Chemistry: A Novel (Vintage Contemporaries)
PEN/HEMINGWAY AWARD WINNER • WHITING AWARD WINNER • Smart, moving, and funny, a unique coming-of-age story about a quirky, overworked narrator who seems to be on the cusp of a perfect life but finds herself on a new path of discoveries about everything she thought she knew.
"Told in a hilarious deadpan that recalls Gish Jen and Nora Ephron." —O, The Oprah Magazine
At first glance, the life of the narrator of Weike Wang’s debut novel seems ideal: she is studying for a prestigious PhD in chemistry that will make her Chinese parents proud (or at least satisfied), and her successful, supportive boyfriend has just proposed to her. But instead of feeling hopeful, she is wracked with ambivalence: the long, demanding hours at the lab have created an exquisite pressure cooker, and she doesn’t know how to answer the marriage question. Soon it all becomes too much and her life plan veers off course....
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Community Reviews
I loved the way the narrator mixed chemistry and hard proven scientific facts with the vagueness of feelings that can't be explained. The juxtaposition worked wonderfully and I can't wait to read the next book by Weike Wang...
not sure how to recommend this because i don't know if anyone will empathize as completely with this book as i did, and that was the charm of this book for me - to see feelings and thoughts and mindsets i've never expressed yet felt deeply laid out on the page. i've never read anything like it and i'm in awe of the simple yet poignant way wang writes,, definitely hope to see more from her in the future.
I have an insane crush on this book. I flew through it while stopping only to text people to go read this book now. The science is beautiful. The relationships are real, and touching, and so sad. It's also hilarious. Also, clearly the author is brilliant. I am seriously considering just reading this book again immediately.
Note: I know this sounds like one of those crazy reviews that a friend of an author writes but I never even heard of Weike Wang before I picked up the book and read it.
Note: I know this sounds like one of those crazy reviews that a friend of an author writes but I never even heard of Weike Wang before I picked up the book and read it.
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