Reviews tagging 'Infidelity'

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

45 reviews

zombiezami's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced

4.25

I have seen that this book continues to be popular, and I wanted to try it for myself. I adored the characters and the writing. I thought the book was paced well, but there were a few threads that were started and never went anywhere. For example:
Walter's crush on Harriet and Elizabeth's participation in the rowing team after her pregnancy
. I also felt that, although it was in character for Elizabeth to be antiracist because she finds racism and all other forms of bigotry to be illogical, there are no Black characters or other characters of color in the book. Finally, the author employs some words turns of phrase that were definitely not used in the 1950s/1960s: e.g. "fast forward to now."

Even with all these caveats, I enjoyed the book very much, and I would highly recommend it. The author does an excellent job of showing how structural sexism harms all of society, not just women. The tragedies in the book feel very complex and human.

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honesty_reads's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

3.75

It was good but it was very methodical. A good book, but not in my top of all time. I did like how everything tied together in the end!

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bbmaan's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative 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

3.5


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briana513's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25


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caitlinvdj's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad fast-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

4.25


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aurelia622's review against another edition

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hopeful inspiring sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0


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readbycarina's review against another edition

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

4.25


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theverycraftyvegan's review against another edition

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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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vanessatombolini's review against another edition

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emotional funny 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? No

5.0


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beautifulpaxielreads's review against another edition

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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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