A review by gloriazthompson
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

emotional funny lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

This would make a fantastic tv series. Loved the pacing and overall story! I would call this a "light"-hitting book. It covered hard topics and themes but was surrounded with heart-warming side characters, humor, and witty dialogue. A feminist-heavy book about a quirky woman who is a chemist and all that she is up against in her career (and life as a mom) in the 1950s and 60s.

One main critique I had was that every depiction of faith or religion in this story was portrayed as evil or bad or wrong. And even though there are terrible things that people do for religion, I think this was too heavy-handed showing only one side.

Some tough subject matter covered includes: rape, sexism, misogyny, abuse, death, suicide, and religious bigotry.

This book reminded me of The Maid by Nita Prose, in terms of the dialogue and some of the character personality. Also, both books had the main female protagonist taken advantage of and mistreated for the majority of the story. Both had older characters who ended up stepping in and caring for the main character. Similar humor throughout as well.
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