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A review by ewynn610
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
2.0
Didn't get the hype about this book. Overall, I thought it was preachy with a lot of monologues and "telling not showing."
What I liked: I gave it two stars because I did like Elizabeth's and Calvin's relationship.
What I didn't like: First of all, apparently all the woman of the 1950s needed was a woman like Elizabeth Zot to tell them they could do anything. While the book addressed structural barriers to women's progression, in the end all the characters needed to do was believe in themselves and they could overcome anything. Like the mother who decided to become a heart surgeon when Elizabeth told her she could? I thought it was an oversimplification of the problems women face. I also did not like all of the religion bashing. I know religion can have a detrimental effect on people's lives in many cases, but I thought the portrayal of everyone who was religious or believed in God as either stupid, evil, or that they came to recognize how ignorant they had been was unfair. I thought the book was full of preachy monologues and the author was trying to cover every human rights issue in one book (woman's rights, gender identity, sexual assault pedophilia, civil rights, homophobia, etc.). It was unbelievable that Elizabeth, a white woman in the 1950's had fully formed "2020" opinions about all of these subjects. Speaking of unbelievable, I know the daughter, Mad, is supposed to be a genius, but that she had fully developed cognitive and social abilities by the age of four was also unbelievable. I also found it troubling that a pastor befriended a four year old in the library and then proceeded to go on a wild goose chase for her, call her, and then visit her when she was home alone, and her mother did not seem to find it strange. Anyways, lots of things I did not like, and overall, it was somewhat of a painful read for me.
What I liked: I gave it two stars because I did like Elizabeth's and Calvin's relationship.
What I didn't like: First of all, apparently all the woman of the 1950s needed was a woman like Elizabeth Zot to tell them they could do anything. While the book addressed structural barriers to women's progression, in the end all the characters needed to do was believe in themselves and they could overcome anything. Like the mother who decided to become a heart surgeon when Elizabeth told her she could? I thought it was an oversimplification of the problems women face. I also did not like all of the religion bashing. I know religion can have a detrimental effect on people's lives in many cases, but I thought the portrayal of everyone who was religious or believed in God as either stupid, evil, or that they came to recognize how ignorant they had been was unfair. I thought the book was full of preachy monologues and the author was trying to cover every human rights issue in one book (woman's rights, gender identity, sexual assault pedophilia, civil rights, homophobia, etc.). It was unbelievable that Elizabeth, a white woman in the 1950's had fully formed "2020" opinions about all of these subjects. Speaking of unbelievable, I know the daughter, Mad, is supposed to be a genius, but that she had fully developed cognitive and social abilities by the age of four was also unbelievable. I also found it troubling that a pastor befriended a four year old in the library and then proceeded to go on a wild goose chase for her, call her, and then visit her when she was home alone, and her mother did not seem to find it strange. Anyways, lots of things I did not like, and overall, it was somewhat of a painful read for me.