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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
Title: Lessons in Chemistry
Author: Bonnie Garmus
Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating: 2/5
Review:
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.”
“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.
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
useyourgoodeye's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This book was a great example of a women's strength and perseverance during a time when we didn't have much of a voice. Very well written and I learned a lot about Chemistry too!
Content Warnings
Minor: Bullying, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment
katmystery's review against another edition
funny
inspiring
sad
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? No
3.5
3.5 stars. I loved the Netflix adaptation, so I thought I'd give the book a try. I was surprised to find that, while I enjoyed the book, I liked the show a lot more. The show addressed most of the problems I had with the book- the surprisingly little page-time given to the love interest that influenced much of the story (readers didn't really have a reason to care about him), the believing-in-yourself-will-fix-all-your-life-problems feminism that ignored class and race, and the little time given to side characters.
Some of the book was fun and inspiring. More of it was sad, and most of it made me angry- Elizabeth faces so much sexism left and right that it's hard to read.
The book felt extremely heavy-handed in its message and could have been more powerful if it were more subtle. Pretty much all the male characters and several of the women were cartoonishly misogynistic, which actually hurt the message more than it helped- sexism is so often not as obvious as it was depicted here, so by ignoring more subtle forms of sexism, the book accidentally furthers the view that sexism is only a thing of the past.
If you want to read the inspiring albeit sad tale of a dauntless woman in science and don't mind a bit of heavy-handedness, go for it. If you enjoyed the show, the book doesn't add anything you don't already know, so I'd recommend you skip it.
Some of the book was fun and inspiring. More of it was sad, and most of it made me angry- Elizabeth faces so much sexism left and right that it's hard to read.
The book felt extremely heavy-handed in its message and could have been more powerful if it were more subtle. Pretty much all the male characters and several of the women were cartoonishly misogynistic, which actually hurt the message more than it helped- sexism is so often not as obvious as it was depicted here, so by ignoring more subtle forms of sexism, the book accidentally furthers the view that sexism is only a thing of the past.
If you want to read the inspiring albeit sad tale of a dauntless woman in science and don't mind a bit of heavy-handedness, go for it. If you enjoyed the show, the book doesn't add anything you don't already know, so I'd recommend you skip it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Fatphobia
Minor: Suicide
skylarkblue1's review against another edition
This was a slog to read through. I did not give a crap about any characters and apparently all feminist fiction is now just "look! this woman's life sucks! she's so smart but she's just constantly explicitly abused and shit all the time!". The blurb is complete false advertising, I got to the 50% mark and the only mention of the cooking show was a paragraph to 2 at the very very start. TV industry has been mentioned a single time since. The story so far has just been the main character being abused, screamed at and being depressed with a shitty husband.
There's just constant POV changes to everyone and everything - including the goddamn dog. It's not split up by chapters, it'd just be one paragraph is from one character, the next from someone completely different. I could not tell you what year any of the events that happened are from. I could not even really tell you all the different characters and who they where as people because honestly most of them didn't feel like people. The guys where mainly just misogynistic pricks, though some liked rowing! but that was about it for them. The women where mainly just "I'm being looked down on and abused but I'm secretly smart!" or just, idk, like not wanting to challenge the status quo so they where even flatter than that?
I'm reading this for a book club but even though there's still multiple days before the meeting I just don't care enough to read more. I don't even care about the cooking show element which was super interesting to me when I first heard about it.
There's just constant POV changes to everyone and everything - including the goddamn dog. It's not split up by chapters, it'd just be one paragraph is from one character, the next from someone completely different. I could not tell you what year any of the events that happened are from. I could not even really tell you all the different characters and who they where as people because honestly most of them didn't feel like people. The guys where mainly just misogynistic pricks, though some liked rowing! but that was about it for them. The women where mainly just "I'm being looked down on and abused but I'm secretly smart!" or just, idk, like not wanting to challenge the status quo so they where even flatter than that?
I'm reading this for a book club but even though there's still multiple days before the meeting I just don't care enough to read more. I don't even care about the cooking show element which was super interesting to me when I first heard about it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, and Sexual harassment
gracielou2000's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Grief, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Body shaming, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Car accident, and Death of parent
Minor: Addiction, Fatphobia, and Abortion
kyjade_x's review against another edition
emotional
funny
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, and Grief
Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Body shaming, Domestic abuse, and Fatphobia
carleesi's review against another edition
The way the author uses physical descriptions to imply the value and inherent goodness of characters got too much for me. So much body shaming.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia and Rape
The description of the rapist is so fatphobic. The links between fatness, monstrosity and disgust were incredibly blatant. As a survivor I felt sick listening to a rape, and as a fat woman I was forced into the understanding that actually my body was the kind that perpetrates sexual violence. It was a really horrendous experience.nwood1121's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Body shaming, Death, Suicide, Religious bigotry, Car accident, and Abandonment
Minor: Fatphobia, Homophobia, and Police brutality
cmbohn's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Death, Toxic relationship, and Pregnancy
Minor: Biphobia, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Suicide, and Gaslighting
madzie's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
Despite a wonderful idea, Garmus's popular novel fails to deliver on every account. Garmus promises a book about the experience of women, but with an unbearable protagonist and little exploration, Garmus never dives into what sexism feels like nor its real causes and reactions. In fact, the main character refuses to demonstrate any real growth in the book at all. Character relationships are always told rather than shown, making the reader hollow when the horrible, melodramatic plot points occur to them. Although Garmus introduces deep topics, she seems to lack the courage or the understanding to explore them with substance, instead having her main character be randomly bothered by instances in her past only to move on a sentence or two later. Plot points are randomly thrown into the novel with no consideration of how they affect the characters or the themes, leaving an unsatisfactory journey. Without this deep exploration and path, Garmus never says anything profound about her themes and certainly never touches real women in their trials and tribulations.
Additionally, Garmus's writing style is subpar at best. She seems to believe her readers are stupid as she tells them absolutely everything in frank detail and covers it over with big "sciency" words, never allowing the writing to breathe. Her sentences are simple and often boringly strung together, never giving vivid detail to her world to allow the reader to experience it. Occasionally, she'll hit gold with a particular line, but overall, she seems to favor hovering over everything just to produce a mess of thoughts. In the end, the novel reads like a string of random ideas never actually explored in depth—the substance of a first draft but not of a good novel.
Additionally, Garmus's writing style is subpar at best. She seems to believe her readers are stupid as she tells them absolutely everything in frank detail and covers it over with big "sciency" words, never allowing the writing to breathe. Her sentences are simple and often boringly strung together, never giving vivid detail to her world to allow the reader to experience it. Occasionally, she'll hit gold with a particular line, but overall, she seems to favor hovering over everything just to produce a mess of thoughts. In the end, the novel reads like a string of random ideas never actually explored in depth—the substance of a first draft but not of a good novel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Car accident
Moderate: Suicide and Death of parent
Minor: Body shaming and Fatphobia