Historical Fiction
Lessons in Chemistry
by Bonnie Garmus
Member reviews
Yusuf Demirtaş Verified member
Istanbul, TR · 2026-05-15
I bought two more copies
A friend from the Late Night Readers group pushed this on me for months. Every secondary character feels like they have a life off the page. Worth every hour.
Elias Thornbury Verified member
Gothenburg, SE · 2026-05-11
Deserves a wider readership
I went in expecting a quiet read and got something far more forceful. The middle third is where it truly finds its confidence. A slightly tighter edit in the second act would have made it perfect. I'm hoping the author writes more like this.
Delphine Rousseau Verified member
Chicago, US · 2026-05-07
Ambitious and mostly successful
It sat on my shelf for a season; I regret the delay. The dialogue is doing real work here; characters reveal themselves through what they avoid saying. It sparked our longest discussion of the year.
Priya Raghunathan
Stockholm, SE · 2026-05-03
Thoughtful, layered, worth your time
I came in sceptical — the premise sounded familiar — and was won over fast. Every secondary character feels like they have a life off the page. Easily a highlight of my reading list.
Kwame Boateng Verified member
Casablanca, MA · 2026-04-29
Our best discussion this season
A friend from the Late Night Readers group pushed this on me for months. The middle third is where it truly finds its confidence. It does take fifty pages to settle into its rhythm. Worth every hour.
Beatrice Calloway Verified member
Lagos, NG · 2026-04-25
Read it in two sittings
I went in expecting a quiet read and got something far more forceful. The dialogue is doing real work here; characters reveal themselves through what they avoid saying. I'm hoping the author writes more like this.
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Reader comments & questions
23 entries · 8 questions from the community
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- Comment
Nikolai Petrov
Riga, LV
It took me about fifty pages to settle in. Once I did, I read the rest in two sittings.
- Question
Daniel Whitfield
Enugu, NG
Is there enough here for a two-session discussion, or is one meeting plenty?
Tomás Iglesias
We paired it with a shorter nonfiction title and the contrast made both books better.
- Comment
Rosalind Ayers
Stockholm, SE
Read this with my Sunday group. We disagreed on almost everything and that made it the best meeting we've had all year.
Hannah Lindqvist
We spread it over three weeks and that felt right. Any faster and the middle would have blurred.
Yusuf Demirtaş
Same experience here. The first fifty pages are slow, then it clicks completely.
- Comment
Julian Mbeki
Lagos, NG
It took me about fifty pages to settle in. Once I did, I read the rest in two sittings.
- Question
Beatrice Calloway
Accra, GH
Which chapter gave your circle the best discussion? I'm building a question sheet.
Chidi Nwachukwu
Agreed on the ending. It's open, but not vague — the author gives you everything you need.
- Comment
Grace Sutherland
Utrecht, NL
Read this with my Sunday group. We disagreed on almost everything and that made it the best meeting we've had all year.
- Comment
Marcus Bellweather
Bergen, NO
It took me about fifty pages to settle in. Once I did, I read the rest in two sittings.
- Question
Naomi Farrell
Bogotá, CO
How long did this take you to finish? I'm trying to plan it for a four-week circle.
Marcus Bellweather
Our host built the whole discussion around chapter nine. It carried a full ninety minutes.
Rosalind Ayers
I did the audiobook and the narration is excellent, though the print edition has a few visual touches worth seeing.
