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A review by jen1804
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
5.0
I feel like I’ll be thinking about this book for a long time.
A really fantastic read which explores what it meant to be a woman in the 1950s-60s. Particularly; how women were treated in the workplace; how they were taken advantage of; and sadly how common it was for women to be sexually assaulted; how it was a given that a man’s word would be taken over a woman’s; how women were seen as less than men; how it was seemingly unimaginable for women to have brains or knowledge or do something other than cook or clean or look after children; how men would be paid much more than women despite doing the same job; how easy it was for women’s work to be stolen and have a man’s name stamped on it; how it was frowned upon if a woman did not marry.
The scene where Elizabeth is fired for being pregnant out of wedlock and she asks “what about the man?” felt so powerful to me.
Elizabeth is a highly intelligent scientist, and I believe is most probably autistic (though not mentioned/confirmed). She is brash and straightforward, with her fresh and outspoken views about sex discrimination, and the dedication to her work in the world of chemistry. She doesn’t care what people think of her, and she doesn’t care about the same things others her age seemingly care about, she is one unto her own and I respect that.
The story follows her life between study, sexual assault, working at a research lab, falling in love, suffering loss, becoming a mother, and hosting a tv cooking show.
It’s a powerful read, exploring some hard hitting themes. But it beautifully captures female determination, explorations of grief, and the difficulties of navigating pregnancy and single motherhood.
I really loved Elizabeth as a character. And reading the friendships she makes throughout the book in spite of her brashness and high functionality made me so happy. Because at the heart of it she is still a vulnerable human being.
Adore little Mad, so smart, so funny, so much of both of her parents in her. Adore Calvin and his openness to actually hearing what Elizabeth is telling him. Adore them together, the failed proposal scene and then snapping right back to just being them was👌. And actually all of the side characters are really well developed (Harriet, Walter, Frask, Dr Mason, Donatti) plus the additional POV from the dog, Six-Thirty, adds humour - one of my favourites of his thoughts being She as in Banshee in reference to baby Mad. But even Six-Thirty has a tragic back story and brilliant development as a character who is more than just a dog.
I also just really loved the way this book was written. It flits around between characters within the same paragraph and I just loved how it did, I don’t know how to accurately explain.
It gets 5 stars because the pacing was good, the plot points were good and how it all wove together at the end, I had audible gasps and laughs whilst reading, and it’s one of those books I’ll remember forever.
A really fantastic read which explores what it meant to be a woman in the 1950s-60s. Particularly; how women were treated in the workplace; how they were taken advantage of; and sadly how common it was for women to be sexually assaulted; how it was a given that a man’s word would be taken over a woman’s; how women were seen as less than men; how it was seemingly unimaginable for women to have brains or knowledge or do something other than cook or clean or look after children; how men would be paid much more than women despite doing the same job; how easy it was for women’s work to be stolen and have a man’s name stamped on it; how it was frowned upon if a woman did not marry.
The scene where Elizabeth is fired for being pregnant out of wedlock and she asks “what about the man?” felt so powerful to me.
Elizabeth is a highly intelligent scientist, and I believe is most probably autistic (though not mentioned/confirmed). She is brash and straightforward, with her fresh and outspoken views about sex discrimination, and the dedication to her work in the world of chemistry. She doesn’t care what people think of her, and she doesn’t care about the same things others her age seemingly care about, she is one unto her own and I respect that.
The story follows her life between study, sexual assault, working at a research lab, falling in love, suffering loss, becoming a mother, and hosting a tv cooking show.
It’s a powerful read, exploring some hard hitting themes. But it beautifully captures female determination, explorations of grief, and the difficulties of navigating pregnancy and single motherhood.
I really loved Elizabeth as a character. And reading the friendships she makes throughout the book in spite of her brashness and high functionality made me so happy. Because at the heart of it she is still a vulnerable human being.
Adore little Mad, so smart, so funny, so much of both of her parents in her. Adore Calvin and his openness to actually hearing what Elizabeth is telling him. Adore them together, the failed proposal scene and then snapping right back to just being them was👌. And actually all of the side characters are really well developed (Harriet, Walter, Frask, Dr Mason, Donatti) plus the additional POV from the dog, Six-Thirty, adds humour - one of my favourites of his thoughts being She as in Banshee in reference to baby Mad. But even Six-Thirty has a tragic back story and brilliant development as a character who is more than just a dog.
I also just really loved the way this book was written. It flits around between characters within the same paragraph and I just loved how it did, I don’t know how to accurately explain.
It gets 5 stars because the pacing was good, the plot points were good and how it all wove together at the end, I had audible gasps and laughs whilst reading, and it’s one of those books I’ll remember forever.