Scan barcode
A review by ramreadsagain
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
emotional
inspiring
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I absolutely loved my reading experience of this, but I must admit that there is a lot I could criticise and part of this review has been me deciding how much these criticisms affect my rating of the book.
It's definitely a 3/5 when it comes to characterisation
I said to my friend who I was buddy reading this with that Elizabeth Zott felt like someone who had grown up in our times and timetravelled to 1960. Obviously there were women in that time who challenged the status quo and fought for radical change, but Zott just seems to do it in a very unrealistic way. She was weirdly naive and innocent about the world (cue tangent about "quirky characters that are autistic-coded but will never be called autistic because we can't have that" and the "awkward genius" trope, both of which are ableist) except when she needed to go on a Girl Powerâ„¢ rant.
There was no explanation as to where she got these fully-formed feminist ideas from, especially considering that half the time she didn't seem to actually realise how misogynistic the world was, using social justice language that a woman growing up in the 1940-50s just wouldn't have access to. It got a bit repetitive for a modern reader.
Listen, I have strong negative feelings towards religion, and obviously Zott does too especially after the trauma of growing up with a scam-preacher father, but her "all religious people = bad" attitude goes so completely unchecked that I have to believe it was a main part of what the author is trying to say with the book. I do not believe that every person of faith should be portrayed as badly as they were in this book. Even the 'nice' one is still shown to constantly lie, and
I also feel like Calvin wasn't actually portrayed as well as he could have been.
I do feel like everything was just sliiiiightly
5/5 when it comes to plot and some other aspects though
Six Thirty? Favourite character. He did feel a bit out of place and, honestly, completely unnecessary to the story, but I loved him anyway.
I also loved the overarching storyline and the way is was written, with dark topics not being shied away from but with other aspects shown with humour. Many awful characters got their just deserts in a satisfying way and I liked the overall way things wrapped up (though it was very sudden).
Conclusion
Honestly? Objectively this should be a 3.5-3.75 star read for me, but I enjoyed reading it so much that I can't go any lower than 4. It's by no means perfect and I do have a lot of issues, mostly with the main character, but I'll be thinking about this book for a long time.
Graphic: Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Death, Suicide, Grief, and Death of parent
Minor: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, and Car accident