Lessons in Chemistry book review

I don't want you to read this and be like, “I don't care about chemistry.” There is an actual story. There are other people, animals, and all kinds of stuff.

Today, I'm reviewing Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus. The genre of the book is fiction, and the theme is humor and literature.

I'd heard a lot about this book and had seen people discussing it online. But it wasn't until someone I know personally recommended it that I said, “Let me look for it.”

So I'm walking through the library, and we have this thing called Quick Pick, which is where a book comes in and nobody has it on hold, so you can quickly snatch it up.

I saw Lessons in Chemistry, grabbed it, and it's phenomenal.

Oh my gosh, it's so good.

Would I reread the book? Yes, yes, yes, yes.

One of the important moments in the book is when the main character has to explain to someone else that cooking is chemistry.

I had never considered cooking to be chemistry. Never.

I know you mix things. I know there's a reaction. Well, it's a chemical reaction.

I'm not spoiling the book. You'll get some of that explained if you read the description or do a quick run-through of the book. But cooking is chemistry.

Sections of the book are long and drawn out about things like how eggs elongate when they're whipped, adding air to them, and that's what makes the cake rise. Bonnie knows precisely what she's talking about, or she did some exceptional research.

But cooking is chemistry.

Pheromones are chemistry. Falling in love can be a chemical reaction. Parenting is chemistry.

All of it. All of it is chemistry.

“Cooking is chemistry. Pheromones are chemistry. Falling in love can be a chemical reaction. Parenting is chemistry.”

While I didn't have too many favorite quotes in the book, one of my favorite characters was the doctor.

The book follows Calvin and Elizabeth. The doctor is an OB-GYN, and he talks about helping women give birth to babies. There's a statement he makes where he talks about how he knows women are stronger than men.

Have you seen them give birth?

It felt good to see it written down.

I am a mother. I have birthed a child. It is not easy to give over your body for those months.

But even that is chemical, right?

This book covers chemistry, chemical reactions, and how things react. I never thought about the world like that.

I'm a lawyer. I don't think about chemistry. I don't think about organic chemistry. I don't think about regular chemistry.

I don't think about chemistry.

But then I'll look at things differently. I painted this desk. It was wet, and then it dried. That was a chemical reaction. I braided my hair with some pomade. That was a chemical reaction.

Everything is chemical.

That was so eye-opening to me, but it was also entertaining.

And again, I don't want you to read this and think, “I don't care about chemistry.” There is an actual story. There are other people, animals, and all kinds of stuff as well.

But the chemical reaction of it all? That's the part that blew me away.

And the book broke my heart.

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There was a part of the book where I was just slack-jawed.

What just happened?

I did not see it coming. I didn't. Even now, I'm a little embarrassed because I didn't see it coming.

But the book is a really, really, really good read.

I'm very happy I picked it up because it's flying off the shelves. People are raving about it, and I'm glad I took a chance on it when I saw it.

https://youtu.be/RoOtHvL7V_0

Until the next book review,

Kyla