A review by johanna_phoenix
Lessen in chemie by Bonnie Garmus

challenging dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

 The positive: The book has a lot to debate about and it is divisive. I have been reading it for a book club and this book was ideal for it. I did love the surprise and blunt plot twist in the book. It hooked me and because of that, I convinced a friend to read the book as well. I needed a buddy to rant with while reading the book. I read the book in Dutch and the translator did a great job in maintaining the integrity of the book.

The negative: It is very black and white, and I miss the nuances which could have brought this book to a higher level. The agenda of what is "right and wrong" is so strongly pushed forward and rigid that there is no/barely room for character development. Personally, I hate every single human character in the book; I absolutely loved 6.30! Even though I loved the dog, those parts did feel like a different book or genre. Lastly, some sections felt like the book would start a twist or important story arc, but with a paragraph or two pages, it was already solved. This did feel as if big parts were cut out of the book during editing. I understand that it is an ingrained part of writing but it did feel too abrupt. 
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