Reviews with content warning for Sexism - Lessons in Chemistry

Reviews tagging 'Sexism'

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

1345 reviews

kera_reads's review

Who even needs actual character development or romantic chemistry? Lots of telling, not a lot of showing… yet somehow, only 9% in and there aren’t enough content warnings available to cover what’s already happened.

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molsreads's review against another edition

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emotional slow-paced

4.5

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miss_marvel_reads's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful informative inspiring tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Habs geliebt - wie die Autorin so mühelos von einem Charakter zum anderen (sogar zu diesem überraschend grandiosen Hund) springt und dabei so viel Klarheit in die Miskommunikation der Charaktere und die Hintergedanken dieser bringt ohne, dass es verwirrend wird.
Die Geschichte war überraschend hoffnungsvoll und inspirierend, obwohl das Thema Feminismus in einer von Männern geprägten Domäne zunächst sehr entmutigend wirkt.
Außerdem wurde gleichzeitig gezeigt, das Hausfrau sein ein bedeutender, anstrengender Job ist, der jeder Frau genauso offen steht, wie es jeder andere Job auch sein sollte, ohne irgendwelche Berufungen/Entscheidungen schlecht darzustellen.

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jenniferduannfultz's review

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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mjeanette_'s review

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challenging emotional inspiring medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Diverse cast of characters? No

4.25

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katienaz's review

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challenging sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

I liked this book in theory. The plot was interesting and I loved the concept. The characters were great in the sense that I definitely found myself invested in their outcomes and their stories. I liked the female empowerment messaging. I found it to be a little slow and the writing hard to dive into, and polarizing at times in how blunt the characters were crafted to be.

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daumari's review

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dark funny slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

4.5, but I'm actually going to round down on this one. I liked it, but I'd also say Six-Thirty the dog is maybe the most likeable character (followed by Madeline though I can see how her precociousness could be off-putting).

At times, I almost felt like I was reading satire of the era with all of the blatant sexism Elizabeth faced because it read cartoonishly over-the-top to me, though I do think that's part of fiction, to exaggerate experiences. Also maybe of-the-period but took me out a bit: this is southern California; where are the Latin@s and Asian folks?? (I know, white folks tend to hang out with their own but we do flip through povs of women watching Supper at Six- maybe some of those families were brown, who knows).

But, I do like Elizabeth's abrasiveness and insistence on things being correct and meritocratic (even if societal structure is not). She strikes me as a little neurodivergent and I'm not sure if that's intentional (Bonnie Garmus's goodreads question replies indicate she was aiming more for classical stoicism). I think part of why this book is so popular is because the message of being taken seriously resonates with a lot of women even today. We STILL see thinkpieces about the value of domestic labor (though I think there's a wider recognition that childcare and rearing are fulltime jobs- see Essential Labor: Mothering as Social Change). When Elizabeth's spiraling in the newborn haze, Harriet reassures her that nothing is wrong and that also rung true.

Calvin's origins did remind me of The Girls Who Went Away: The Hidden History of Women Who Surrendered Children for Adoption in the Decades Before Roe v. Wade, and I felt like this aspect could've been baked a little bit longer as it abruptly was revealed in the end.

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