Explaining the complexities of life through Chemistry

Book Review of Why Happens, What Happens… It’s Chemistry, in Life’s Laboratory by Sushmita Mukherjee in IBNS (India Blooms News Service)

Often, when we hear about chemistry, our mind tends to wander to formulas and molecules. Whether you love the subject or not, can you forget those sleepless nights studying the formulas over and over again. But for a subject that taught us that water was made by the reaction of oxygen and hydrogen, can it possibly give us an insight on life? 

How can all those formulas and reactions ever let us know more about our own existence?

Well, ‘Why Happens, What Happens… It’s Chemistry, in Life’s Laboratory’, elucidates why life and chemistry are more related that any of us would like to admit.

One of the most fascinating things about this book is the way the author, Sushmita, relates chemistry with life through various analogies and metaphors.

Readers don’t have to have a degree in chemistry to understand this book.

You can find examples of your daily lives beautifully related to the theories of chemistry.

You will not only learn how alike both the subjects are but will be amazed at the sheer bond nature has with chemistry.

As a matter of fact, there’s a chapter dedicated to that very topic in the book.

Reactions – we all know that the very basis of chemistry lies on reactions. Different elements, that may or may not have anything in common, react together to form an entirely different element although.

And there are about innumerable reactions out there.

In this book, however, the author describes reactions as responses to actions.

A carefully crafted analogy is drawn between our actions and the consequences that come with it to the reactions that we study in Chemistry.

Like reactions are irreversible, we can’t possibly go back to the past and alter our actions only to have different results.

Well, reactions are just one part of the vast scope of Chemistry.

We have also heard about bonds that elements make with each other to form a compound element. Well, that has too been compared with the bonds of friendship or love that we make in our lifetimes.

These are just snippets of the real treat that is the entire book.

This book provides an extraordinary account of how chemistry is related to life in more ways than we can fathom.

Author – Sushmita – spins you an intricate yarn that intertwines Chemistry with life.

If you are up for a little soul searching in your free time while also learning about Chemistry, then you have stumbled upon the right book.

I am sure that after reading this book, even the ones who wrinkle their noses at the thought of studying Chemistry, would also fall in love with the subject.

Reviewed by Nayee Banerjee