Chemistry by Weike Wang

CHEMISTRY is a wonderful debut novel by Weike Wang.  The cover itself conveys the subtlety and simplicity of this author’s writing – yes, the story has to do with chemistry, although not just the science itself, but also the chemistry between people and within a person. 

The unnamed narrator is a 20 something woman, the only child of parents who emigrated from China to the United States.  She and her live-in boyfriend, Eric, are pursuing PhD’s in Boston.  He is having success with his experiments; she, not so much. He wants to get married; she’s not so sure. He had a happy childhood and supportive parents; she is still struggling with expectations. The novel is written in a unique manner – almost a stream of consciousness from the narrator about relationships and conversations with Eric, her family and others (including an unnamed best friend, a therapist, and her thesis adviser). Her sense of identity and self-worth are definitely at risk as she becomes disillusioned with her work, remarking, “The optimist sees the glass half full.  The pessimist sees the glass half empty.  The chemist sees the glass completely full, half in liquid state and half in gaseous, both of which are probably poisonous.”

Read CHEMISTRY to get inside the head of a young person trying to deal with questions of what she should do with her life amidst the pressures from others. It is an honest, sometimes funny and often surprising introspection from an obviously troubled, but appealing, soul.