A review by rara2018
Chemistry by Weike Wang

5.0

I truly cannot describe how much I absolutely adored this book. I came into it with astronomically low expectations, but left wanting to start it all over again immediately. Weike Wang’s writing style totally kept me hooked from the very first page, and the way she wrote thoughts and feelings felt like something literally ripped straight from someone’s brain. The narrator was imperfect but I loved her so so much, especially with the stark thematic differences between the two parts. I basically cried off and on for the latter half of the book, since its discussions of motherhood, family, relationships, and friendship (and more) consistently struck a chord with me. Unless I’m mistaken, Eric was the only character with a name in the entire novel, which was such a genius way of framing the entire story. The narrator’s relationships with each of her students was so beautiful and it juxtaposed brilliantly with the complexity of her relationship with her parents. This isn’t a book with a plot, per say, but its one with an story that was incredibly raw and personal. I don’t often have the desire to reread books, but this is one I feel I need to buy so I can reread passages again and again.