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My book club nearly fell apart over a character's "unrealistic" job promotion
Last month we were discussing 'Lessons in Chemistry' and I argued that Elizabeth Zott's rise in the 1960s chemistry world felt totally plausible given the book's tone. Everyone else said it was too convenient and broke their suspension of disbelief. I ended up pulling out my phone to show them real stories of women in STEM from that era, but they just doubled down. Has anyone else had a debate where the majority just refused to budge on something you felt was actually well-researched?
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xenagarcia21d ago
Yeah, but did you end up just letting it go or did you push back more?
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felixramirez20d ago
...so what I ended up doing was what Elizabeth said, basically backed off and made it all about my own reaction. I said something like "look, I'm not trying to say the boss was right or wrong, I just know when I first saw the promo it hit me different and here's why." Then I pointed out how the whole marketing felt like a fun fairy tale thing so it didn't bother me the same way. Two people actually said they hadn't thought of it like that. Sometimes you just gotta stop trying to prove a point and let your own feeling do the talking.
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elizabethg1821d ago
I've been in the EXACT same spot with my own book club over a different book. What worked for me was dropping the proof and just saying "okay, maybe it felt that way to you, but here's why it clicked for ME." I talked about how the book's whole style was kind of a fairy tale for adults, so the promotion fit that vibe perfectly. Sometimes people get defensive when they think you're trying to win an argument instead of just sharing your take. By backing off and making it about my own feeling instead of facts, a couple people actually came around and said they saw my point.
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