Today's book is another book mentioned in that blog post of James Harris' in which he describes several books as "science fiction". Not as the type of book we think of when we hear "science fiction", but as a book of fiction that concerns itself with science. And like the first book from that post I read, The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert, it is a story about about science, the times, the role of women in the world, and the world's expectations for them. And once again it is about a woman who defies those expectations.
My reviewer criteria. I like light, entertaining novels. I like smaller scale stories rather than epics. I like character focused novels featuring pleasant characters, with a minimum number of unpleasant ones. I greatly value clever and witty writing. I like first person, or close third person narratives. I dislike a lot of "head jumping" between POVs and flashbacks. I want a story, not a puzzle. While I am not opposed to violence, I dislike gore for the sake of gore. I find long and elaborate fight, action, and battle sequences tedious. Plot holes and things that happen for the convenience of the author annoy me. And I fear I'm a born critic in that I don't mind pointing out what I don't like in a story. However, I lay no claim to be the final arbitrator of style and taste, you need to decide for yourself what you like or dislike in a book.
Your opinions are always welcome. Comment below.
My Last 2023 Read
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus A
This is a very popular book. When I placed a hold on The Signature of All Things at the library, I also intended to place a hold on this book. However, I found that between my place in the line and the number of copies the library owned, I'd be waiting like a year for it, so I didn't bother. However, unknown to me, my wife had placed a hold on it as well some time earlier, and it became available in December. When she mentioned how much she liked the book she was reading I was delighted to discover that it was Lessons in Chemistry and that the library loan was long enough for me to read it as well. So on to the book.
This story is largely set in the early to mid 1950's. The hero of the story is one Elizabeth Zott, a brilliant scientist, and, as it turns out, a brilliant teacher. She was very unfairly denied the opportunity to earn her PhD in chemistry, and as a result, was forced to settle for a much more menial position in a scientific research company; not, however, comfortably so. She knew that she was more brilliant than all but one of the company's employees, but that fact would never be acknowledged simply because she was a woman - a woman who doesn't fit the accepted pattern of womanhood in the society of the era. This was not fair and she fought against that attitude. That is the theme of this book, and it doesn't shy away from saying so, just like its main character, Elizabeth Zott.
As usual, I don't really want to go into the details of the plot, on the off chance that you haven't read this book yet. Suffice to say that the story concerns her finding an oddball, but perfect mate, a failed-at-bomb-detecting, but brilliant dog, and the unconventional raising her extremely brilliant daughter. She finds a way to use her knowledge of chemistry to make a difference in the world in a very different way with her all her chemistry knowledge, along with an attitude. Not in the way she envisioned it, perhaps, but in a wider and more impactful way than just making discoveries in a lab. While the story has many touches of humor, the message is serious and clear; women have the same rights as men to live the life they want to live, and pursue the career they find most rewarding.
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