Reviews

Chimica by Weike Wang

barbiern84's review against another edition

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5.0

I liked the flow of the book. the writing and phrasing is much different than other books I have read. it kept me interested at all times.

idawgsbooks's review against another edition

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2.0

If you want to listen to a deadpan, depressing narrator, pick this book up for a nice downer.
It started to turn a little more sunny toward the end, but not enough to redeem this novel.
Not my cup of tea.

kats05's review against another edition

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4.0

A wonderful, confidently written debut (I think) novel by daughter of Chinese immigrants, Weike Wang. The book felt like a fictionalised autobiography, and I was most impressed with her honesty, openness and letting the reader see right inside the narrator's head and heart. And it certainly wasn't always pretty what we found there, but it felt so authentic that I truly enjoyed it.

The title is very obviously pertaining not only to the field of study that the narrator (and also the author) was pursuing her PhD in but also to life in general and more specifically the relationship between people, and how friendship, romance and love can be broken down. In fact, the (anti?) heroine of the book certainly has a destructive streak, categorising and breaking down the world around her into its basic chemical properties.

Very clever writing, I hope WW can follow it up with another smart, hopefully more plot driven novel.

scribblepost's review against another edition

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5.0

Confident, seemingly meandering but very controlled prose. Really enjoyed the dry, self-deprecating humor throughout. The writing is so deft, you almost take for granted the constant, tiny bursts of revelation.

joeykugler's review against another edition

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4.0

3.75

penly4522's review against another edition

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3.0

I'm torn on this one. It started slow but the writing was captivating and that's why 3 stars. The end though! I didn't like it at all. It felt like the book fell off a cliff. I wasn't expecting it so that says something.

kristindt's review against another edition

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4.0

Read through this so fast, which was a delight, but also a devastation because I wanted to savor it for longer

dmartinez422's review against another edition

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4.0

I can see why some people would not like this book. It feels like a caricature and maybe even a lazy one. But I enjoyed the format, even though I feel I missed the full experience listening on audio. There were very funny lines throughout. The second half wasn’t as strong as the first but had more emotion. Overall I enjoyed it a lot.

juliemowat's review against another edition

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4.0

Extremely well written. Fast read and very engaging. While a novel, the author appears to be similar to the narrator. Searched and searched to find more info but came up short.. The ending is unsettling.. Want to know more!!

ariberri's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25