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onyxisalive 's review for:
Lessons in Chemistry
by Bonnie Garmus
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Mixed feelings.
The writing of this book was fine. Nothing too amazing, but no complaints either.
The side characters seemed like they could have been interesting; however, the book was so centred on Elizabeth that they ended up being quite two dimensional (what I saw of them I liked though). I did find Elizabeth decently funny - not in the way that she ran around telling jokes- but, in the nonchalant way that she bulldozed through social norms.
However, it is quite unrealistic. The main character, if she truly was someone from that time period, would have to have a level of awareness at what was required to succeed as a woman at the time; yet, she is completely unaware. She believes if she screams loud enough people will listen because she’s smart. For her to have gotten as far as she has it feels like a lesson she would’ve learnt (by that I mean you have to play every card you have, you have to know the game).
I didn’t find her struggles to unrealistic, but they felt quite selective. The fact that she didn’t get fired from supper at six despite everything she said was ridiculous. Even if the producer liked her, surely the things she said on the air were so scandalous that wouldn’t have mattered? I don’t know.
The fact that so many people watched her show openly surprised me also. It doesn’t feel like the kind of thing people would openly, at the time, admit they watched. yet, some how, loads of people come out to see her. While educational TV programs seem interesting to me, the way the information was presented by her doesn’t seem like something the average person would enjoy, due to lack of time to understand. Not being treated like an idiot when being explained something is nice, but it doesn’t seem like she explains enough for it to be comprehensible to someone without a knowledge of chemistry.
In regards to the plot, there were a lot of coincidences that it did take away from the realism. At the end they sort of made it a little better, but the explanation was really abrupt and as a result the end felt very lackluster and rushed for me.
In terms of her she is very much a Mary sue (mastering rowing that quickly, learning to cook purely by chemistry, knowing that many different fields of science at that level). .The way that she is able to master so many different things so quickly is completely unrealistic. The way she talks isn’t realistic either (using science lingo like that constantly). I didn’t hate her though. Due to the inevitable struggles she went through it made it easier for me to not care so much about her flaws at the start, however, the fact they were left unaddressed at the end felt very distasteful. It would’ve been nice to see the characters all painted in various shades of grey instead of holding her up as this perfect person that everyone else needs to catch up too. At the start, it came across to me that this is what the book would do hence why I liked it at first. I did find her kind of funny though, not in the hahah sense, but in the way that she conducts herself, that amused me.
The feminism was very on the nose. I did like the way it didn’t say that characters that wanted to be house wives, but hated the way it wasn’t a choice. However, the book did feel like it thought lower of those people. It also felt the same about religion. Not actively saying people that wanted/believed those things were bad, but it definitely had an air of superiority that made it distasteful. The comment about vegetarianism was idiotic too. It is true that some people do use religion to excuse their actions and while acknowledging that is important, it kind of came across like the book was generalising that too all of religion, not putting down people who misuse it, but it as a system.
I’m not religious, but I appreciate the comfort and security it brings people - in fact, for this reason sometimes I wish I was.
All in all, the book felt rushed. It would’ve been nice to give the side characters more time to shine and paint a more nuanced view of feminism and how it relates to all their lives (including the men in the novel) instead of just Elizabeths. The plot had too many coincidences.
Ignoring the serious stuff about it. If you like this particular brand of humour and somewhat like Elizabeth you could probably enjoy this. I did. If you ignore the coincidences and the lack of development you can appreciate elements of this book.
Saying this though, it would’ve been nice to see more from all the characters involved and taking out the superiority complex around her.
The writing of this book was fine. Nothing too amazing, but no complaints either.
The side characters seemed like they could have been interesting; however, the book was so centred on Elizabeth that they ended up being quite two dimensional (what I saw of them I liked though). I did find Elizabeth decently funny - not in the way that she ran around telling jokes- but, in the nonchalant way that she bulldozed through social norms.
However, it is quite unrealistic. The main character, if she truly was someone from that time period, would have to have a level of awareness at what was required to succeed as a woman at the time; yet, she is completely unaware. She believes if she screams loud enough people will listen because she’s smart. For her to have gotten as far as she has it feels like a lesson she would’ve learnt (by that I mean you have to play every card you have, you have to know the game).
I didn’t find her struggles to unrealistic, but they felt quite selective.
The fact that so many people watched her show openly surprised me also. It doesn’t feel like the kind of thing people would openly, at the time, admit they watched. yet, some how, loads of people come out to see her. While educational TV programs seem interesting to me, the way the information was presented by her doesn’t seem like something the average person would enjoy, due to lack of time to understand. Not being treated like an idiot when being explained something is nice, but it doesn’t seem like she explains enough for it to be comprehensible to someone without a knowledge of chemistry.
In regards to the plot, there were a lot of coincidences that it did take away from the realism. At the end they sort of made it a little better, but the explanation was really abrupt and as a result the end felt very lackluster and rushed for me.
In terms of her she is very much a Mary sue
The feminism was very on the nose. I did like the way it didn’t say that characters that wanted to be house wives, but hated the way it wasn’t a choice. However, the book did feel like it thought lower of those people. It also felt the same about religion. Not actively saying people that wanted/believed those things were bad, but it definitely had an air of superiority that made it distasteful. The comment about vegetarianism was idiotic too. It is true that some people do use religion to excuse their actions and while acknowledging that is important, it kind of came across like the book was generalising that too all of religion, not putting down people who misuse it, but it as a system.
I’m not religious, but I appreciate the comfort and security it brings people - in fact, for this reason sometimes I wish I was.
All in all, the book felt rushed. It would’ve been nice to give the side characters more time to shine and paint a more nuanced view of feminism and how it relates to all their lives (including the men in the novel) instead of just Elizabeths. The plot had too many coincidences.
Ignoring the serious stuff about it. If you like this particular brand of humour and somewhat like Elizabeth you could probably enjoy this. I did. If you ignore the coincidences and the lack of development you can appreciate elements of this book.
Saying this though, it would’ve been nice to see more from all the characters involved and taking out the superiority complex around her.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny
Moderate: Death, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment
Minor: Suicide