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Lisa's Reviews > Lessons in Chemistry
Lessons in Chemistry
by
by
I could've saved time and read a laundry list of cliches instead of reading this book.
Lessons in Chemistry was rife with issues. A non-exhaustive list:
🧪Elizabeth is a SCIENTIST in the 1950s but reads like someone time traveled back from 2022 just to spout feminist monologues at anyone within earshot!!!
🧪Elizabeth is an elite rower on her very first day!!!! No need for any background in sports whatsoever!!! She can keep up with 6'4" men! Makes perfect sense bc......... feminism!! Keeping up with the boys!!! Etc!
🧪Elizabeth is VERY SEXY. She neither knows nor cares that she is sexy, puts no effort into her appearance, but the author makes sure we know that she is The Hot One. bc she is smart AND sexy. Or something.
🧪Elizabeth is a SCIENTIST, ergo she only thinks in LOGIC. She is actually a cyborg without feelings and without any idea of how human interactions work!! We know this based on how cringy every single interaction she has is!!!
🧪Elizabeth uses aforementioned LOGIC to disprove religion!!!! Checkmate, theists everywhere!!!!! Elizabeth has cracked the case!!!!!
Overall, extremely ridiculous and unrealistic. Next.
Lessons in Chemistry was rife with issues. A non-exhaustive list:
🧪Elizabeth is a SCIENTIST in the 1950s but reads like someone time traveled back from 2022 just to spout feminist monologues at anyone within earshot!!!
🧪Elizabeth is an elite rower on her very first day!!!! No need for any background in sports whatsoever!!! She can keep up with 6'4" men! Makes perfect sense bc......... feminism!! Keeping up with the boys!!! Etc!
🧪Elizabeth is VERY SEXY. She neither knows nor cares that she is sexy, puts no effort into her appearance, but the author makes sure we know that she is The Hot One. bc she is smart AND sexy. Or something.
🧪Elizabeth is a SCIENTIST, ergo she only thinks in LOGIC. She is actually a cyborg without feelings and without any idea of how human interactions work!! We know this based on how cringy every single interaction she has is!!!
🧪Elizabeth uses aforementioned LOGIC to disprove religion!!!! Checkmate, theists everywhere!!!!! Elizabeth has cracked the case!!!!!
Overall, extremely ridiculous and unrealistic. Next.
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Reading Progress
Finished Reading
(Kindle Edition)
April 20, 2022
– Shelved as:
to-read
(Kindle Edition)
April 20, 2022
– Shelved
(Kindle Edition)
May 5, 2022
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Started Reading
May 5, 2022
– Shelved
May 5, 2022
–
Finished Reading
Comments Showing 1-50 of 73 (73 new)
message 1:
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JanB
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rated it 2 stars
May 13, 2022 07:45AM
Excellent review! We agree 100%
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JanB wrote: "Excellent review! We agree 100%"Thank you for your review!! Reading 5 star review after 5 star review made me question if I even read the same book as everyone else!
I am HERE for this review. I’m perplexed about all the love being showered on this one. It is mediocre at best.
Brianna wrote: "I am HERE for this review. I’m perplexed about all the love being showered on this one. It is mediocre at best."Thank you!! It is truly boggling.
I’m struggling at 50%. This review may make it a dnf.
Dana (pagestoreadfl) wrote: "I’m struggling at 50%. This review may make it a dnf."VERY GLAD you DNFed. holy cow
I completely agree. I was just astounded at all the positive reviews - it reads like a checklist for every feminist cliche
I totally agree with you here!
Thank you!! Excellent review
Perfect review!! Plus ignoring and erasing all POCs from the narrative was A Choice
I'm reading, or rather listening, to the book for a book club, and happy to have not bought it. I find Elizabeth annoying, the whole dog show is garbage, and Mad is too unrealistic. I can't imagine the cooking show attracting many viewers. Nothing wrong with teaching chemistry through cooking, good idea, but the show would have grated on my nerves, as it seemed like more of a lecture than anything else.
Add a ridiculously smart 5 year old and a phd student that didn’t go to college…
I don’t think it was meant to be realistic - I think it was meant to be OTT and appeal to a particular audience with particular views.
I am so here for this review. My (only) favorite part of this book was the tidbits about chemistry and cooking.... smh
Thank you for your review. I can't believe the reviews it's gotten. The use of the "rape for shock value" trope is enough to warrant it one star for me. I'm halfway through the book and really debating if I want to finish it
Excellent review. I am not sure I really liked any character in the book except maybe the dog.
I quit after chapter 4. Wholeheartedly agree with your review.
YES! THANK YOU! what a terrible book! Wish I had read your review and not all those five stars before getting the book. What a waste of time!
I absolutely agree with everything you wrote. I’m 20% in and have been thinking it wasn’t worth another 9.5 hours of listening—turns out I was right according to your review! Thank you for saving me time and more annoyances.
Oh no, not the “scientists are emotionless machines” cliché 😢 when will this stop?
I'm glad I'm not alone here. I'm halfway through waiting for the amazing part to come. So many people raved about this that I'm thinking to myself, I must just not have gotten to the good stuff yet. I guess my gut on this is right.
So glad I'm not the only one ! I was even tempted to read it again and see if it was just me ! I hated it x
Thank you, thank you for this review!!!
I love it when I read a review that is so different from my views
it was SO bad! Seriously, who has three employers try to rape you? so ridiculous.
I agree - I'm forcing myself to finish as it's my book club book, but it's so contrived and the characters are all very one-dimensional. I have had a career in science and my experience with male colleagues is nothing like Elizabeth's. I really disliked her as a character - so pretentious. And the whole idea of doing a cooking show using the kitchen as a chemistry lab is ridiculous. Also, there were so many put-downs of other women, and men as well. Sorry - this book just didn't do it for me.
You're 29. You clearly have no idea what it was like in the 60's and 70's to have a college degree and competing in the job market in traditional male dominated fields.
Doesn’t Alton Brown base his cooking shows on science? I thought this part was so clever and appealing for women of that time.Elizabethassumed her audience was intelligent.
As a woman who actually remembers the 50s, I found the novel to be a pretty accurate portrayal of the times and the culture. I also thought it was brilliantly written. I assume you're pretty young and I'm happy you didn't have to endure the sexism of that era.
I found this book incredibly sexist. Everyone who is NOT Elizabeth is a sexist trope.
I don’t know if we read a different book or just feel seem in different ways🤷🏻♀️ But she did care about her appearance (described as wearing lipstick) Her rowing was terrible for a long while. I’m not a cyborg and I thought she was relatable in her interactions. Were they feminist monologues or were they just common sense?
I think you are spot on with the transport theory. I did like it better than you did but it does suffer from that point of view.
Have you not met a scientist? The author was actually very spot on. And she’s old, born in the 50s so I think she has a better idea of what it was like in that era than us young people.
EXACTLY. This book is awful. Not only is it boring (where is the "laugh-out-loud funny" I was promised??) but also yes to all the things you said.
I'm in this group... everything about this book is one big disappointment
Lisa wrote: "JanB wrote: "Excellent review! We agree 100%"Thank you for your review!! Reading 5 star review after 5 star review made me question if I even read the same book as everyone else!"
Me too!
Audrey wrote: "Excellent review. I am not sure I really liked any character in the book except maybe the dog."That is what I said!
Lindy wrote: "You're 29. You clearly have no idea what it was like in the 60's and 70's to have a college degree and competing in the job market in traditional male dominated fields."I’m 73. Has nothing to do with age. Very disappointed in this book.
SARAH wrote: "As a woman who actually remembers the 50s, I found the novel to be a pretty accurate portrayal of the times and the culture. I also thought it was brilliantly written. I assume you're pretty young ..."Nope, I’m 73. It just wasn’t a good book. Has nothing to do with culture or portrayal of the times.
You’ve already received close a zillion raves and don’t need mine added to the array. But I can’t resist noting my delight in your observation that “Elizabeth uses aforementioned LOGIC to disprove religion!!!! Checkmate, theists everywhere.”
Obviously you were never thrown against a wall at work because you were a woman in the way of a man. Literally. Obviously you don't do ironing either.
What an annoying book … so ridiculously heavy handed and stereotypical … please give me my time back wasted reading this piece of junk!
I agree with all the nasty cluches.I'm 70% along and will finish but the application of presentism, combined with the mean attributes of some stereotypes of an evolving 1960s time frame, has become painful and I'd guess it's 95% inaccurate. I have more faith in women's ability to act on sexual abuse. I did enjoy portions of the storyline and interesting characters ahead of their time. It now feels a bit smug as though present day women know better, when truly they've risen through the actions of those who went before them. I want opportunities and success for women, and I want it through a balance of merit based performance too. Maybe this was more dark comedy than I was prepared for. There certainly is a lot of it around today.
I find it interesting that you interpreted her rowing to be perfect on the first day when they say she flipped the boat every day and struggled to get the hang of it… Also she does reference knowing she is beautiful and hating the attention that brings.
I wonder if because I am reading at a slower pace if it calls out those nuances more then if someone is reading quickly who might agree with you on those two points
I did feel like some of Elizabeth’s robotic personality traits seemed to stem from a trauma response of the rape that occurred in a time where therapy and support for victims was minimal. But that could be me projecting my bias to the book not what the author intended.
Thank you for sharing you thoughts and keeping the conversation flowing!
I felt like Elizabeth's robotic nature may be that she was on the autism spectrum. I know she's a character in a book, but it is set in the late 1950s, and autism wasn't widely discussed or diagnosed.
When I do not like a movie, series, or book I just stop watching/reading it. I found the book hilarious and was literally laughing out loud as I read it. Sorry you did not see it that way.
I agree with your review
I wrote a very similar review. It felt that the “feminist” message was blown out of proportion yet it only reinforced gender stereotypes.
Feminism can be toxic and this book proves it.
