Reviews tagging 'Cursing'

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

59 reviews

kwthor's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Suicide, and Misogyny

Moderate: Death of parent, Religious bigotry, Racism, Cursing, Suicidal thoughts, and Pregnancy

esophagus18's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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

wow an instant favorite! impossible to put down and deeply poignant. so funny! i loved every page.

the way every character was connected in web-like fashion was thrilling and had my jaw drop on multiple occasions

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Sexual violence, Death, Sexual assault, Rape, Sexual harassment, Sexism, and Misogyny

Moderate: Vomit, Cursing, Pregnancy, and Suicide

Minor: Suicidal thoughts

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.

---

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

historychatter's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault, Abandonment, Suicide, Sexism, Misogyny, Death, Sexual violence, Rape, Physical abuse, Grief, and Cursing

Minor: Vomit and Homophobia

bg_oseman_fan's review

emotional funny inspiring medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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

i have to admit this book surprised me. i was not expecting to enjoy myself as much as i did. the story was both very funny at turns and also very serious. i enjoyed how much fun the author must have had writing some of the dialogue and setting up some of the scenarios in the story. the more fantastical elements of the story only enhanced the very real and dramatic parts of the story. it highlighted the absurdity of sexism in stem and other fields that serves to unfairly tilt the playing field and hinder societal progress on the whole. a great read. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny and Sexism

Moderate: Body shaming, Death, Sexual harassment, Death of parent, Grief, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Pregnancy, and Sexual violence

Minor: Gore, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Alcohol, Cursing, Abandonment, and Emotional abuse

mirificmoxie's review

challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced

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

2.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Cursing, Gaslighting, Grief, Sexual assault, and Suicide

Minor: Pedophilia, Infidelity, Body shaming, and Domestic abuse

rebeccamtann's review

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing

Moderate: Rape

freul's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing 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? No

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Rape, Car accident, and Suicide

Moderate: Grief, Religious bigotry, Misogyny, Bullying, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Medical content, Vomit, Abortion, Pregnancy, Eating disorder, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Blood, Body shaming, Cursing, and Religious bigotry

honeybeewitched87's review

funny informative 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? Yes

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood, Car accident, Cursing, Grief, Misogyny, Death, Death of parent, Sexual harassment, Gaslighting, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Suicide

tiffanysmith's review

emotional hopeful reflective slow-paced

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

2.75

I wanted to like this, but I have to admit, this one fell flat for me for a few reasons. The read was quite tedious at times and I think the author was trying extend a sense of female empowerment, but it didn’t feel authentic. There was little depth to the story—no true plot or character growth to captivate the reader. The characters were stiff and the feminist morality was not relatable.

I think it would have benefited the story to truly allow the characters to exist in their space. I kept forgetting that the storyline takes place in the 1950s, only to be reminded by Elizabeth saying something completely absurd. I want to be immersed in the time era and I want characters with complexity, faults, and things that make them grow. 

There was very little world-building and I felt a big disconnect with the characters—a beautiful chemist who makes chemistry a successful cooking show, a pre-schooler who acts like a 35 year genius, and the dog POV was a little strange. The nerd stereotype was over utilized and it was challenging to emphasize with the characters. 

The love story between them didn’t seem very genuine. They met and they fell in love. It didn’t seem to go much deeper than that. 

Also, the religious element threw me off. It was very emphasized, but it didn’t do anything to propel the plot line or character growth. It just felt uncomfortable.

There was some good parts of the book, but I did not laugh at the wittiness and I was unable to relate to the characters. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, and Death

Moderate: Sexual content, Abandonment, Bullying, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Car accident, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, and Cursing