Thoughts on Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

I recently finished this book for a book club and I’m slowly finding myself in the minority opinion of the people around me. I knew almost nothing about this book going in, beyond the cover synopsis and the fact that it must be popular as the library was completely out of copies. The plot appealed to me and I was looking forward to a lighter read than my typical type of book. I HATED the beginning of this book, and only ended up with a very lukewarm feeling on the novel and a distaste for the author’s style by the end. But everyone around me seems to love it! Definitely curious what the folks on here think.

My biggest issues were with the author’s style of writing and how that built out the world. I felt like everyone in the book was very one-dimensional. (Apologies, I always forget the proper name for this style of writing) I don’t feel as if the narrative style of jumping into other characters’ minds fits this type of story, especially when most other perspectives were just actively hating the main character. I understand that it was very hard for women- and especially women following Elizabeth’s life trajectory)- back then and the obstacles she faced rang true for me, but I couldn’t get over this idea that everyone was out to get *specifically her* because they all couldn’t stand *specifically her*. It just seems like a harmful oversimplification.

I was also disheartened by the focus on Elizabeth’s conventional attractiveness and the lack of focus on her actual scientific accomplishments. This was a bigger issue for me in the beginning, when most of the first 100 pages seemed to be from Calvin’s perspective. It felt too “typical” for the type of story I had expected based on the plot- ugly guy, beautiful woman, we’ll tell you she’s smart but we’ll *show* you how smart he is. I will admit this complaint was not as strong for me by the end of the book where her cooking got very technical and she got back to the lab under new (female) management, but I still almost put the book down based on the first third.

I also hate the overly intelligent child trope and the talking dog. I kind of just thought they were stupid, which is not a valid criticism and I can acknowledge just means they didn’t work for me. I think I can see them as further evidence not to hold ourselves back or instill limitations on others, but it also somehow feels like it undercuts the intelligence of her adult female audience by making it seem as if instead Elizabeth has some supernatural ability to teach. (But I will definitely admit I think that’s just me reading too far into it because the characters irked me so much lol or maybe I’ve been holding my dog back all this time!)

I think overall, this book lacked a lot of nuance, and I will admit (hopefully without coming across as pretentious, I truly believe every book has value and I would never shame someone’s interests!) that I don’t typically go for “beach reads” so it may just be that I was expecting something this book never tried to be. I just feel like I’m not getting out of this book what so many seem to be and I’m curious if anyone agrees with me, and why it may have worked for others.

by PickleYourDice