You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
elaineyh1216 's review for:
Lessons in Chemistry
by Bonnie Garmus
funny
inspiring
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Having sat with my thoughts for a little over a week, I think I'm finally able to put my opinions on this book into writing.
Garmus's writing is very readable. It was very easy to get into, and once I started reading, I couldn't put it down. At first, I found the jumping points-of-view a little jarring, but I got used to it rather quickly. Being in the point-of-view of the dog, Six-Thirty, was a fun element that I rather enjoyed. The tone of the book was matter-of-fact, so that even the darker elements of the story didn't register to me as very dark and almost seemed to be glossed over.
The characters read like caricatures. I could sympathize with all of the characters to a certain extent, but the farther along I got in the book, the more they seemed to me like exagerated stereotypes. Elizabeth Zott, the protagonist, was the stereotypical anti-social scientist and raging depressed feminist living in an environment that didn't understand her. At one point in the book, she registered to me as neurodivergent-coded. Whether she was neurodivergent or not was not spelled out directly, and in the time period of the story, she probably wouldn't have been diagnosed any way. She could be overly belligerent, especially towards the latter quarter of the book, and I had to wonder at how a woman could live to her 30s behaving in this way. She also espoused ideas that are extremely modern that made it hard to believe that she lived in the 1950s and 60s.
The other side characters were likeable enough. Out of the large cast of characters, I think I liked Harriet the most -- probably because she seemed to be the most realistic of them all. I found that the side characters' view of Elizabeth helped to make her more sympathetic to me.
As for the plot, the focus was on Elizabeth's struggles as a female chemist in a lab in the 1950s and 60s, how she became an unwed single mother and the stigma that came with that, and how she ended up with a popular cooking show in which she taught cooking with an emphasis of chemistry and inspired other women to pursue their dreams. I don't think Garmus introduced any new ideas regarding women's struggle in a male dominated work place. She did highlight that sometimes the worst enemy against women's progress was other women (We're sadly still seeing that today).
I could have done without the last 3-4 chapters. It felt to me like Garmus was trying to wrap up the story with a neat little bow of a happy ending that was unnecessary. These last few chapters also took the focus away from Elizabeth, and I would rather have liked her to be the center all the way through. The deus ex machina of the ending just took me out of the story and felt like a part that was disconnected.
In conclusion, I liked Lessons in Chemistry, but I didn't love it as many seemed to have. I am late to the game, so I have witnessed all the raves and accolades prior to reading. To me, it was overhyped. There was a lot to be liked, but the overly exaggerated caricatures of characters and the ending just didn't do it for me. 3.5 stars.
Garmus's writing is very readable. It was very easy to get into, and once I started reading, I couldn't put it down. At first, I found the jumping points-of-view a little jarring, but I got used to it rather quickly. Being in the point-of-view of the dog, Six-Thirty, was a fun element that I rather enjoyed. The tone of the book was matter-of-fact, so that even the darker elements of the story didn't register to me as very dark and almost seemed to be glossed over.
The characters read like caricatures. I could sympathize with all of the characters to a certain extent, but the farther along I got in the book, the more they seemed to me like exagerated stereotypes. Elizabeth Zott, the protagonist, was the stereotypical anti-social scientist and raging depressed feminist living in an environment that didn't understand her. At one point in the book, she registered to me as neurodivergent-coded. Whether she was neurodivergent or not was not spelled out directly, and in the time period of the story, she probably wouldn't have been diagnosed any way. She could be overly belligerent, especially towards the latter quarter of the book, and I had to wonder at how a woman could live to her 30s behaving in this way. She also espoused ideas that are extremely modern that made it hard to believe that she lived in the 1950s and 60s.
The other side characters were likeable enough. Out of the large cast of characters, I think I liked Harriet the most -- probably because she seemed to be the most realistic of them all. I found that the side characters' view of Elizabeth helped to make her more sympathetic to me.
As for the plot, the focus was on Elizabeth's struggles as a female chemist in a lab in the 1950s and 60s, how she became an unwed single mother and the stigma that came with that, and how she ended up with a popular cooking show in which she taught cooking with an emphasis of chemistry and inspired other women to pursue their dreams. I don't think Garmus introduced any new ideas regarding women's struggle in a male dominated work place. She did highlight that sometimes the worst enemy against women's progress was other women (We're sadly still seeing that today).
I could have done without the last 3-4 chapters. It felt to me like Garmus was trying to wrap up the story with a neat little bow of a happy ending that was unnecessary. These last few chapters also took the focus away from Elizabeth, and I would rather have liked her to be the center all the way through. The deus ex machina of the ending just took me out of the story and felt like a part that was disconnected.
In conclusion, I liked Lessons in Chemistry, but I didn't love it as many seemed to have. I am late to the game, so I have witnessed all the raves and accolades prior to reading. To me, it was overhyped. There was a lot to be liked, but the overly exaggerated caricatures of characters and the ending just didn't do it for me. 3.5 stars.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Mental illness, Sexual assault, Suicide, Sexual harassment