Written in a novel style, this work feels a lot like a medical memoir. The story follows an unnamed narrator from her white coat ceremony through medical school and some clinical work. There are a lot of graphic events in the book, so trigger warnings may be important for some sensitive readers. Though I found some of the information interesting, the organization of the novel was a problem. The narrative is very jerky and jumps around without meaningful transitions. There isn't a cohesive flow and I was frequently confused by what turned out to be a transition to a new topic or pulled out the book by incoherency. Overall, the writing does have good qualities with an excellent ability to describe the medical context, but the organization of the information requires a heavy edit. 

I had high hopes for this Dutch translation. The premise is something similar to The Circle by Dave Eggers. An examination of working in the social media field and the resulting mental effects of being bombarded with traumatic videos on a regular basis. It's an interesting psychological exploration delivered in a tight clip that does result in a lot of thought provocation and has some incredibly smart ideas. This short novella had some interesting observations and some good psychological analysis, but in the end it ended up not really going much of anywhere.

Things start off well, with an introduction to the company and the requirements of the job. There is plenty of discussion of nondisclosure and privacy requirements along with the guidelines by which Kayleigh and her coworkers must decide what is allowed to be posted and what must be removed. This was thoroughly completed and really set a great tone for the story. However, it somewhat stalled out after that and became just a repetition. The discussion of the relationships between the coworkers was touched on lightly, with no real getting to know the characters. There was a lot of telling rather than showing and so the entire narrative felt a little less revealing and intense than it otherwise could have been. Though there were psychological effects of their employment that definitely intensified over time, they weren't demonstrated in a highly impactful way and I feel like they could have been written more intensely.

This is meant to be a shocking novel, but it just didn't meet that bar for me. Yes, there were mentions of violent issues and things that maybe didn't sit quite right, but it was done in a way that made it feel somewhat removed. Being a novella, I think there just wasn't enough exploration of the topic and development of the characters. The secondary characters were more extranneous and they really needed to be drawn more tightly into the plot.

The ending also did not help. I understand what it was meant to demonstrate, but it kind of came out of left field and didn't seem to give enough closure to the story. Instead, it felt like the tale just stopped right in the middle of a chapter.

The story does give a lot of information that stimulates thought and the writing was decent, so the concept itself was good. The execution just needed more fleshing out.

 

What a beautiful debut! In the new tradition of fractured fairy tales, The Book of Gothel is a fabulous retelling of the tale of Rapunzel. There is such incredibly rich detail in the story and the atmosphere and the creativity is off the charts. I loved this.

Set in historical Germany and including great social and religious context appropriate for the time period, The Book of Gothel is a stunner. McMyne's writing flows without a hitch and weaves a tale that is so wholly itself that it leans only gently on the original story, something I have to give serious credit to. There is such gentle detail present and I loved the inclusion of all of the herbal and midwifery background to the story. There something to the feeling of the novel that gave me light Philippa Gregory vibes and I loved that.

The only thing keeping me from a 5-star read was the insertion of the story as a book within a book. Normally that is a trope that I adore, but in this case it was used too lightly and really had no bearing on the overall tale. It felt a little like wasted space and took away from the solidity of the ending for me. I would love for McMyne to take this approach and use it to further the story via a series...using Gothel to reveal the "truth" about oh so many other misunderstood tales.

Other than that minor speed bump, this was a near perfect read for me. McMyne's style is lovely, her imagination is impeccable, and I am already ready to read whatever she decides to put forth next. If you're a lover of fairy tales, this one is not to be missed. 

Wow. Without a doubt, Lessons in Chemistry will be in my top reads for 2022. I went in with little expectation and little knowledge of the plot and was suddenly overwhelmed with how much I was engaged by this novel and intrigued by Elizabeth Zott.

Elizabeth is incredibly smart and strong in character. Though she is clearly heads and shoulders above any of her coworkers, she is consistently belittled simply for being a woman. Regardless, she refuses to take this treatment and braves more than one uncomfortable and/or harrowing situation with incredible poise.

The writing is witty and infused with a wonderful sardonic humor. Mixed in with this are some incredibly dark and difficult topics, yet it is representative of believable moments. It is incredibly smart and intricately composed. There is a smidge of magical realism rolled into the plot, as the point of view does occasionally shift to Six-Thirty, Elizabeth's dog. At first, I wasn't sure this approach was going to work, but oh boy...Garmus pulls it all off brilliantly.

The atmosphere of the 1960s is incredibly well dramatized. There is something of a Mad Men feel to the professional world in the novel and everything about it felt so fully genuine, though clearly distilled to move the plot and hit hard. The judgment towards women's motivations, appropriate attire, and place in the world were so brutally laid out on the page. I at once felt, angry, disbelieving, disgusted, and proud of Elizabeth for her refusal to accept any confines based on gender.

Beyond Zott, the other characters are also amply dynamic. They are tangible and well-balanced, though there is admittedly a bit of hyperbole here and there. Still, this also moves the plot forward quite well and did nothing to detract from my ability to enjoy the story...it may have actually enhanced it (everyone loves a well-written baddy). For those questioning the believablity of young Mad's character, I could believe every bit of her. I have a precocious 5-year-old myself, so some of her actions, predilections, and knowledge base were highly reflective of our daily life.

I have to say that I am quite stunned to read such a quality novel as a debut. There is high polish to the plot and characters. It felt nearly seamless, with clearly researched background and excellent detail that gave everything a well-rounded feel. Highly recommend.