Synopsis

A delight for readers of Where’d You Go, Bernadette and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, this blockbuster debut set in 1960s California features the singular voice of Elizabeth Zott, a scientist whose career takes a detour when she becomes the star of a beloved TV cooking show.

Chemist Elizabeth Zott is not your average woman. In fact, Elizabeth Zott would be the first to point out that there is no such thing as an average woman. But it’s the early 1960s and her all-male team at Hastings Research Institute takes a very unscientific view of equality. Except for one: Calvin Evans; the lonely, brilliant, Nobel-prize nominated grudge-holder who falls in love with–of all things–her mind. True chemistry results.

But like science, life is unpredictable. Which is why a few years later Elizabeth Zott finds herself not only a single mother, but the reluctant star of America’s most beloved cooking show Supper at Six. Elizabeth’s unusual approach to cooking (“combine one tablespoon acetic acid with a pinch of sodium chloride”) proves revolutionary. But as her following grows, not everyone is happy. Because as it turns out, Elizabeth Zott isn’t just teaching women to cook. She’s daring them to change the status quo.

Laugh-out-loud funny, shrewdly observant, and studded with a dazzling cast of supporting characters, Lessons in Chemistry is as original and vibrant as its protagonist.

Amazon * B&N * Kobo * IndieBound * Bookshop * Other Retailers

Review

I LOVED this book! The dry wit, the precociousness of Madeline, Elizabeth’s no-nonsense attitude, and the truth about how women were (and still are) treated in the workplace and at home. And we can’t forget the dog, six-thirty.

Elizabeth endeared me from the start. She is different from other women in the 1950s and wants to do things that men seem to think she can’t. Typical of men, putting women down, sexually harassing them, and other things to try and keep them in their “place.” Elizabeth will have nothing to do with it and her spirit is what draws Calvin to her. She has a no-nonsense attitude and states things plainly and doesn’t put up with chauvinistic attitudes, at least not now. She might have in the past, but with age comes wisdom and she has it in spades.

Calvin has his own issues to deal with but with Elizabeth, he found his soul mate, even though he didn’t make the best first impression by vomiting on her. I enjoyed the banter between these two and Elizabeth’s determination to not be married or have children. But as many can attest, no form of birth control is foolproof except for abstinence. Becoming a single mother was never one of her goals and it is interesting to watch how she raises Mad and what starts her journey into a cooking show is based on the meals she prepares for her daughter that are the right amount of nutrition that she needs. After all, Elizabeth is a scientist, and all of this is science.

I laughed throughout the book at her interactions with the different characters, how close-minded some people were, and how even women would stab each other in the back and “punish” them for doing something outside of what was considered appropriate by the standards set by society. This book is peppered with all sorts of scientific terminology and if nothing else, Elizabeth’s foray into television helps to educate women and motivate them to do for themselves and not just for their spouses or children.

This is one of the best books I have read so far this year and we give it 5 paws up.

About the Author

Bonnie Garmus is a copywriter and creative director who’s worked widely in the fields of technology, medicine, and education. She’s an open-water swimmer, a rower, and mother to two pretty amazing daughters. Born in California and most recently from Seattle, she currently lives in London with her husband and her dog, 99.

Website * Twitter * Instagram