Reviews with content warning for Sexism - Lecciones de química

Reviews tagging 'Sexism'

Lecciones de química by Bonnie Garmus

983 reviews

sestout's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring sad medium-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? No

3.0

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robyn1998's review against another edition

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dark medium-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? No

1.0

This wasn't my cup of tea at all. I felt almost as if it was written to be a film - it was full of snappy dialogue and mic drop moments. Slight marvel/girlboss vibes. The characters were either good or evil archetypes.
The main character was horribly annoying, stereotypically nerdy, with no indication as to why anyone in her life actually liked her.
The book was very anachronistic. Elizabeth, the main character, seemed to have been transplanted from the modern day into the 1950s, replete with 2022 feminist talking points- most of which, it was implied, everyone else was too dumb to understand.
Add in the graphic and unnecessary rape scenes, the somehow very bleak and pessimistic outlook on humanity, the talking dog, the anti-religion standpoint, and the fact that everyone bad was fat, and this has to be a 1 star read for me.

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baguettekelly's review against another edition

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emotional funny inspiring medium-paced

3.25

This is a light but emotional read that has something real to say about gender - something that’s still achingly relevant today. The moral of this story is what I wish the Barbie movie had been.

I was not sold on this book for probably the first 60% and nearly DNFed but I got there by the end. The first half of the book is pretty Feminism 101 and lays it on a little too thick at times, but it gets to a more poignant message about social constructs and myth making. Elizabeth is a challenging protagonist (even for me, an irl lady engineer), but after spending more time with her, I appreciated her candor and honesty. I’m glad I gave this one a chance.

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jazzaling's review against another edition

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funny inspiring lighthearted reflective fast-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? It's complicated

4.5

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sachavanhelly's review against another edition

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challenging informative inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

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

5.0

so powerful. so heartbreaking. so real. i wanted to cry, curse society, laugh, be a man, be a chemist but mostly i just wanted to keep reading. i could barely put it down. this book dives deep into the way women have had to fight against all odds to gain recognition for their work and intelligence. it’s hard to come face to face with how unfair society can be. but the characters were so empowering and showed how strong women were to push through all the systemic oppression and be valued as a wonderful human being. man i’m so glad i read this. Lessons in Chemistry will definitely be recommended to anyone i meet from here on.

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megacleary's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring 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? It's complicated

5.0

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tacoshark's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad medium-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

3.75

What a strange book - it was not at all what I expected from what I’d heard or from the marketing. There’s a pull quote on the cover calling it an “utter delight” and I genuinely don’t know who would think that. This was one of the most profoundly (and yet implausibly) sad books I’ve ever read. Unrelentingly, almost, though there is a sort of happy, at least hopeful-ish, if again, implausible ending. What it reminded me of, in an unexpected and bizarre way, was A Little Life, though it’s not quite as hideously cruel as that book.

I enjoyed reading this, despite the sadness, but I found it rather unsatisfying as well. What I liked was the propulsion of the narrative and the zingy, constantly moving POV (I especially enjoyed the dog’s POV). But because of that very mechanism, while the book is theoretically mostly about Elizabeth, I felt like she was barely developed and pretty unrelatable as a character - all of this happens to her, but you spend more time with the reactions and feelings of those around her than with her. It left me feeling that she was a bit of an automaton and even when her thoughts and feelings were described, they had very little heft. (I don’t think I’d actually want to spend more time in her head, but it’s a strange choice for your main character.) I liked Calvin better, but it also felt a bit strange that this book that’s theoretically a feminist story about this compelling woman was really so much about a man instead.

I’m not sure if I’ll recommend this but I think I’d check out what this author does next.

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