Lessons in Chemistry

Usually when a book is hyped this much I run from it, I also don't care for romance as a genre, but it was selected for bookclub so I gave it a go.

I was hoping/expecting realistic fiction since it's tagged historical fiction and feminist. I tried adjusting my expectations, telling myself ok it'll just be straight up fiction, but I was just so annoyed by this book. There were a few moments where I felt that it might have been a three, but in addition to rubbing me the wrong way I feel that since it was so exacting that it deserved to be nit-picked. I didn't think it was funny, even though it's marketed as a rom-com (cringe).

I love 6:30, he might be the best thing about the book, but he's also the biggest reason why it's not realistic for me. Loved that he was being taught words, but attempting to have telepathic conversations with a dead man and a fetus was too much for me. An inner monologue would have been fine. Oh and of course Elizabeth straps goggles to him and has him operate equipment a few times.

I accept that Elizabeth's cooking show was pedantic, and I don't mind it since I love Alton Brown. During the bookclub discussion another woman and I discussed how we didn't love that Elizabeth was so good looking, nearly impossibly good looking. I reminded them about how she didn't even sweat under the set lights – would have like a chemistry explanation for that one. Another bookclub member said, “Maybe she's so good looking so that way it wasn't an excuse to not have her on television?” I then reminded her of Julia Child, whom I have respect for and also had a technical/scientific background (shark repellent) but she's not a knockout.

Also speaking of the cooking that Elizabeth does, I looked it up and from the multiple sources I read, making coffee (not espresso) with distilled water will taste flat and not as appealing. If you're going to be fastidious throughout the book then get it right.
The way that Elizabeth brushes off the audience member's vegetarianism made me cringe.
I nearly exploded when she tossed the can of soup away because it had too many chemicals in it. Um WHAT?! Everything is literally made of chemical substances, NaCl, table salt is a chemical. Which chemicals are you referring to here? This was a huge opportunity lost to educate the audience.

It was cool to learn about the high flammability of pistachios.

Elizabeth didn't want to get married, that's fine. I just didn't think that her argument about a name change was convincing since she mentions “Einstein's wife” and I doubt that Elizabeth knew who she was even talking about because Einstein had two wives, the first of whom Mileva Marić, the physicist and mathematician, hyphenated her last name and when they divorced went back to her original name, and Einstein's second wife was his cousin, she was born an Einstein but since Albert was her second marriage she took his name, or would that count as changing it back to her maiden name? Elizabeth also mentions First Ladies as “Mrs. George Washington” and “Mrs. Abraham Lincoln”. I stopped on my walk to work, paused the audiobook and yelled, “Who doesn't know them as Martha Washington and Marry Todd Lincoln?!” Then again I'm a nerd so maybe I'm in the minority.
I get that she wants to keep her own identity, but I wish that she had expressed that more clearly. I don't see why she couldn't have kept her name or hyphenated, I know that it wouldn't have been traditional, but she isn't traditional and she's headstrong so she could have made it happen. She could also have gone with the argument that “Mrs.” is based off the word mistress and I accept that “Ms” was not available to her in the mid/late 50's.
I was also disappointed that Elizabeth didn't address becoming property, maybe because she knew Calvin would poo-poo the notion or not understand.
Additionally, for someone who is concerned about being publicly conflated with him she's making quite a scene at their place of work rather than ‘let's talk about this at home'.

In chapter five Calvin and Elizabeth discuss their familial backgrounds. This was a decent sentiment, “When raised on sorrow it's hard to imagine others having a similar portion.” Because yes, they both have ridiculously tragic backgrounds, like if Matilda had a crush on Klaus of the Baudelaire orphans. When you hear someone's brother died due to suicide do you ask for details? If the person was my romantic interest, I'll admit yes, but with a preamble, the utmost sensitivity, and reassurance.

Elizabeth can't swim and doesn't mention it when she goes rowing with Calvin even though she knows there's a likelihood that the boat will capsize or that she could fall out. I'm surprised she didn't talk about natural buoyancy.

I did like the rowing parts. Even though the rower member of out bookclub doubts that Elizabeth would be able to keep up with the physically bigger people I accept that she could have worked out the physics or something. I liked that rowing was a metaphor or thematic for teamwork, acceptance, having a shared interest, putting work into a relationship, etc. This was touched on in the interview with the author at the end of the book.

The doctor who's a rower is the only competent man in the book, well maybe Reverend Wakely, he struggles with his chosen career but he acts decently.

I can't make up my mind about Mad. Some of the kiddos that I've worked with are hyperlexic, but that's not what Mad is, at least not in the clinical sense of the word because Mad was taught how to read. I think in the interview with the author she mentions that Mad is not a genius but rather a really good observer. I think I struggle with Mad not because it's not that she's impossible but because she unrealistic and I was hoping for a realistic book.

This was probably things just being convenient to the plot but I thought that it took Elizabeth an uncharacteristically long amount of time to come for Calvin's boxes. Around the end of chapter 22 Elizabeth is at the office for the boxes and while there she and Miss Frask befriend each other because they've both experienced SA? They've exchanged first names but still call each other miss + last name. (I can't recall Miss Frask's first name.) This is because of the sisterhood, I guess. Miss Frask was trying her hardest to tear Elizabeth down, but she had recently been slighted (again) by male management and discovered they have an unfortunate commonality, so she acts helpful. I do like that Frask grows, but it could have been better executed.

Hated the “meet cute” of Calvin vomiting on her.
Liked the exchange of letters with Wakely and appreciated the fairy tale viewpoint vs religion.
Was surprised at Elizabeth using the word soulmate several times. I get that atheists can believe in spirits and souls it just didn't feel like it fit; I'm also not a fan or a believer in soulmates, at least not in the romantic sense that there is only one soulmate intended for each person.
Liked the update of the audience member perusing a medical career.

Whew it felt good to get that out of my head.