2020, in Chicago, Illinois
Interview with Barry Scott, January 3-6, 2020, Burbank, California
Interview with Yaoxochitl Sudo, January 3, 2020, Palm Springs, California
Interview with Greg Wiśniewski, October 3, 2019, Simi Valley, California
Interview with Rudy DimatibÁg, November 6, 2019, Starbucks CafÉ, Mill Valley, California
Interview with Simon Graham, Simi Valley, California, November 11-12, 2019
Interview with Monica RamÍrez, January 6, 2020, Montebello, California
Interview with Viola Singer, March 18, 2020, New York, New York, via Zoom
Interview with myself
III. Conclusion
Notes
Acknowledgements
