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Bianca's Reviews > Lessons in Chemistry
Lessons in Chemistry
by
by
Bianca's review
bookshelves: 2022, audiobook, female-author, feminist, historical-fiction, us-author
Aug 11, 2022
bookshelves: 2022, audiobook, female-author, feminist, historical-fiction, us-author
2.5
May Contain Spoilers
I'd never agreed more with the messages of a novel however, I grumbled throughout this audiobook. It's as if Garmus took every feminist rhetoric, issue and stance and made Elizabeth Zott the denouncer of every.single.one - gender pay gaps, stay-at-home mothers not being appreciated, women in STEM, working women, sexual harassment and the whole gamut of issues. I had to double-check the period this novel was set in. There were quite a few aspects that felt anachronistic. Anachronisms drive me crazy and their presence ruined many historical novels for me. I also think it's lazy and assumes that the readers are ignorant, not to mention, that it doesn't take that long to google.
And then there was the preachiness, and the monologues, and the overexplaining. Oh, and it's all tell no show. Also, I got no sense of the time and place.
I'm a staunch feminist and I agreed and/or recognised most issues, still, I just found this novel annoying, heavy-handed, and way too on the nose.
I like my literature nuanced and I don't want things to be (over)explained, I am (still) capable of chewing my food/ideas, thank you very much.
NB: I watched the TV series, I didn't mind it, the script was pretty good.
May Contain Spoilers
I'd never agreed more with the messages of a novel however, I grumbled throughout this audiobook. It's as if Garmus took every feminist rhetoric, issue and stance and made Elizabeth Zott the denouncer of every.single.one - gender pay gaps, stay-at-home mothers not being appreciated, women in STEM, working women, sexual harassment and the whole gamut of issues. I had to double-check the period this novel was set in. There were quite a few aspects that felt anachronistic. Anachronisms drive me crazy and their presence ruined many historical novels for me. I also think it's lazy and assumes that the readers are ignorant, not to mention, that it doesn't take that long to google.
And then there was the preachiness, and the monologues, and the overexplaining. Oh, and it's all tell no show. Also, I got no sense of the time and place.
I'm a staunch feminist and I agreed and/or recognised most issues, still, I just found this novel annoying, heavy-handed, and way too on the nose.
I like my literature nuanced and I don't want things to be (over)explained, I am (still) capable of chewing my food/ideas, thank you very much.
NB: I watched the TV series, I didn't mind it, the script was pretty good.
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Reading Progress
July 3, 2022
– Shelved
July 3, 2022
– Shelved as:
to-read
August 10, 2022
–
Started Reading
August 11, 2022
– Shelved as:
2022
August 11, 2022
– Shelved as:
audiobook
August 11, 2022
– Shelved as:
female-author
August 11, 2022
– Shelved as:
feminist
August 11, 2022
– Shelved as:
historical-fiction
August 11, 2022
– Shelved as:
us-author
August 11, 2022
–
Finished Reading
Comments Showing 1-50 of 55 (55 new)
message 1:
by
Diane
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Aug 11, 2022 06:18AM
Agree. I thought it was cartoonish. I had decided not to read, then my bookclub assigned it last month.
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Haven’t read it yet, but it is a bookclub read in February. I’ll see what I think then. You have done a great job explaining why it didn’t work for you, Bianca.
Diane wrote: "Agree. I thought it was cartoonish. I had decided not to read, then my bookclub assigned it last month."I was so keen to read a good lighter book. It drives me up the wall when a book appeals to all my inclinations/thoughts/biases yet it puts me off with the writing, over-the-top characters that don't feel like people of their respective era. Even amazing feminists have blindspots etc, as we are all products of our upbringing, society etc. That woman who was brought by a religious zealot/conman and didn't even attend school - suddenly had all these opinions about women and women's roles when she was only 20? Where did they come from? Not life experience, not from talking to other women, and definitely not from reading about those issues etc. SO I DID NOT BUY IT!
Antoinette wrote: "Haven’t read it yet, but it is a bookclub read in February. I’ll see what I think then. You have done a great job explaining why it didn’t work for you, Bianca."I'm looking forward to your thought, Antoinette.
Onwards,,Bianca !
Angela M wrote: "Onwards,,Bianca !"Absolutely. :-)
Yes I agree with Angela, Bianca. Maybe time for another Winton?!
Preachiness and over-explaining - no go for me, too.Hope your next book is better, Bianca.
Suzanne wrote: "Yes I agree with Angela, Bianca. Maybe time for another Winton?!"I've started Nightcrawling - one of the longlisted Booker Prize novels. It's Ok, I'm not yet wowed by it.
Laysee wrote: "Preachiness and over-explaining - no go for me, too.Hope your next book is better, Bianca."
Thanks, Laysee. My next book is likely to be better. I was so in the mood for a good, lighter read, they're not easy to come by.
Oh Nightcrawling looks great. Elyse loves it!
Suzanne wrote: "Oh Nightcrawling looks great. Elyse loves it!"Many do, I hope I will, too.
I’ll keep an eye out to see how you get on, it caught my eye straight away.
Suzanne wrote: "I’ll keep an eye out to see how you get on, it caught my eye straight away."I'll try my best to finish it quickly, I'm quite busy these days, most of my reading is done via audiobooks, Nightcrawling is a paperback.
You sound like me. I’m doing an audio in two days, a paper book two weeks. I understand!
Sounds fair. I didn’t add this one so thanks for validating. Hope your next one is fabulous!
Suzanne wrote: "You sound like me. I’m doing an audio in two days, a paper book two weeks. I understand!"Which in comparison with the general population is pretty good. I just got used to reading 3-4 books/week.
Jen wrote: "Sounds fair. I didn’t add this one so thanks for validating. Hope your next one is fabulous!"Thanks, Jen. My list of complaints is much larger but couldn't be bothered. The writing is clunky as well - it's all tell no show. And I never even smiled.
Bianca wrote: "Suzanne wrote: "You sound like me. I’m doing an audio in two days, a paper book two weeks. I understand!"Which in comparison with the general population is pretty good. I just got used to reading..."
That's a lot of reading, Bianca. I didn't realise you read at that rate!
Suzanne wrote: "Bianca wrote: "Suzanne wrote: "You sound like me. I’m doing an audio in two days, a paper book two weeks. I understand!"Which in comparison with the general population is pretty good. I just got ..."
I used to, but I wasn't working. :-)
Elyse wrote: "The preachiness that you mentioned drove me batty too (perfect description in my opinion too). Great -clearly observant review, Bianca.
Also — something I share with you ( I think anyway from o..."
HUGS
It was so annoying.
Bianca....disappointing! Sorry it didn't work for you. Preachy books don't work for me either! Wonderful review, nonetheless!🌹
Marialyce (absltmom, yaya) wrote: "It was so annoying."It drove me crazy. I dislike issue books, even if they appeal to my interests/biases.
Fran wrote: "Bianca....disappointing! Sorry it didn't work for you. Preachy books don't work for me either! Wonderful review, nonetheless!🌹"Cheers, Fran. Heavy-handed, unrealistic, improbable mess of a novel.
Yes! This summs up my thoughts and feelings on the book perfectly.
Beau wrote: "Yes! This summs up my thoughts and feelings on the book perfectly."I'm still amazed by how much many people love it.
message 28:
by
Terence M - [Quot libros, quam breve tempus!]
(last edited Nov 29, 2022 12:52AM)
(new)
![Terence M - [Quot libros, quam breve tempus!]](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.gr-assets.com/users/1712357414p1/6658001.jpg)
Loved your review, Bianca!Thanks for saving me the trouble of starting it, then finding that it was a "Heavy-handed, unrealistic, improbable mess of a novel."!
well said Bianca! This book didn't sit well with me for all the reasons you so eloquently mentioned. We can agree with the message, but dislike the delivery.
JanB wrote: "well said Bianca! This book didn't sit well with me for all the reasons you so eloquently mentioned. We can agree with the message, but dislike the delivery."Thanks, Jen. If anything, the more I agree with the message(s) of a book, the more I pay attention to details such as writing, realism etc.
You should put in a spoiler disclaimer at top of review. Thanks.
Cindy wrote: "You should put in a spoiler disclaimer at top of review. Thanks."Done.
I had considered this one, but am now so glad that I passed on it. Excellent review, Bianca!
Cheri wrote: "I had considered this one, but am now so glad that I passed on it. Excellent review, Bianca!"Thanks, Cheri. Aren't you curious? I'm in the minority, everybody loves it, it's on all bestseller lists etc.
Wonderful review, Bianca. Love how you tell it like it is. I’m taking this one off my list. The things that bothered you would probably bother me.
I totally visualised this book as a movie or series probably because it was so cartoonish but I was still charmed by it for the most part, minus a few niggly parts that didn’t quite work for me.
Debbie wrote: "Wonderful review, Bianca. Love how you tell it like it is. I’m taking this one off my list. The things that bothered you would probably bother me."Debbie, as you can tell, I'm in the minority. I don't know anyone else who's disliked it as much as I did, so maybe reconsider?
Vanessa wrote: "I totally visualised this book as a movie or series probably because it was so cartoonish but I was still charmed by it for the most part, minus a few niggly parts that didn’t quite work for me."Vanessa, you're not the only one who felt that way, I wish I had felt the same, it didn't even make me smile, it aggravated me. I can't help how we feel. And don't get me started on that super-precocious child.
Agreeing strongly with the message and really not liking the book itself is a good distinction. Me too.
Cecily wrote: "Agreeing strongly with the message and really not liking the book itself is a good distinction. Me too."I disliked it with passion. I didn't even mention the "genius" child and the dog ...
I was working in the 50's and this is actually an excellent depiction of how women were treated. I have been overjoyed to see what women have deservedly accomplished since then. The book should be a must read for women and men alike.
Justine wrote: "I was working in the 50's and this is actually an excellent depiction of how women were treated. I have been overjoyed to see what women have deservedly accomplished since then. The book should be ..."Thanks for the comment, Justine. Yes, I do know that things were like that. As I've said in my review, it's not that the issues are made up, it's Gamus' writing that was subpar and heavy-handed, as far as I'm concerned. Don't get me started on the precocious child or the dog - grrr.
If women need to read this book to know about the realities of being a woman, past and present, they must have lived in an alternative universe.
As for men ... well, they are/were the perpetrators and/or the standing by and doing nothing and/or the beneficiaries of the patriarchy, do you think by reading this they'll suddenly become feminists? Admittedly, men who read fiction are more enlightened by default (according to me :-) ), still, even among those fiction readers, many don't read books written by women and definitely not the kinds that are marketed the way this one was. Of course, #notallmen :-)
Lesley wrote: "EXACTLY!"Cheers. :-)
Couldn’t agree more. I’m a feminist and I work in STEM, and I had to work VERY HARD at not making this a DNF. I love hearing stories about women who overcome sexism and misogyny, especially those working in science, however this was beyond the pale.
Amanda wrote: "Couldn’t agree more. I’m a feminist and I work in STEM, and I had to work VERY HARD at not making this a DNF. I love hearing stories about women who overcome sexism and misogyny, especially those w..."Thanks. We are among the very few who weren't seduced by it. I skipped forward at times and listened to it at higher speed, still, it was so damn flat and just irritating.
Perfectly stated, Bianca!
Ann wrote: "Perfectly stated, Bianca!"It was a quickly penned rant. :-)
Rant or not, I agree. So many readers thought this was the "it" book about women - - but I'm of your view - - there was nothing new and the writing wasn't great. I started working (lawyer) in the 70's, so I absolutely know the issues presented are true - there just wasn't anything special in the novel.
