Reviews tagging 'Homophobia'

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

233 reviews

anabellasr's review against another edition

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

3.75

elizabeth was intolerable at times but so is being treated as inferior.

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tamara_loves_reading's review against another edition

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A no from me. Who said this is a funny book? Why is this a goods read award book? 
I am 60 Pages in and there were already scenes and mentions (it‘s so sketchy) in it, i think are more important and in need of a thorough discussion than mentioning it, wirhdraw emotionally and here we go again… 
The rape scene was described and disgusting and that was it, she withdrew from it, shuttered some time and here she goes again. Avoidant tactics? I don’t know. It didn’t sit well with me. 
Her brothers death wasn‘t further described in the contrary… just mentioned it to her boyfried and that was it. 
Her issues or Women’s issues were there from the start and when i think about it that it will continue like this for 330 more pages? No, thank you. I know these topics are important to talk about but it sounded like a soppy woman… 
Than the chemical descriptions and mentionings and whatnot… ufff… 
When they called the dog to watch another dog in TV i was so out of here. 
They were so bourgeois, sleek, white people, with a dog, a white fence, a bungalow (already payed of course)… 60 pages in and i‘m already rambling about it… must be a good book in the end… just not for me… 

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emray14's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful mysterious 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? No

3.75

Elizabeth was a self centered, egotistical woman who genuinely seemed to have no care for the way in which her actions might affect those she cares about. Elizabeth continuously bashes stay at home moms and women in non-science fields, which is contradictory to her insistence that women can be anything (just so long as she approves). The book  gives just two sentences to racism and one sentence to homophobia. Her weird ass comparison of her interest in science to her dead brother’s queerness wholly misses the mark. 

The sweet moments were sweet and the sad moments were sad. When it wants to be emotional, it succeeds beautifully. The format was fun to read, what with all the changing povs, but the graphic sexual assault scene and Elizabeth’s selfishness kept this could-be fantastic book from reaching 5 stars.

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emamazee's review against another edition

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hopeful informative inspiring reflective 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


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jmarieleder's review against another edition

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

3.75


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mahaofhyrule's review against another edition

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inspiring 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

3.0

Trigger Warnings: Rape (pg 18 specifically in the hardcover book), sexual assault, sexism (a lot of it), suicide, character death.

The talks on feminism were great. That was the unfortunate reality at the time after all. I think the moments of Elizabeth, Harriet and other women rejecting the status quo were awesome moments. Encouraging women to pursue careers. Encouraging women that they have more goals in life besides marriage and children. More of that please!

That being said, I could not connect to Elizabeth at all. Her personality...was a little too quirky for my liking. Nothing about her felt human to me. I mean sure, I felt bad for her at many times, cheered for at some other times, yes Don't even get me started on her daughter too, oh my goodness. You mean to tell me that I'm supposed to find a 4 year old citing the periodic table funny? I did not. Six-Thirty the dog was okay though (the fact he had lines was also weird to me, but somehow I dealt with that).

Harriet Sloane was my favorite character for sure. Her friendship with Elizabeth was one of the better aspects of the book. I also did like Calvin too, as he was one of only two men who wasn't a sexist pig.

I liked the food chemistry taught through the cooking show too. It was fun to learn, and also a great storytelling device for Elizabeth to encourage change.

Idk, my thoughts are all over the place. I didn't love it but I didn't hate it either.

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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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haileymairi's review against another edition

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

2.0

I really enjoyed the writing style of this book but really hated the plot. I thought the concept had potential but it just really failed to deliver.

The book starts off with a very explicit rape scene. For such a high impact scene it doesn't really have too much ingluence on the story. Which is infuriating. I have a lot more to say about it but just the idea of writing about it feels draining.

The story itself is quite repetitive, which I didn't actually mind- but with everything else in consideration doesn't help it to get a higher score. 

If you're looking for a book that explores feminism with any depth then this is not the book for you. Everything it says is very, very surface level and very basic. Truly baby's first feminism.

The author seems to include some rants influenced by her own opinions and concerns. A character that insists on referring to salt as sodium chloride is not going to declare that canned soup is poison. Because it's not. Maybe she could critique flavour and texture, or the levels of sodium.

Despite the fact that I did not like this book I did like her writing style. Hopefully if I read another book from her I will enjoy it more.

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flower_mail's review against another edition

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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

4.25


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rainynook's review against another edition

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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

So good! No wonder this book is so popular. A page-turner. There are some serious themes, but overall the book is quirky, fun and clever.  The characters are each unique and carefully-crafted. Well done!  

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