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purplesoccer126's review
slow-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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape
Moderate: Death and Suicide
Minor: Death of parent and Child death
emmagalt's review against another edition
Absolutely miserable book. I got a quarter of the way through and the topics covered rampant sexism, violent rape, suicide as a result of homophobic abuse, child abuse and multiple deaths.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual harassment, Death of parent, Death, Child death, Rape, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Homophobia, and Sexism
beyourbestshelf's review against another edition
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape and Sexism
Minor: Pregnancy, Abandonment, Death, Car accident, Death of parent, Suicide, Child death, and Kidnapping
thepagetraveller's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
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? It's complicated
5.0
Impossible to put down. The way the struggles, choices, hopes and lives of all the characters are described is everything you need it to be and more. Every character is so uniquely loveable (or infuriating!) and yet they all work so well together. Giving this any less than 5 stars is out of the question.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexual assault, Grief, and Sexism
Moderate: Death of parent, Suicide, and Child death
shrebae's review against another edition
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
First 5 star book of the year. It’s such a well written book…but please do look up trigger warnings. This book was kind of hard to read in parts because of how infuriated I was given the way that the main character is treated by 90% of everyone else just because she’s a woman, and how similar it is to my lived experiences. I really enjoyed the latter half of the book because of steady character development and just….women are incredible. 10/10 would recommend.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Bullying, Child death, Child abuse, and Classism
eule's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
This book is an inspiring and brave novel about the fight against misogyny in the 1960s. Elizabeth Zott is a chemist scarred by rape, discrimination, loss, grief and loneliness. Still she advocates for women’s rights (her cooking show based on chemistry) and the truth with confidence and courage to expose the people (men) who wronged her.
Even though I highly respect this work of literature, I have to mention some aspects that I did not quite enjoy.
Firstly, the character perspectives change all the time all of a sudden which can be quite confusing (love Six-Thirty’s pov though).
Secondly, the main plot is revealed right in the beginning (the first couple chapters) which was kind of off-putting.
Furthermore, I perceived Elizabeth as to perfect. She always seems strong and confident and unapproachable.
And lastly, it seems like the book wanted to pursue to many plots. One being the „women’s rights in science and work - plot“, another being the „mystery about Calvin Evans - plot“ and just another one being the „how to be a family - plot“. It just seems like the novel should include every possible trope.
To conclude, I recommend this book as an educational and revolutionary novel about the rise of feminism.
Even though I highly respect this work of literature, I have to mention some aspects that I did not quite enjoy.
Firstly, the character perspectives change all the time all of a sudden which can be quite confusing (love Six-Thirty’s pov though).
Secondly, the main plot is revealed right in the beginning (the first couple chapters) which was kind of off-putting.
Furthermore, I perceived Elizabeth as to perfect. She always seems strong and confident and unapproachable.
And lastly, it seems like the book wanted to pursue to many plots. One being the „women’s rights in science and work - plot“, another being the „mystery about Calvin Evans - plot“ and just another one being the „how to be a family - plot“. It just seems like the novel should include every possible trope.
To conclude, I recommend this book as an educational and revolutionary novel about the rise of feminism.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, Suicide, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Alcoholism, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Vomit, Sexual assault, Sexism, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, and Misogyny
bookobsessedmommy's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-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? It's complicated
4.25
Well, this was an interesting read. The primary characters are so well written, being shown as they are perceived by others and themselves. The side characters are nearly caricatures, especially the TV head, Chemistry head, and master's adviser. They were so vile I could spit, all taking what they wanted from EZ, either physically, professionally, or both. The throughline of Calvin's story ties it all up in a neat bow, but it didn't feel forced. I think my favorite characters are Mad and the priest. So much is revealed in their conversations that gets to the root of how terribly we can treat one another and how comfort is more than "I'm sorry for your loss." The most surprising addition is 6:30. A bit of a screwball addition to the motley crew, but he rounds them out nicely. There was a fair bit of pontificating, a general distaste for religion (painted as wholly bad and the root of all things terrible with zero redeeming qualities) and some odd questions/statements from the men in the book. (Like the doctor wondering why so many women choose to have kids. Seriously?) I was shocked when it ended as it felt a bit rushed (was hoping for an epilogue), but I'm looking forward to her next book for sure.
Side note: I absolutely love the fact that the author is over 60. She doesn't address ageism much in this book but I'm sure the publishing business is similar to the rest of the world in favoring youth. Seeing a woman over 40 have so much success gives me hope.
Side note: I absolutely love the fact that the author is over 60. She doesn't address ageism much in this book but I'm sure the publishing business is similar to the rest of the world in favoring youth. Seeing a woman over 40 have so much success gives me hope.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Misogyny, Gaslighting, Medical content, Sexism, Death of parent, Sexual violence, Rape, Sexual harassment, Car accident, and Grief
Moderate: Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, and Blood
Minor: Child abuse and Child death
greymalkin's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This book is complicated to rate. I adored the chemistry of the show, and really wish this was an actual show. I know of a few that are close, but none that teach chemistry through cooking in quite this manner.
I also appreciated the way that the casual sexism was depicted, both in offhand comments and attitudes even by the "good guy" Calvin, and those toxic attitudes internalized by the female characters. This is still a huge issue today and it should be called out because it is insidious and very hard to point to why small moments like that have such a lasting and terrible impact.
However because of the believability, this was also hard to read. Reading about such trauma and abuse is not easy, particularly when I was not prepared for it. I thought, based on the cover and blurb, that this would be more superficial than it was. And I didn't particularly like any of the characters, even the cute dog.
Also, ignoring the content of the events, there's a lot of plot points that depend on chance and luck, which ends up weakening the actual story. Starting with lots of bad luck/unfortunate events, and then having a bunch of good luck/happy happenstance happen and so "voila happy ending!" was not as compelling. It could easily have gone the other way and been a very different book. I'd hoped for something more inevitable or structured based on chemical mechanisms.
For those reviewers that feel like the events are exaggerated or unrealistic (there are dishearteningly many), please watch "Picture a Scientist" (https://www.pictureascientist.com/) to see only a handful of examples that are even more nauseating than what is conveyed here. And I feel that many who say "this seems fake, that kind of thing didn't happen to me" are maybe forgetting that the book was placed in the 1950's. Some things have thankfully improved since then, including issues like what a character toward the end of the book revealed. However even just a few years ago female-identifying freshmen at MIT were still being sent misogynistic messages telling them that they should just go home because they weren't smart enough or capable of doing science because of their sex. So it's not fixed by any stretch of the imagination.
<spoilers>I did spend part of the book wondering who Elizabeth was going to end up with in the end because it felt like it was being set up for that. But to my pleased surprise, she ends up without a romantic partner in the end, but lots of friends and family. I like that better.
Additionally, a minor note, but I saw in another review that pointed out how weird it was that chemist Elizabeth disdained the canned soup for all the chemicals in it. I agree. Given her background it seems extremely strange that she'd object to the soup on that basis. And at the time a lot of these prepared products were helping women by freeing them from being in the kitchen. I'd think that she'd be a huge fan of items that reduce the time that women need to be chained to the stove. You could spend an hour making cream of mushroom soup from scratch or open a can and feed your family in 5 min and then have 55 min to do things like apply to med school. If her objections to the soup were because it was a company that only used non-foodgrade ingredients or unsafe canning practices so that the soup was actually going to make people sick through botulism, then I'd say she has some merit to her complaint. But someone who calls salt sodium chloride would absolutely be someone who would argue that artificially produced MSG is totally fine since it's chemically identical to items that are found naturally in items like parmesan cheese and mushrooms.
I also appreciated the way that the casual sexism was depicted, both in offhand comments and attitudes even by the "good guy" Calvin, and those toxic attitudes internalized by the female characters. This is still a huge issue today and it should be called out because it is insidious and very hard to point to why small moments like that have such a lasting and terrible impact.
However because of the believability, this was also hard to read. Reading about such trauma and abuse is not easy, particularly when I was not prepared for it. I thought, based on the cover and blurb, that this would be more superficial than it was. And I didn't particularly like any of the characters, even the cute dog.
Also, ignoring the content of the events, there's a lot of plot points that depend on chance and luck, which ends up weakening the actual story. Starting with lots of bad luck/unfortunate events, and then having a bunch of good luck/happy happenstance happen and so "voila happy ending!" was not as compelling. It could easily have gone the other way and been a very different book. I'd hoped for something more inevitable or structured based on chemical mechanisms.
For those reviewers that feel like the events are exaggerated or unrealistic (there are dishearteningly many), please watch "Picture a Scientist" (https://www.pictureascientist.com/) to see only a handful of examples that are even more nauseating than what is conveyed here. And I feel that many who say "this seems fake, that kind of thing didn't happen to me" are maybe forgetting that the book was placed in the 1950's. Some things have thankfully improved since then, including issues like what a character toward the end of the book revealed. However even just a few years ago female-identifying freshmen at MIT were still being sent misogynistic messages telling them that they should just go home because they weren't smart enough or capable of doing science because of their sex. So it's not fixed by any stretch of the imagination.
<spoilers>I did spend part of the book wondering who Elizabeth was going to end up with in the end because it felt like it was being set up for that. But to my pleased surprise, she ends up without a romantic partner in the end, but lots of friends and family. I like that better.
Additionally, a minor note, but I saw in another review that pointed out how weird it was that chemist Elizabeth disdained the canned soup for all the chemicals in it. I agree. Given her background it seems extremely strange that she'd object to the soup on that basis. And at the time a lot of these prepared products were helping women by freeing them from being in the kitchen. I'd think that she'd be a huge fan of items that reduce the time that women need to be chained to the stove. You could spend an hour making cream of mushroom soup from scratch or open a can and feed your family in 5 min and then have 55 min to do things like apply to med school. If her objections to the soup were because it was a company that only used non-foodgrade ingredients or unsafe canning practices so that the soup was actually going to make people sick through botulism, then I'd say she has some merit to her complaint. But someone who calls salt sodium chloride would absolutely be someone who would argue that artificially produced MSG is totally fine since it's chemically identical to items that are found naturally in items like parmesan cheese and mushrooms.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual harassment, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Sexual violence, Death, Child abuse, and Sexual assault
Minor: Child death
goldyyy's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
informative
reflective
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Rape, Death, and Sexism
Moderate: Pregnancy and Suicide
Minor: Racism, Death of parent, Car accident, Outing, and Child death
jkneebone's review against another edition
informative
slow-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? No
2.5
Okay, I do NOT get the hype with this one. I really struggled through the first half of this book. I enjoyed the second half more, but I likely would have DNF’ed before it got to that point if I wasn’t reading this for a book club, so I wouldn’t call that a ringing endorsement.
I did listen to the audiobook, and I didn’t like the narration style very much, so perhaps I would have liked this better if I’d read the physical version. We’ll never know.
I’ll admit that some of my gripes with this book are more personal preference - I’m not a fan of the use of third person omniscient, for example, and I found Elizabeth Zott to be quite annoying as a main character. In some situations her perseverance was admirable, and I liked how she drew attention to the discrimination she faced as a woman; however in other situations she was so stubborn as to be idiotic. The way she refused to understand how any of her behavior might prove to be an issue, especially once she got on TV, made it seem like she had no awareness or understanding of how society worked.
In my view there were some technical issues with Lessons in Chemistry, eg it wasn’t very well written. Frankly, I think it was too long by half, and a lot of the backstory and tangents could have been removed. On the stylistic side, some things were over-exaggerated to the point of absurdism (eg, Elizabeth teaching her dog 900+ words) while others were treated extremely seriously (eg, the sexism Elizabeth faced) which made me unsure of how I was supposed to be reading the overall tone. There was practically no character growth or development, despite how many people’s heads we got to peek into, and so many of the characters read more like caricatures with no nuance at all, including some of the main players. And for a book ostensibly about a woman scientist, so much of the story from start to finish ended up being centered around Calvin.
Overall, this was fine. There were some funny parts, and even a few moments that tugged at my heartstrings, albeit in the same way as commercials with sad animals do. It’s entertaining enough, I suppose, even if the plot is trying to do *way* too much. (IMO it would have benefited from another round of editing.) But best book of the year or any of the other superlatives people have been throwing in its direction? Agree to disagree.
I did listen to the audiobook, and I didn’t like the narration style very much, so perhaps I would have liked this better if I’d read the physical version. We’ll never know.
I’ll admit that some of my gripes with this book are more personal preference - I’m not a fan of the use of third person omniscient, for example, and I found Elizabeth Zott to be quite annoying as a main character. In some situations her perseverance was admirable, and I liked how she drew attention to the discrimination she faced as a woman; however in other situations she was so stubborn as to be idiotic. The way she refused to understand how any of her behavior might prove to be an issue, especially once she got on TV, made it seem like she had no awareness or understanding of how society worked.
In my view there were some technical issues with Lessons in Chemistry, eg it wasn’t very well written. Frankly, I think it was too long by half, and a lot of the backstory and tangents could have been removed. On the stylistic side, some things were over-exaggerated to the point of absurdism (eg, Elizabeth teaching her dog 900+ words) while others were treated extremely seriously (eg, the sexism Elizabeth faced) which made me unsure of how I was supposed to be reading the overall tone. There was practically no character growth or development, despite how many people’s heads we got to peek into, and so many of the characters read more like caricatures with no nuance at all, including some of the main players. And for a book ostensibly about a woman scientist, so much of the story from start to finish ended up being centered around Calvin.
Overall, this was fine. There were some funny parts, and even a few moments that tugged at my heartstrings, albeit in the same way as commercials with sad animals do. It’s entertaining enough, I suppose, even if the plot is trying to do *way* too much. (IMO it would have benefited from another round of editing.) But best book of the year or any of the other superlatives people have been throwing in its direction? Agree to disagree.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Death, Sexism, Sexual harassment, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Body shaming, Suicide, Death of parent, Child death, and Misogyny
Minor: Alcoholism, Homophobia, and Domestic abuse