Finally reading this and discovering what everyone was fawning over - it's nicely written, intelligent, attention-grabbing and perfectly complex.5/5 ⭐
Finally reading this and discovering what everyone was fawning over - it's nicely written, intelligent, attention-grabbing and perfectly complex.
As much as I love the idea of the plot and the atmosphere (they were superb), none of this was possible without the centre of the novel, the main character of the story, Elizabeth Zott. She is a brilliant chemist with a no-bullshit attitude and an incredible passion and drive for science. She is head-strong when it matters, independent and ready to break all the norms, refusing to accept them unapologetically.
What is great about this novel is that the characters are really well individualised and each of them has their own personality and the role they play is fitting so well in the story, constructing a very pertinent and compelling atmosphere. Elizabeth Zott's romantic chemistry with her love interest is beautiful and unique - strange and cold in a weirdly scientific way, but warm and full of passion in a human way.
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I loved the narrative style of the book - it is witty and really engaging and it combines humour with very serious, social commentaries. I felt the writing really vivid as the story was unfolding and the depiction of the 1950s and 1960s with both external and internal factors is so on point it's hard to think it's been written in more modern times.
Aside from the great narrative, characters and atmosphere, Bonnie Garmus brings to the table important themes that were burning low but constant at the moment the story takes place. There are heavy themes but also really worth expanding and implementing, raising awareness over. The book is about a cooking show and a woman yes, but that is only scratching the surface.
It is about gender inequality, exploring the barriers and harsh stops women faced in the workplace during the '50s and '60s and Elizabeth's story highlights the struggles of women face in a male-dominated society that consistently underestimates their capacities.
It is a book about empowerment and feminism, Elizabeth's journey being one of empowerment as she defies societal expectations and inspires women to embrace their intelligence and ambitions.
It is a book about the importance of education, science being the main focus here. Science and, in particular, chemistry, is Elizabeth Zott's passion and it also represents, as a subtheme, the idea of precision, reality, rationality and the means to change.
I think everyone should give this novel a try because it's engaging, beautiful and full of meaning and it will, for sure, capture your whole attention once you get started!
Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 is a short book, but it is so incredibly heavy in the kind of words it is using. In the approached themes. In the o4.75/5 ⭐
Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 is a short book, but it is so incredibly heavy in the kind of words it is using. In the approached themes. In the outcomes of already unjust and unfair situations.
First of all, I'd like to say that this book surprised me. I had it for a long time and I even tried to read it once or twice but I think I wasn't in the right headspace for it. Second of all, it isn't a book for everyone.
It is a peculiar read, with the qualities of a biography, but fictionalised. And after you get to read it, you realise that it is not necessarily a person's biography, but one of a system. Of many other nameless women who got a name: Kim Jiyoung.
From the very beginning people can see that Jiyoung is not a standard character, even though she tries to stay under the radar. She's peculiar, acting strange and unsettling the people in her life, but mostly because no one bats an eye on her. At her mental health.
Yes, this is a book about mental health in a system and a society that's too focused on themselves and on material things to see what's right in front of their eyes. Jiyoung's behaviour gets to make complete sense when we go down a rabbit hole and witness every single significant moment of her life that shaped her into the woman that she is today. And personally, all I see in Jiyoung's life are pieces of a trauma-packed puzzle.
She is forced to be the victim of an unequal system, where being male is praised and being female leads to some sort of servitude drilled by generations before into young women's heads, venomous with double standards to a level of toxicity that, sometimes, baby girls don't even get to take a breath in this world because the society - and not necessarily the mother - aborts them, smothering the little life out of them right inside the womb.
This book is packed with the unfairness of a sick system, where women are still expected to be completely devoted to the home and family, where not wanting children of your own is a sin, when wanting to be financially independent as a woman is nearly impossible and where, at jobs interviews, women are faced misogynistic challenges and seen as bait more than as people.
It's so much to say about this book and even now thinking of it and the injustice of it, I still get my blood boiling like Satan's pitch cauldrons in hell. Sadly, this is the life story of millions of women, mistreated right from the moment they drew a breath into this world and told, in this book, in the voice of Kim Jiyoung. She is one of the millions of women and millions of women are Kim Jiyoung....more
Personally, I feel like this book is much better than other works of Amanda Lovelace I've read. Definitely a step ahead, really enjoyed the poems and Personally, I feel like this book is much better than other works of Amanda Lovelace I've read. Definitely a step ahead, really enjoyed the poems and I could even relate to some of them....more
Alright, I'll have to admit, I think i loved a little bit more Dread Nation, but maybe just because I usually feel more connected 3.75/5 ⭐
Alright, I'll have to admit, I think i loved a little bit more Dread Nation, but maybe just because I usually feel more connected to the first books of a series. That doesn't mean I did not enjoy this second instalment of the dreadful world Justina Ireland has created.
This was actually quite good, I enjoyed the journey, I enjoyed the characters, the sometimes witty line exchanges and also the atmosphere wasn't bad at all! It was more of a journey per se, physically speaking, moving from one place to the other. In this book, the characters are already mature enough, given the events that have turned them all into a harsher version of themselves in the previous book. Things happen all the time, there is constantly something to look out for and the atmosphere is uncertain, almost uncomfortably so. You never know when a shambler my sneak out of a bush and bite you from your behind (hihi).
I do believe this duology deserves to be read, mostly because it's a unique way of seeing a somehow dystopian world - from a historical perspective. The series feels like past times meet an apocalyptic future where you have to be on constant alert because zombies are everywhere. Besides the historical aspect, you can also witness a sociological one (see the way not-white people have to deal with the whole situation in this uniquely created world)....more
"Where are the stories for the wicked girls, the ones where they are told perfection is a lie?"
I know it might sound a bit deranged, but I 4.5/5 ⭐
"Where are the stories for the wicked girls, the ones where they are told perfection is a lie?"
I know it might sound a bit deranged, but I would make sure that I would read some of the poems and stories in this book to my children to make them understand that stories, even though beautiful and magical, can be told in so many different ways.
There is a thing about fairy tales: they never change. Even though the times change. So one has to do what one has to do and make some adjustments to them in order to make them fit better in the world.
I loved it how empowering this book is. It is not like other books I've read about empowerment, only because it does not contradict itself in the process. It just shows to us all the faces and the possibilities this world has to offer. There's no such thing as only black or only white. We can't expect this in our lives because it is totally implausible. We live in a grey area where every bit of light has it sown shadow. And this book is exactly like this.
"Not all girls are made of sugar and spice and all things nice. These are girls made of dark lace and witchcraft and a little bit of vice."...more
There are periods in my life when all I need is for poetry books like this to exist. It is an authentic dialogue between the poet and Goddess AphroditThere are periods in my life when all I need is for poetry books like this to exist. It is an authentic dialogue between the poet and Goddess Aphrodite on various themes like love and hate.
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC! I appreciate it dearly!...more
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