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Chemistry A novel edition by Weike Wang Literature Fiction eBooks

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Winner of the PEN/Hemingway Award 

A Washington Post Notable Book

One of the Best Books of the Year NPR, Entertainment Weekly, Ann Patchett on PBS NewsHour, Minnesota Public Radio, PopSugar, Maris Kreizman, The Morning News

Winner of Ploughshares’ John C. Zacharis Award

Winner of a Whiting Award

A Belletrist Amuse Book

At first glance, the quirky, overworked narrator of Weike Wang’s debut novel seems to be on the cusp of a perfect life 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. When it all becomes too much and her life plan veers off course, she finds herself on a new path of discoveries about everything she thought she knew. Smart, moving, and always funny, this unique coming-of-age story is certain to evoke a winning reaction.

Chemistry A novel edition by Weike Wang Literature Fiction eBooks

I won't go into details about the story because there is really only a threadbare plot to hold onto. Basically, a Chinese girl who is working on her doctorate degree in, I believe, Chemistry, deals with her boyfriend leaving for a better job in another state and begins to wonder about the meaning of love, her immigrant parents and their lives as compared to her own, and a best friend who has a husband with infidelity issues. The book has sprinkles of interesting scientific facts that kind of double as life lessons as they apply to this girl and her struggle with herself and her own emotions. The actual story is written in fragments, which is a good choice in this instance, being that each fragment tells a story that is ten steps above a facebook posting about one's own life. There is something definitely more valuable, more concrete, and much more... "literary" about what is being told to us as readers. It's heartache wrapped in science and covered in humor, and if that sounds like a perfect, um, equation for what you think makes a book great, then Chemistry is for you.
Perhaps two criticisms I have for this book is that it kind of lags towards the end, as in it just feels like it's going a little too slow for me, in terms of the fact that it becomes more about the narrator's observations on life in general than actual life being observed. That didn't bother me too much though. The other thing is that the book doesn't have an ending, being that this is one of those "literary" books. It's like a prerequisite, I swear, that literary books play it cool and all Starbucks-like and not end the story but leave readers with a hip, cool, final meditation that invokes something said earlier in the story, in a sly wink-reward to me for paying attention the whole time I was reading the book. That's exactly what happens in Chemistry. But I seriously... why couldn't it have ended on a more resolved note? Whyyyy!!!!!??? That actually frustrated me so bad, but, again, this is one of those books put out by a major publisher that screams "study me in college for years and years to come!" I wish it was more the opposite and something I could read and feel like by the middle of the book, I knew it would have an ending, but by the middle of the book, I definitely knew it wasn't going to. I've read far too many "literary" stories like this to know better.
Anyways, here is the bottom line about Chemistry: when I considered the fact that Weike is a Harvard graduate with a extremely impressive degree, I kept wondering how much of this book is actually her own story? Like, when I first started reading this book, in my mind, I kept thinking that if this was taken from Weike's own personal life, then this book is nothing but pretentious boo hoo complaining from somebody who is physically perfect looking and incredibly smart. She's Eric in real life, apparently. But by the time I was done reading this book, I had decided to divorce myself from thinking this way because I don't know Weike at all in real life and she may be just as fragile as the rest of us, despite her obvious genius. In other words, this book makes you really sympathize and empathize with the unnamed girl, and it makes you really, really want to sit down with Weike and ask her how much of this story is really her own and if it's all her story, then ask her if she's okay. Isn't that incredible? I care so much about this fictional girl in Chemistry that I want to believe it's actually Weike! I don't know if you can understand what I mean by that, but to me, that makes Chemistry very powerful and something I'll probably not resale or get rid of but allow to collect many fingerprints of mine on its pages over the years. It's that good, seriously.


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Chemistry A novel edition by Weike Wang Literature Fiction eBooks Reviews

As a 1st generation Asian American, where my own family immigrated from China Guangzhou, this book hits home for me. I didn’t become a scientist or a doctor but an engineer. Being raised bilingual, being held to high standards, not relating to any emotions but always sooo loyal to my parents. This is a great book to read to connect back to why and how it is that our minds are wired the way they are coming from asian families
This book had me and my husband both laughing and reflecting - the best kind of book. I love how scientific facts are woven throughout, and there are layers to this story. The narrator obviously loves science, but whether an academic career in science is right or not is a question she has to deal with. I think a lot of millenials have to think about questions like this, and whether they're brave enough to leave the path that others think they should take. We loved Weike's voice and sense of humor. It's a concisely-written book that is a welcome respite from longwinded novels.
Added bonus As a Chinese-American immigrant, I often feel that I can't connect with books that are supposedly "Asian" or touch on Chinese culture (see Homesick by Jean Fritz, Woman Warrior). But I related to a lot of aspects of this novel, like the fear of losing my 'Chinese skin.' It also made me very grateful for having parents who were loving and supportive!
ScienceThrillers review I was halfway through Chemistry, a novel by Weike Wang when it hit me this is NOT a memoir.

The voice in Chemistry is so compelling that I thought I was inside a real person’s story. I was relieved to remember this is fiction, partly because I pitied the parents reading about themselves in this light, and partly because I recently read Lab Girl by Hope Jahren and I was starting to wonder if all women in science are mentally ill.

No, they definitely are not, but maybe all writers are.

Anyway, Chemistry is a work of literary fiction, not genre or thriller, and is driven by character instead of plot. Thriller fans at this blog might not care for it. But I found this slender book hypnotic and read it in two sittings. Is it because like the nameless main character, I have been a graduate student in a high-powered university science lab? Is it because I married into Chinese culture and have a fascination with the tiger mom stereotype? These elements helped, but I think Chemistry has an appeal that goes far beyond that.

This is a deeply introspective novel. The narrator is emotionally flawed and aware of her flaws. She’s brilliant yet foolish, an achiever who sees failure in her life. She is coming of age but afraid of true adulthood. She wants to be happy but doesn’t know what happiness looks like. To quote from blurbs on the back cover, “How do we learn to love if we haven’t been taught?” About the voice “by turns deadpan and despairing, wry and wrenching” “unflinching and painfully self-aware” “insight and charm.”

I approached this book with trepidation, worried that it would be another whiney millennial voice. That a sense of entitlement and precociousness would sour the whole thing. Not the case. The narrator is clearly messed up (hence the psychiatry visits), but she is the opposite of a whiner. Her pain doesn’t make her lash out at the world. She beats herself up instead. (Her lovingly portrayed dog helps!)

Science–trivia, history, culture–permeates the book. Science-y interjections pop up on almost every page. Some readers may find them too abstruse, unrelated to the surrounding text. I did occasionally, but I never felt the author crossed the line into pretension.

Chemistry definitely has a lot in common with Lab Girl. Fiction vs memoir. Chemistry vs botany. While the botany essays in Lab Girl can’t be topped, overall I enjoyed this book much more. The brief length, which perfectly suits the subject matter, helped.

Chemistry, a novel by Weike Wang is an elegantly written, sensitive work of literary fiction in the LabLit genre. If you read a lot of science thrillers and are willing to try something different, I recommend this book.
I won't go into details about the story because there is really only a threadbare plot to hold onto. Basically, a Chinese girl who is working on her doctorate degree in, I believe, Chemistry, deals with her boyfriend leaving for a better job in another state and begins to wonder about the meaning of love, her immigrant parents and their lives as compared to her own, and a best friend who has a husband with infidelity issues. The book has sprinkles of interesting scientific facts that kind of double as life lessons as they apply to this girl and her struggle with herself and her own emotions. The actual story is written in fragments, which is a good choice in this instance, being that each fragment tells a story that is ten steps above a facebook posting about one's own life. There is something definitely more valuable, more concrete, and much more... "literary" about what is being told to us as readers. It's heartache wrapped in science and covered in humor, and if that sounds like a perfect, um, equation for what you think makes a book great, then Chemistry is for you.
Perhaps two criticisms I have for this book is that it kind of lags towards the end, as in it just feels like it's going a little too slow for me, in terms of the fact that it becomes more about the narrator's observations on life in general than actual life being observed. That didn't bother me too much though. The other thing is that the book doesn't have an ending, being that this is one of those "literary" books. It's like a prerequisite, I swear, that literary books play it cool and all Starbucks-like and not end the story but leave readers with a hip, cool, final meditation that invokes something said earlier in the story, in a sly wink-reward to me for paying attention the whole time I was reading the book. That's exactly what happens in Chemistry. But I seriously... why couldn't it have ended on a more resolved note? Whyyyy!!!!!??? That actually frustrated me so bad, but, again, this is one of those books put out by a major publisher that screams "study me in college for years and years to come!" I wish it was more the opposite and something I could read and feel like by the middle of the book, I knew it would have an ending, but by the middle of the book, I definitely knew it wasn't going to. I've read far too many "literary" stories like this to know better.
Anyways, here is the bottom line about Chemistry when I considered the fact that Weike is a Harvard graduate with a extremely impressive degree, I kept wondering how much of this book is actually her own story? Like, when I first started reading this book, in my mind, I kept thinking that if this was taken from Weike's own personal life, then this book is nothing but pretentious boo hoo complaining from somebody who is physically perfect looking and incredibly smart. She's Eric in real life, apparently. But by the time I was done reading this book, I had decided to divorce myself from thinking this way because I don't know Weike at all in real life and she may be just as fragile as the rest of us, despite her obvious genius. In other words, this book makes you really sympathize and empathize with the unnamed girl, and it makes you really, really want to sit down with Weike and ask her how much of this story is really her own and if it's all her story, then ask her if she's okay. Isn't that incredible? I care so much about this fictional girl in Chemistry that I want to believe it's actually Weike! I don't know if you can understand what I mean by that, but to me, that makes Chemistry very powerful and something I'll probably not resale or get rid of but allow to collect many fingerprints of mine on its pages over the years. It's that good, seriously.