Review by sawood - Lessons in Chemistry

sawood 's review for:

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

2.5

dark emotional informative inspiring medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

I struggled with this. On the one hand, I love a progressive feminist perspective of the 1960s. On the other hand, this consisted of 21st century politics imposed onto a very different time period in a way that was almost obnoxious in how heavy handed it was. Despite Elizabeth purporting to be a groundbreaking feminist, she was almost a caricature in how much of a Mary Sue she was. Other characters were similarly flat and cartoonish. Elizabeth is beautiful, brilliant, can do no wrong, only ever makes the right decision, is naturally athletic, and is frequently victimized by the patriarchal society around her. She is completely different from any other woman in the book. It was a bit much and not exactly what I would call progressive.
There was also a graphic rape scene in the first few pages which, again, does not seem particularly progressive to me.
And for the love of god, can we just call water, salt, and vinegar by their common names instead of by their scientific ones? You cannot convince me that anyone other than a first year chemistry student calls salt “sodium chloride.” It’s not smart, it’s annoying.
Pros: the relationship between Elizabeth and Calvin was sweet and wholesome. And I loved Six Thirty so much.

Content Warnings