Lessons in Chemistry, Week 4

Welcome to Week 4 of the Online Book Club discussion of Lessons in Chemistry.

Did you enjoy the end of the book? Was there anything that you wished you could change about the ending? Do you wish there was a sequel so you could know more about the characters? 

This section started with us finding out that Mr. Lebensmal had a heart attack after Elizabeth showed him her knife. Were you surprised that was what had happened to him? At least his heart attack allowed Walter and Elizabeth to become more in charge of the show. It didn't seem like many people liked Lebensmal. Do you think he attacked other women on his staff? He had to have done horrible things to get such a horrible reputation. 

What did you think once Elizabeth said on television that she was an atheist? I knew that was going to cause problems. I knew people were really going to have an issue with her saying such a thing. Were you surprised that some people got so angry that they were willing to send death threats? Did you think that Six-Thirty was overreacting when he started to come to the studio? I thought he was. I assumed that there would be more safety measures at the studio, and Elizabeth would be well protected. What would have happened if Six-Thirty had not found the bomb? Do you think it would have been powerful enough to take out the whole studio? Did you get the impression that the lady made the bomb herself? I felt so sad for Six-Thirty after he acted so heroically but was ignored by Walter. Didn't you feel so upset when Walter said that Six-Thirty did nothing? We know that he did so much!

How surprised were you when you read about All Saints and the fact that they pretended like Calvin was dead? That Bishop who just wanted money was so incredibly selfish. Could you imagine how different Calvin's life would have been if he had been able to be reunited with his mother? At least we finally solved the mystery of the donor who gave all that science equipment to All Saints. I just can't imagine lying like that to a family. 

Were you disappointed in the Life magazine storyline? I was so excited for someone to finally listen to Elizabeth and treat her with respect. But, that story was not the one the magazine wanted to tell. Can you imagine what the author of the original interview went through when he saw that they didn't publish his article? Why did people have so much trouble throughout the book celebrating a successful woman? Wasn't it just heartbreaking to read how people mistreated and maligned her throughout her career? Weren't you glad that the original article was finally published? Could you believe that Harriet was brave enough to send it out? 

Lots of things happened at the very end. Miss. Frask became the head of Human Resources at Hastings, opening the door for Elizabeth to come back and be treated fairly. Donatti finally got what was coming to him and was let go. Avery Parker came in to the story and showed that she was the mysterious donor for abiogenesis. And, she was Calvin's mother. Which one of those things surprised you the most? Are you glad that Avery is going to be able to have a relationship with Elizabeth and Madeline, especially since she never got to have one with Calvin? Do you think Elizabeth is going to be able to have a successful scientific career as the years go by, or do you think she will continue to face opposition because of her gender? What do you think Mad's life will be like as she grows up? Do you think she will want to become a scientist? 

If you enjoyed this book and would like to read or watch similar things, take a look at this list I created. Make sure to let me know if you check out anything on the list!

Before you go, check out the interview below with author, Bonnie Garmus. What do you think was the most interesting part of the video? 

Thank you so much for following along this month! I hope you'll leave a comment to let me know what you thought of the ending! Check back next month as we read The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton.