Reviews with content warning for Sexual violence - Lessons in Chemistry

CW: misogyny, sexual violence, abuse (mentioned), workplace sexual harassment, death of a parent, car accident, unplanned pregnancy, religious intolerance

Lessons in Chemistry has been on so many bookworms' radars since it published almost one year ago, and you all probably know what the book is about.

Elizabeth Zott is the kind of character we want to read about. Interestingly complex and layered to resonate with women no matter who they are, Zott inspires a generation of women to go after what they truly want and break through the glass ceilings holding them back in 1960s America. Throughout the book, you get to see her grow from her single mindset of doing life alone to discovering her own found family amidst her relationship with Calvin Evans and the ensemble of supporting characters. While Elizabeth and Calvin are not the typical love story, readers can see how that they were truly meant to be together and how the power of love can move people from despair and grief.

This book can be intense at times and there are some hard truths about how people treated women back in the 1960s. Additionally, there may be some opinions in the book one may not personally agree with (specifically regarding religion). However, I think those should take the time to read the book (while ensuring to take care of themselves) before casting any judgments about the book.

Nevertheless, Lessons in Chemistry is definitely worth the hype. Garmus is able to transport readers back and imagined a rewritten history of a woman making a breakthrough in the scientific and entertainment communities. If this sounds like you would be interested in a book like that, you came to the right place.

Content Warnings

brittbroadwood's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring medium-paced

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

4.0

This book felt like a similar vibe to hidden figures. There were points in the story I found myself getting a little bored, but overall very inspiring and honest depiction of women’s experiences (surprisingly similar to now)

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tofutofutofu's review against another edition

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2.0

This book is very readable. I admit that I read straight through it because I wanted to see what happens. And there are funny bits as well, particularly the running gag that the dog calls Madeline

Spoiler

The Creature

. I was almost willing to give this 3 stars, until she said the can of soup was "full of chemicals."

Two major problems with this book. First, it's got a major case of "I'm not like other girls" syndrome. We are supposed to root for this person who scoffs at every other woman and think that she's better because she has no female friends. It's bonkers. Yes, she obtains female friends later in the book, but only after she's lost her chemistry career. It's an incredibly reductive view of what scientists are like.

Which leads into the second problem: this is not how chemists talk. They don't walk around calling things by their chemical formulas. For fuck's sake, IUPAC found dead. It's wildly impractical, a real mouthful and difficult to keep track of. It obscures critical information about how those atoms are arranged together or how the molecule will behave. But what really grinds my gears is when she says the soup is "full of chemicals." LITERALLY EVERYTHING IN THE WORLD IS FULL OF CHEMICALS. A chemist, of all people, would know that. Particularly a chemist who is pedantic as hell would not dismiss a can of soup because "it's full of chemicals."

Also one section weirdly feels like copaganda? Why is there so much time devoted to "this town defunded the police and it caused a horrible tragedy." Yikes.

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