Reviews with content warning for Car accident - Eine Frage der Chemie

I read this because I’m a chemist and other chemist bookish friends were torn between loving or hating it. I don’t get triggered by much and I think it’s because I’m extremely lucky to have not gone through a lot of singular traumatic events in my life. Even with that I was extremely annoyed with the trauma porn in the first third of the book. The story could have been equally impactful without some of the descriptions in the book.

especially then graphic description of Calvin’s death. That was seriously unnecessary.

I was bored with the second third of the book, probably because I was so frustrated with the first third. The last third I actually really enjoyed. It had taken me months to get to the last third and then I flew through it in a week.

I think one thing that really bothered me that made it hard to push through is that they portrayed Elizabeth as a stereotypical chemist. Socially awkward and only focused on her work. I assume she’s on the spectrum but maybe not written this way intentionally.

The last part of the book is empowering. Like it’s nice to see the character pushing through boundaries and other parts of the story coming together but I was still a BIT bothered by the end because

the justice that gets her back into science is incredible privilege

but nevertheless it was satisfying to read.

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ashdawn's review against another edition

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This one was a DNF for me. For something that is "Laugh-out-loud funny, shrewdly observant, and studded with a dazzling cast of supporting characters....", I was not expecting the graphic rape scene in chapter 3.

Overall, the feeling of the book is pretentious. Elizabeth (and her daughter as well, who very much gives off Young Sheldon vibes, but is never in trouble at school for being outside the box) is shown almost as someone with no flaws, absolutely perfect and incapable of failing. For example, even though chemistry is her study, she overnight picks up rowing because of it being basic physics equations.
And let's not even get started on the pretentiousness with any conversation around cooking like this quote: “ 'Now I’m disrupting the egg’s internal bonds in order to elongate the amino acid chain,' she told him as she whisked, 'which will allow the freed atoms to bond with other similarly freed atoms. Then I’ll reconstitute the mix into a loose whole, laying it on a surface of iron-carbon alloy, where I’ll subject it to precision heat, continually agitating the mix until it reaches a stage of near coagulation.' ” Or when the biscuit dough is ruined because it's a few molecules of water off.....yes cooking is chemistry, but there is more margin for error.

Also, in general, Elizabeth seems so woke that she is an alien/time traveler in her time setting. While it is good to have a character breaking cultural/historical structure, there are much better ways to write it so it feels like they fit into their settings. While I don't know enough of British '50s-60s history to be sure, I know in the US to be shocked at a play in 1952 only having white actors would not have made ANY SENSE due to segregation still being in effect.

Really, the dog is the only character that was likeable.

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funkylitchick's review against another edition

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emotional funny informative medium-paced

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

3.5

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