Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

68 reviews

belleslibrary1012's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

Goodness, this book is the definition of perseverance. I almost gave it up and returned it to the library so many times. I could not believe a book with this following, all these awards and accolades...could be so terrible. It took exactly 214 pages to get interesting and ended before 400. The writing was dry, the chapters long, the characters forgetful. I found myself a few times having to go back and remember who someone was after being casually mentioned once four chapters ago. Needless to say, I had to work almost two full months to complete this book. Am I glad I did? Yes, because I do not like giving up on books. Also no, because I could have spent that time reading something that could grab and keep my attention full time. I'm interested to watch the adapted show and see how it gauges my attention. Perhaps this author isn't for me: regardless, it's done and I'm now ready for the next one.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fatphobia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Grief, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment

eunchoi's review against another edition

hopeful sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Blood, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Vomit

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Eating disorder, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Suicide, and Cannibalism

steph_weigle's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Death, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Grief, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, Outing, and Alcohol

thepurplepeep's review against another edition

dark inspiring medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual content

madzilla_reads's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

The characters are all so real and relatable. Love the insight into all there lives.

sad parts but worth it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Sexism, Sexual assault, Grief, and Car accident

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Toxic relationship

lokes's review against another edition

funny hopeful informative tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

tw: mentions of rape

Well, I’m not really sure how to rate this one… I quite liked the characters and the stories, even if it bordered on the whimsical and imaginary at times (like the hyper intelligent dog, the many coincidences between characters and especially the major plot points, etc), and the main character was feminist in the sense of the 21th century, which did throw me off a few times. Also, there is no intersectionality to the feminism of the main character, and her motto seems to be „tell women you’re proud of them and make their unpaid, invisible work (namely the house hold chores and child rearing) visible and tell them, that you’re proud of them doing it, and they’ll revolt and become suffragettes!“
The only really bad part would be the rape scenes, because the author gave the characters absolutely no reaction to that (apart from her crying once and being slightly disturbed while giving her police statement), and later even went as far as to make her pull out a kitchen knife when another male character tries to rape her (which leads to him immediately having a heart attack), all the while never letting Elizabeth have the room to acknowledge the trauma she suffered before, or working on said trauma, as if the rape made her a better, stronger women and wasn’t trauma at all, but simply something she needed to go through in order to become a feminist/independent woman. 
Apart from that, I think I liked it, even though the underlying plot is still about a man - her lover - and his long lost family. But hey, he was “one of the good ones”, to say it in the characters words…

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment

hmatt's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I had heard raves about this book, and I think perhaps I just have different literary tastes from the people who are raving...

Yes, it's a powerful concept and interesting story. But there are a few quirks in the writing that proved a bit too much for me, namely the dog POV. That really took me out of the grittiness of the rest of the story.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body shaming

Minor: Pregnancy

spootilious's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

 

 

Read: July 17th, 2024
 Title: Lessons in Chemistry 
 Author: Bonnie Garmus 

Genre:  Historical Fiction 

Rating: 2/5
 Review: 

I have been contemplating how to review this for a few hours now. It’s difficult because I really enjoyed reading the book. It made me smile, cringe, and cry; though I think the ‘Laugh out Loud’ reviews are a bit farfetched. In fact, this novel wasn’t just heavy, it hit like a freight train (pun intended). 

I suppose my biggest conflict is that I really really like the message of the novel and the focus on social injustices. 

The issue then becomes all the things I didn’t like about the novel. 

The work was written well enough but Garmus switch so drastically from one injustice to another that I felt as if I were getting whiplash. She moved back and fourth so much that I don’t think any one subject got as much attention as it deserved. The one focused on the most being Women Empowerment but it felt more like anti-men than pro-women… That being said, I am the type of woman that will ALWAYS choose the bear. Still, I think it would be nice to see a feminist store that builds its own ladder rather than using the destroyed men as stepping stones to empowerment… Cuz in the end it means we still need them… even if in a negative way. 

I found the dialog to often be condescending as well. Almost as if Garmus was throwing in ever intelligent sound word she could find. It felt forced. People of high intelligence can sound as brilliant as their IQ without sounding like a robot. 

The unapologetic and vulgar nature of the atrocities throughout the book is both disturbing and refreshing. I’ve mentioned it in a rare review but I have to admire an author who can simply write a horrific act without defending or explaining it, it makes it hit harder. 

That being said… There was a lot… and jumping from it to a ‘funny’ quip or one liner made the whole thing feel off putting… 

 

Overall I really enjoyed the read, just not the way it was written. I would recommend this to individuals who enjoy heavy reads/sad reads, drama, historical fiction that borders on fantasy, or a strong feminist tone. 

 

TBH I loved the show though. Very well done. 

QUOTES:
 “The librarian is the most important educator in school. What she doesn’t know, she can find out. This is not an opinion; it’s a fact.” 

“Imagine if all men took women seriously. Education would change. The workforce would revolutionize. Marriage counsellors would go out of business.” 

“Courage is the root of change—and change is what we’re chemically designed to do.” 

“Sometimes I think," she said slowly, "that if a man were to spend a day being a woman in America, he wouldn't make it past noon.” 

 

 

TW: Rape, Adultery, Religious bigotry, Racism, Feminism, Sexism, Animal harm, parental death, death of a child, death of a parent, pedophilia, sexual assault, sexual harassment, bombs, death threats, car accidents, suicide, domestic abuse, vomit, abandonment, mentions of abortion, alcoholism, drug use, blood, body shaming, bullying, child abuse, toxic relationships, stalking, slurs, gaslighting, grief, fatphobia, emotional abuse, classism, alcohol, animal cruelty, pregnancy, miscarriage, infidelity, emotional abuse, medical content. 

 

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Classism

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Hate crime, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and Classism

escapereader's review against another edition

This book was not for me. While there seemed to be potential in the FMC, the dull writing and lackluster "chemistry" in the romantic relationship made for a very boring read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment

beccamay99's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Death, Sexual content, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Child death, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail