Chemistry

by Weike Wang

[layawaydragon]

This is for all the subdued quiet girls, the ones that are so used to being the successful smart one and suddenly finding themselves struggling.

Chemistry is unlike anything I've ever read before. The only name we learn is Eric. Eric the brilliant chemist that wants to marry the narrator. Everyone else is the best friend, the lab partner, the math student.

Narrator has a dysfunctional family with unhappily married parents with strict and high expectations. She's a chemist struggling through her dissertation and breaking. She's analytical and her narration remains drily detached from typical emotional reactions and descriptions.

Does she love chemistry enough? Does she love Eric enough? Will it be enough? What is "enough"?

I love all the science facts, descriptions, and analogies she used. I loved the therapy and teaching sessions. There's lots of great turns of phrases like,"My bones are weak and I'm lactose intolerant."

There's no real ending and if you're not paying attention, that last line will mean nothing. It kinda feels like nothing anyways without an answer but it's a step.

I have a head cannon of what happens next. And I'm sticking to it.

Notes Made While Listening:
Interesting tense
Eric is ginger, she is Chinese
Eric is "perfect" and she is hesitant
"the best friend" and "the lab partner"
dissolution of a 4 year relationship breakdown
"you mean nothing to me without the degree"
"My bones are weak and I'm lactose intolerant."
just get glasses!!
Dry but fascinating, like listening to the Grinch grow a heart
Awww poor best friend
"coming back to visit as a friend"
Then it ends.