Chemistry, in a book and a board game

Abstract

The many meanings of ‘chemistry’ Weike Wang’s experience as an undergraduate in a chemistry lab at Harvard served as the inspiration for her debut novel, “Chemistry,” available from publisher Alfred A. Knopf this week. The novel confronts many issues relevant to graduate students, including what it means to love science. After an incident involving some smashed glassware, the main character takes a stress-related leave of absence from her chemistry lab. She grapples with whether to return to her Ph.D. program while entertaining a marriage proposal from her boyfriend, who has finished his degree and is preparing to take the next step in his career. The decision of whether to be honest with her strict parents about her diversion from the straight and narrow weighs heavily on her as well. She accepts a position tutoring students in math and science while she examines her options and reflects on how she arrived