Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

478 reviews

kcfedy's review against another edition

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funny hopeful lighthearted 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


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jcshells's review against another edition

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fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

1.0


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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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thewinterwillow's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

finished my read in 4 days, absolutely captivating 

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meg_'s review against another edition

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challenging emotional 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

5.0

I absolutely LOVED this book. The way that the plot and characters are so well fleshed out right fromt he start was so well done and made the story so believable throughout. I genuinely felt like these could all be real people, despite some of the less believable elements of the plot. The main characters of the story were so enjoyable to read, but the author also builds out the personalities and worlds of each of the side characters and it further contributes to how real everything within the story feels. 

The main elements of the book that I adored was the soulmate relationship between Elizabeth and Calvin. The development of their connection and their relationship as a whole was a joy to read. I love them. I also loved 6:30 and the strangeness of his influence within this family and within the narration of the story. It was such a unique, yet fun part of the book. Lastly, I think that the depth of the characters and the themes of the story were very meaningful and made these beautifully written characters that much more enjoyable to read. 

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delirivs's review

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  • Strong character development? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No

2.0


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laurenbaggy's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny reflective sad medium-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? Yes

3.75


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rusina's review against another edition

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emotional funny informative inspiring 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

3.5


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literaryintersections's review against another edition

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emotional funny sad medium-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? Yes

4.0

Honestly this book is hard to date. I devoured it, never wanted to put it down, but the content, the sexual assaults, the white feminism, the pacing all made it really hard to LOVE it. 

I knew there was SA within the first 15% but goodness I didn’t know it was going to be that graphic or horrible to read. There should be a huge CW and it was one of the reasons why I didn’t want to read this. The misogyny and sexism she faces is horrible, and although I’m sure it’s realistic it’s actually hard to read. I also think the cover and marketing made this seem like a romance but it 100% is not - the Romance  is there but so minimal and actually really sad because there is partner death. The romance parts are great but it is not a romance by any means. What this book is is a portrait of grief. Just absolute sadness beyond belief. 

I would be remiss if I didn’t say that I cried. Some of the parts when she was talking about tv importance of motherhood and what women do, never letting anyone tell you you can’t do something. Putting yourself first, giving yourself a moment. As a mom, that shit was my catnip and I loved it. But I do wish it was more intersectional cuz the one Rosa Parks comment, as if to say “Lizzie can’t be racist!!! She supports the civil rights movement” was lazy imo. 

And then there’s 6:30. Which like a talking dog???? Idk. I loved him and also I was like wtf. 

The last thing I’ll say is that u have seen some folks say that Elizabeth is  autistic but that actually is never stated and idk if the author has said that. I think she read autistic but it doesn’t feel like a story about autism is that makes sense. I’m going to seek out perspectives from autistic reviewers. 

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josoko's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring sad
  • Loveable characters? Yes

5.0


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