Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

624 reviews

karkei's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective 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? Yes

4.5

I forget how much women in the past had to fight for the rights we enjoy today. The inequalities have in no way been eradicated, but I feel so fortunate to be living in the time that I do. 

Elizabeth Zott is not exactly a lovable character - she is stubborn and she is odd. But she definitely earned my respect. 

The book was a page-turner. What an exciting premise. I would say that reading the blurb, I wanted to read more about how Zott changed the women’s lives though. I think it would have been interesting to see more of the lives of the women behind the screen watching her and the little impacts they made in their own lives, rather than the huge focus on Zott’s life itself. It would have been a better balance - less about how she got to Supper at Six, but more on how the show or Zott herself made an impact on others. 

The reason I say this is because it was almost ironic that this story that supposedly champions women ended up being more about a man (Calvin Evans). Evans was the huge catalyst behind Zott’s story, his death was central to the plot and his childhood was what ended up giving Evans the life she wanted. I didn’t enjoy that. 

Also, another little critique I have is that Zott’s beauty was brought up quite a lot. I know that they were trying to emphasize that men looked at beauty a certain way back then, but for the sake of the story, I think the story wouldn’t have changed much without the mention of beauty (e.g. Frask also got assaulted and went through something similar to Zott, even when she was highlighted to be quite unattractive). This is particularly the case when considering how Garmus went to great lengths to emphasize Evans’ unattractiveness. It was almost like Garmus herself was putting Elizabeth into a box and claiming she got where she did because a woman’s beauty helps her. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Grief, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment

chronic_listener's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful informative sad medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, and Abandonment

hello_lovely13's review against another edition

emotional funny 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Death, Suicide, Grief, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Car accident, Abortion, and Pregnancy

willbefunorelse's review against another edition

emotional informative inspiring reflective tense 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? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Sexual assault, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicide, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

meredith_williams_'s review against another edition

emotional funny inspiring 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

4.25

This book absolutely lived up to the hype! Lessons in Chemistry is a heartfelt, witty and inspiring story about the value of found family and the importance of being true to yourself. The characters in this book are so well written and the plot is engaging from start to finish (even if there are a few plot points that are a bit outlandish!) Because it takes place in the 1950s and 1960s and because the main character is a white woman, it is important to note that the feminism is not the most intersectional. The author kind of address the racial injustice of the period, but not in a way that feels like it was done with the most care. Overall, I think that a lot of women will still relate to the main character and her experiences with sexism, as well as with other characters in the book who are challenging the status quo of society. Definitely a great read and one that I will recommend! 

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Suicide, Vomit, and Car accident

Minor: Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, Blood, and Religious bigotry

jillaay_h's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense fast-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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Death, Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Grief, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment

shingekiyes's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring tense 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

4.5

i read this per my aunt’s recommendation with zero knowledge of the book going into it. it is about the generation of women who came just after my grandmother, adult women in the late 50s and 60s who were on the precipice of the next great American feminist movement but still greatly impacted by WW2 social norms.

i did not expect this book to impact me so much! i love women’s fiction, but i tend to prefer more literary works than this. there was a very clear timeline and plot, which i appreciated, and though the book covered serious topics, the tone was mostly lighthearted. 

the POVs in this book were absolutely incredible. i LOVED getting 6:30’s perspective, and the type of head hopping that would normally
bother me was used very strategically and successfully! 

there was a HEAVY dose of found family here that i did not expect at all. i welled up in tears many times over during scenes where Mad and Elizabeth got to experience the love and support of their own little community. 

also, i SHOUTED when the

Vogue

reveal happened. Harriet slayed!!! Best character award!!! 

i can definitely see how this book lends itself to a TV series, which i plan on watching! overall, this was a really fun and interesting read outside my comfort zone. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Sexism, Sexual assault, Grief, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Racism, Sexual violence, Suicide, Blood, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

Minor: Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Homophobia, Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Abortion, and Alcohol

mndscranton's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Death, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Grief, and Car accident

kailiyahknight's review against another edition

emotional medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Grief, Car accident, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, and Religious bigotry

Minor: Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Blood, Vomit, Abortion, and Death of parent

angelbabe_cj's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring tense 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? It's complicated

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Vomit, Grief, Car accident, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Rape, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide