Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Eine Frage der Chemie by Bonnie Garmus

679 reviews

emmas_shelf's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

I really enjoyed reading this book although I do believe it is missing some trigger warnings, [I did listen to the audiobook and so maybe they are in the printed version?] As a result, I think I found the first few hours of listening felt like I was experiencing emotional whiplash - sexism, science, feminism and utter tragedy all in the first third of the novel? Albeit, safe to say I was hooked as a result as I immediately felt connected to the characters of Calvin and Elizabeth. 

I liked the historical context of this book being in the 60s and thus the themes of second wave feminism in its earlier forms. However, I do feel like this book didn't fully touch on intersectionality as much as it could have - although the author does mention intersectionality in the interview attached to the end of the audiobook which I thought was really insightful. I didn't realise this is a debut novel for the author, nor did I realise they were published later in their writing life. I think having the context of knowing she wanted to write about her mother's generation helped. Also she isn't a chemist, which considering how much chemistry knowledge is in this book is very impressive! 

I almost want to join a book club to discuss the themes, difference scenes which popped up and I am wanting to watch the Apple TV series now to almost re-read/ go over this story again. There were some harder scenes to listen to but key themes of gender, workplace harassment, domestic violence, media, woman empowerment. 

I think this book also had some whimsy aspects of it, none more so than having Six-Thirty the dog and thus an additional, unexpected POV to read from. It was an interesting creative decision but I didn't find myself hating it - although I know from reading other reviews, it wasn't to other people's taste. 

Whilst one can read LIC and think 'it's at least not as bad for us(meaning women/ female-presenting people) nowadays' - I also think it is the point of the book to highlight how there are still too many similarities between Elizabeth Zott's reality and today. Which I also think is exactly the point, I am glad I read this book as its outside what I normally I read and it made me think. I suspect I will find myself randomly thinking about this book again and again, which to me is a good thing. 

The expanse of side characters and how they all interwove together is a trope of mine I extremely enjoy. I was super satisfied with the ending of this book and enjoyed that Harriet, Walter, Rev. Wakely and even Fran Frask all intertwined within the novel. I just love it when the bigger picture/ small details circle back within a book. 
  
I am very interested in reading whatever Bonnie wants to write next. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Sexual assault, Violence, Grief, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, and Pregnancy

Minor: Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Suicide, Car accident, and Death of parent

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

lillypowell's review against another edition

medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism

Moderate: Sexual assault

Minor: Suicide, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

arnoles's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring sad medium-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? Yes

4.75

I really loooooooved this book. Some have pointed out that elements felt unrealistic, and while I agree, they're easy to put aside because they still act in service to the overall message if the book and are entertaining as hell! I would have liked to see a little bit more of Elizabeth's interior life and thoughts, which is where the .25 docking came in. I found the characters very lovable and thought all the storylines tied together perfectly in the end. I laughed out loud and cried over the course of this book - it made me feel something and was hard to put down.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Forced institutionalization, Car accident, and Death of parent

Moderate: Pedophilia and Pregnancy

Minor: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, and Suicide

jdromsky's review against another edition

emotional funny informative sad medium-paced

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

3.75

I picked this book because so many people told me it was “amazing!” and it was good, but I think it was a little overhyped. I thought that Elizabeth Zott did not develop as a character nearly as much as the others, which was the most frustrating because we spent the most time with her. 

I also though

the ending where Elizabeth meets Calvin’s mom was very anticlimactic and felt very much like a tag on. I wanted it to end after Elizabeth quit Supper at Six, and just to see a bit of how she embraced the life she had or was going to make for herself. I wanted to see her MAKE A LIFE for herself rather than have another thing handed to her by Calvin’s mom no less.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Grief, Pregnancy, and Abandonment

Moderate: Infidelity, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, and Death of parent

dreezy's review against another edition

emotional tense slow-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Grief, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Body shaming, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, and Pregnancy

Minor: Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Suicide, Vomit, Car accident, and Abandonment

fire_wolf's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

Elizabeth Zott the woman that you are!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Body shaming and Suicide

Minor: Vomit

nienav's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious sad medium-paced

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

5.0

It starts out a bit confusing….but once it takes off you don’t want to stop.  It is the most twisting and intertwining story I have read that isn’t a thriller.  The characters have so much life in them…and Sixthirty is the absolute greatest dog character created in a long time!  

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Misogyny, Rape, Suicide, Death of parent, and Gaslighting

fightmeimsmall's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring sad fast-paced

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

4.75

I dearly love this book. I love how Elizabeth isn’t completely perfect but that isn’t at all worked on in the book. Her flaws aren’t something to fix they’re just a part of her. While at times it did almost read as though she were a perfect modern (post 2000s kind of modern) woman set in a time where attitudes were different, it still mostly read well. 
One small complaint was that whilst this is very much a book about science and chemistry specifically, I don’t feel I learned anything about the topic. In Weir’s science fiction I learn science. In Kuang’s novel Babel I learned about linguistics. Unfortunately, this book didn’t teach me any chemistry. 
It did however, teach a lot about humanity, kindness, and the  types of bonds that bind us. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicide, Vomit, Car accident, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment

bookforestsprite's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring sad fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Suicide, Car accident, Death of parent, and Abandonment

Minor: Pedophilia and Vomit

CN: contains a side storyline with a Bury Your Gays trope