Reviews tagging 'Injury/Injury detail'

Eine Frage der Chemie by Bonnie Garmus

104 reviews

theverycraftyvegan's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring sad 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? Yes

5.0

Please please please! Check the content warnings and know that all of them are prevalent in this book, but you think you can handle them PLEASE read this book. 

Elizabeth Zott is an amazing character, and a survivor. She is the embodiment of female power and a force to be reckoned with. 

The things Zott experiences in the work place are appalling and no one would call her personal life easy. In real life, a woman in Zott’s shoes wouldn’t be faulted for breaking down or giving up. But Zott doesn’t let anything stop her from reaching her goals. She goes on have a wonderful life in spite of the horrendous things she’s had to survive, because she is a survivor. 

Parts of this book had me in tears while others had me fill with so much pride I thought I would burst. At its core, this book is about the strength and resilience of women and I can’t recommend it enough. This will be a book I won’t stop thinking about for a very, very long time. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Sexual harassment, Rape, Forced institutionalization, Bullying, Sexual violence, Misogyny, Sexism, Abandonment, Death, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, and Grief

Moderate: Child abuse, Infidelity, Suicide, Blood, Gaslighting, Animal cruelty, Emotional abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Car accident, Fatphobia, Homophobia, and Violence

Minor: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Abortion, Vomit, Alcohol, and Pedophilia

anniebraves's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Rape

clareasday's review against another edition

sad slow-paced

• Loveable characters? No

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Suicide, Rape, Sexual assault, Abandonment, Sexism, and Death

Minor: Abortion

thealmightykatt's review against another edition

emotional informative inspiring sad fast-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? It's complicated

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief and Sexism

Moderate: Sexual assault, Suicide, Sexual harassment, and Pregnancy

Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Car accident, and Drug use

Nearly every male character made me want to punch a hole in the wall. Appropriate for the time period I guess.

lizzyjean's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative inspiring sad medium-paced

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

5.0

This book had me on my toes from the very beginning. I have never read a book that has such an accurate grasp of humanity and how we should include everyone despite different sexes, religions, races, and sexualities. Elizabeth Zott and (almost…) every character in this book has a permanent place in my heart, and I hope to read more by Bonnie Garmus in the future.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Rape, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Homophobia, Pregnancy, Sexual content, and Suicide

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Police brutality, Car accident, and Injury/Injury detail

The descriptions of rape/sexual assault are pretty graphic and happen more than once throughout the story. Sexism is a main theme of the book.

gtures's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Death of parent, Child death, Car accident, and Suicide

imceebee's review against another edition

emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, Rape, Misogyny, Suicide, Miscarriage, and Sexual harassment

beautifulpaxielreads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional medium-paced

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

4.0

Bonnie Garmus' Lessons in Chemistry is such an accomplished piece of writing, which makes it all the more astonishing that it's by a debut author (albeit one with a lot of life experience behind her).

This novel started slow (and dark - readers should be aware [I wasn't] that

there is a violent, graphic sexual assault

before you hit page 50), but once it got going, it grabbed hold of me and did not let go.

Elizabeth Zott is such an incredible main character - tough, uncompromising, fiercely intelligent, and strong-willed (almost too much so, there were times I wished she would bend just a little, but no, she would not), but she did have a gentler side which I appreciated reading about.

Elizabeth needs every bit of willpower, because number one, she was a scientist, and number two, she was an unmarried woman living in the United States in the 1950s and 1960s, a time which did not look kindly on women, particularly women who did not fit their prescribed stereotypes.

Fair warning to readers that the misogyny in this book is extreme, infuriatingly so. It comes from not only men but some women too. The sexism was so overwhelmingly awful at times that I had to stop and wonder if it actually was as terrible as Garmus depicts. I'm not sure, but I know that women definitely got a raw deal in this period of history.

The other infuriating thing to read about was so many of the terrible events in the novel could have been prevented if certain people had been less greedy, small-minded, or desperate. But then I guess there wouldn't have been a story, so go figure.

There were a few things that didn't quite work for me. The switches between POV characters would often occur within the same section, and even in the same paragraph at times, which was jarring as I would need to figure out whose POV I was reading.

Also, the POV of Elizabeth's

dog, Six Thirty

was a good idea in theory but didn't work on the page.

Would a dog really have that many thoughts going on in his/her brain?

I also found it hard to believe the advanced intelligence of

Elizabeth's daughter, Madeline. But then I guess some rare children really are that gifted, so I suppose it's not entirely implausible. But still.

Anyway, overall this was a really great read, albeit one with some pretty dark themes - I would advise prospective readers to check the content warnings.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Grief, Sexual content, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Misogyny, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Car accident, Death, Pregnancy, Rape, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, and Sexism

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Domestic abuse, Forced institutionalization, Toxic relationship, Infidelity, Physical abuse, and Cursing

Minor: Pedophilia, Homophobia, and Child death

em_gauts's review against another edition

emotional funny inspiring sad slow-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? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape, Death, Suicide, Grief, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment

haleyad1's review against another edition

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

1.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Homophobia, Suicide, Rape, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Vomit and Religious bigotry