Review by laurag_reads_books - Lessons in Chemistry

You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.

laurag_reads_books 's review for:

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

4.5

emotional funny inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I very much enjoyed it. It ended up going a way I wasn't expecting and I think was better for it. Very amusing in parts, quite disturbing in others.

I really wasn't expecting the fairly explicit rape scene near the beginning for one.

I loved Elizabeth and Six-Thirty and thought Elizabeth's and Calvin's love for each other was well shown.

The two main things I didn't really like were

Calvin's death and the ending with Avery Parker. I can only assume it was deliberate, but I though Calvin's death scene was written to be quite comedic, which I didn't really like and I don't think fit the tone of the rest of the book. Particulary in relation to his soulmatism with Elizabeth which I found very loving and poignant.

The Avery Parker ending I also felt to be quite rushed and not fully resolved. Although I did like Donatti finally getting his comeuppance.

Content Warnings