Reviews tagging 'Fatphobia'

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

76 reviews

clover6872's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Grief

Minor: Death of parent, Gaslighting, Fatphobia, Sexual assault, Rape, Pregnancy, and Death

emeraldjulep's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

5 ⭐️
Edited: I have thought about this book often sine I read it. It’s not perfect, but am adding it to my super selective 5 reads anyway.

4.5 ⭐️
*Audiobook

I laughed, I cried. Ha. I haven’t truly just enjoyed a book this much in years. Also it’s fantastic for a debut author. I cannot wait to read her next novel. (And oh, Six Thirty! - the best).  

I highly recommend the audio version as Miranda Raison is the perfect narrator for this. I want to listen to more of her readings as well. I am sure the physical book flows really well too. Choose either version, but don’t miss it.  

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault and Fatphobia

rdmoreland0801's review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted sad slow-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? Yes

5.0

This book made me feel all the emotions, I absolutely loved it.  Elizabeth is a badass single mother in the 60s, but more importantly, she is a chemist.

When her life goes off track due to tragedy, she has to face a lot of harsh truths.  Being a woman in the 60s was not ideal.  I definitely wouldn’t have survived.  What’s sadder is that these kinds of things still happen.  Being a woman today is scary.

Elizabeth uses her position as a tv cooking show host to bring chemistry and science into the lives of the “average housewife”.  Instead, she begins a powerful women’s movement in her own right.  Women no longer feel like they have ti stay home or be so fragile a man needs to take care of them.

I love all the different points of view, especially that of Six-Thirty.  I think it was a great cast of characters, led by a powerful woman who refuses to go with the status quo.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief

Moderate: Pedophilia, Bullying, Death, Death of parent, Fatphobia, Rape, and Sexual assault

Minor: Suicide

soshereads_'s review against another edition

challenging emotional funny informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Suicide, Death of parent, Bullying, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Death, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Alcoholism and Pedophilia

willisalive's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny inspiring 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? No

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Death, Death of parent, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Fatphobia, Rape, Vomit, and Eating disorder

alisonannk's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Abandonment, Child death, Emotional abuse, Violence, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicide, Death, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Grief, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Car accident, Forced institutionalization, Animal cruelty, and Infidelity

readingwithleslie's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

Wow. Just wow. The things this women went through, half would take the average person out. This is not the lighthearted story the cover leads you to believe. It’s heavy and speaks on serious topics, but it is 100% worth picking up and reading. I thoroughly enjoyed this one. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexism, Death, and Vomit

Moderate: Religious bigotry, Homophobia, Fatphobia, and Suicide

Minor: Car accident, Domestic abuse, and Grief

annoyedhumanoid's review against another edition

emotional 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? No

4.25

it's like The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo but even better imo. i fell in love with Elizabeth Zott, whose experiences are painful to read and made me want to scream with indignation. in fact, (almost*) the whole cast was lovable—not just  "able to be loved", but rather, "no choice but to love". an engaging, many-threaded story full of heart that weaved into one for a rock-solid ending (for which i'm a sucker).

*except, to be honest, Walter Pine. i don't see how he was much better than the villainous men before him (Donatti and Lebensmal); maybe he was "just following orders", but as if that makes up for it. he's a devoted father, but what kind of daughter's role model is complicit in the mistreatment of women under his own purview? but of course he's ultimately

rewarded with a promotion—which i don't fault the writing for, it's prob the most realistic course of events unfortunately—but less believably, becomes bffs with Elizabeth at the drop of a hat

?? he may recognize the err of his ways, but did he follow that up with any significant changes, e.g. use his newfound power to uplift those he previously kept down? not that we know of. maybe i hold a grudge like Calvin but i don't really see how Walter redeemed himself.

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Blood, Sexual harassment, Abandonment, Death of parent, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Miscarriage, Cursing, Excrement, Fatphobia, Gore, Vomit, Infidelity, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Car accident, Classism, Violence, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Abortion, Child abuse, Body shaming, Child death, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, and Racism

alexalovesbooks's review against another edition

dark emotional funny inspiring sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes

3.5

I've been marginally curious about Lessons in Chemistry ever since the novel appeared on my radar sometime last year, and especially after quite a few folks I follow on other platforms included it on their top reads for 2022. When the opportunity presented itself to borrow the audiobook from my library (more on the audio narration is included at the end of my brief thoughts), I decided on a whim that I was going to read this novel now.

The truth is, while Lessons in Chemistry didn't quite wind up becoming a new personal favorite, I can certainly see the appeal for other readers. We follow the story of Elizabeth Zott, a clever woman who has no hesitation when it comes to being herself... even when the world tries time and time again to knock her down and keep her there. While I didn't get on with her right away, as I continued reading her story, I found myself drawn to this unusual character, admiring how she stood her ground and inspired many other folks in the book to do more and be more where they could. It's because I wound up invested in her that I remained invested in this story; adding a dash of unusual if dark humor, other fleshed out characters to the ensemble cast and keeping me on my toes in terms of where the plot would go just made my experience with this book good overall. 

Though it took me a chapter or two before I could get used to Miranda Raison, I did overall enjoy the audiobook. Elizabeth Zott felt even more like a real person, thanks to the narrator, in my humble opinion. There's also a brief interview with Pandora Sykes and author Bonnie Garmus at the end, which was delightful to listen along to. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Sexual assault, Death, Religious bigotry, and Suicide

Moderate: Fatphobia

Minor: Domestic abuse

katjonzz's review against another edition

dark emotional funny reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape

Moderate: Fatphobia and Violence