Interesting. I did not get to read Lessons in Chemistry before I happened to catch the mini-series on Apple TV. It was well-produced, I thought, and somehow Zott’s robotic, not self-reflective character made sense in the “film.” The traumas were addressed (maybe a little awkwardly) and though she seemed stoic at times, I guess the actor’s expressions and body language reflected what she was feeling/thinking. The difference between watching and reading, I suppose! I appreciate your review of the book, though…..makes sense.
Yeah, I've heard a lot of good things about the show, and there is a big difference between reading and watching (when we have no expectation of interiority!) I don't think you need to read it if you've watched the show :)
Great short reads. Didn’t we all share food, really good pizza in my case, outside, at a safe distance, with friend's, during the pandemic? It was one of the nice things about that time. The eclipse, or eclipses, as markers in time, a rending of timespace. And a bittersweet memory from youth told well in few words, evanescent, yet burning as bright in your mind as the sun returning from behind the moon.
I was curious about Chemistry with its success. I won’t pick it up now. Good specific criticism of the kinds of things that I also don’t like. I’m assuming that you saw the movie The Wonder Boys. Might be a disappointment after the book but I really enjoyed it. Mentioning Gardner made me remember when I read The Sunlight Dialogues in my 20s. Other than the great books I read for college classes it might have been the first big literary novel I read. It had a mind expanding and liberating effect which returns when I think about it now. I read Larry Woiwode’s (sp?) Beyond the Bedroom Wall about the same time. The opening long chapter where they layout his dead father for his funeral is still fresh. Great reading both of them.
I can say, having some understanding of your reading preferences, that Chemistry is not for you! I was just talking to somebody who read The Wager (nonfic by author of Killers of the Flower Moon) and THAT sounds right up your alley.
Interesting. I did not get to read Lessons in Chemistry before I happened to catch the mini-series on Apple TV. It was well-produced, I thought, and somehow Zott’s robotic, not self-reflective character made sense in the “film.” The traumas were addressed (maybe a little awkwardly) and though she seemed stoic at times, I guess the actor’s expressions and body language reflected what she was feeling/thinking. The difference between watching and reading, I suppose! I appreciate your review of the book, though…..makes sense.
Yeah, I've heard a lot of good things about the show, and there is a big difference between reading and watching (when we have no expectation of interiority!) I don't think you need to read it if you've watched the show :)
Great short reads. Didn’t we all share food, really good pizza in my case, outside, at a safe distance, with friend's, during the pandemic? It was one of the nice things about that time. The eclipse, or eclipses, as markers in time, a rending of timespace. And a bittersweet memory from youth told well in few words, evanescent, yet burning as bright in your mind as the sun returning from behind the moon.
I was curious about Chemistry with its success. I won’t pick it up now. Good specific criticism of the kinds of things that I also don’t like. I’m assuming that you saw the movie The Wonder Boys. Might be a disappointment after the book but I really enjoyed it. Mentioning Gardner made me remember when I read The Sunlight Dialogues in my 20s. Other than the great books I read for college classes it might have been the first big literary novel I read. It had a mind expanding and liberating effect which returns when I think about it now. I read Larry Woiwode’s (sp?) Beyond the Bedroom Wall about the same time. The opening long chapter where they layout his dead father for his funeral is still fresh. Great reading both of them.
I can say, having some understanding of your reading preferences, that Chemistry is not for you! I was just talking to somebody who read The Wager (nonfic by author of Killers of the Flower Moon) and THAT sounds right up your alley.