Lessons in Chemistry

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
Published by Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group on April 5, 2022
Genres: Fiction / Feminist, Fiction / Humorous / General, Fiction / Literary
Pages: 400
Format: Hardcover
Source: Book of the Month

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • GMA BOOK CLUB PICK • Meet Elizabeth Zott: “a gifted research chemist, absurdly self-assured and immune to social convention” (The Washington Post) in 1960s California whose career takes a detour when she becomes the unlikely star of a beloved TV cooking show. • STREAM ON APPLE TV+


This novel is “irresistible, satisfying and full of fuel” (The New York Times Book Review) and “witty, sometimes hilarious...the Catch-22 of early feminism” (Stephen King, via Twitter).

A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: The New York Times, Washington Post, NPR, Oprah Daily, Entertainment Weekly, Newsweek

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.

My Review

I have to be upfront I have had this book on my shelves for a long time but I decided to save it for a special time. I decided that my birthday month would be the time to read it. Now reader that leads me to ask the question is it just me or do you also save books for special times or seasons in your life? I mean seriously I can not be the only one to partake in this shall I say craziness. This book came to my attention because last year I read The Kitchen Front by Jennifer Ryan in a book club and the people in the group said if I loved that then I would probably love Lessons in Chemistry. No secret here I ABSOLUTELY LOVED this story. In fact, I loved it so much that the next day I went out and bought a copy for my Mother-In-Law. Now with all that being said have you ever read a book that you are so completely and totally taken by and need everyone to read it just so you can talk about it? Then you find that there is so much to say that you do not even know where to begin. Yeah. That is me right now trying to figure out what to write about this masterpiece (maybe the wrong word for it but still I loved it) that I finished back in May. Like I said I have no idea where to even begin with it which is why I have waited so long to sit down and write something. So I will apologize in advance if I stumble through this post and just end up summarizing some of it but either way here I go.

Elizabeth Zott is not like most women of her time because she has absolutely no desire to become a wife or a mother which during the sixties is just absurd. The only thing she wants more than being a chemist is equality in the workplace. She works for a man named Donatti who does not appreciate her brain nor does he give her credit for the work that she does even when she is actually doing her colleague’s work on top of her own. In my opinion, he is a complete dink who is not nearly as bright as Elizabeth which in turn I believe makes him feel inferior.

Elizabeth one day wanders into the lab of another scientist in search of beakers which she needs for her own experiments when she meets Calvin Evans. The one and only Calvin Evans the man who happens to be the top dog scientist in the workplace. Oh, I forgot to mention that he also happens to be famous in the science community and he is one of the reasons Donatti gets the funding that he does. Calvin is known among his colleagues to hold grudges and not be the easiest person to work with but that does not stop Elizabeth from getting what she needs. She walks into the lab and takes the beakers and then walks out again even with Calvin telling her she is not able to take those because they belong to his lab. This my friends is the start of their relationship…or maybe the start is weeks down the road when Calvin accidentally pukes on Elizabeth one night at the movies. Either way, their story begins, and what a wonderful story they have one that I will not elaborate on due to potential spoilers.

Later in the story, Elizabeth finds herself in a position that no woman during the sixties time period wants to find themselves in, she is alone and she is pregnant. It does not take Donatti long to catch wind of the fact that she is pregnant and he fires her. Shocker I know (insert sarcasm here). So now Elizabeth is alone, pregnant, and unemployed but that does not stop her at all. She is a woman who can pull herself up by the bootstraps.

Of course, like anybody would be Elizabeth is ticked off and heads home to regroup on her next step. A bit of a spoiler here but she turns her kitchen into an actual lab and begins work from home. Some of her past coworkers come to her home in hopes that she will help them with their experiments (of course without others knowing) so this becomes her new job. She charges her past colleagues to help them with their work for Donatti.

Mad Zott enters into the world not terribly long after her mother becomes established as a chemist working at home. She enters the world with all the screams of a newborn infant and soon after they are back home from the hospital. The crying continues of course which is exhausting poor Elizabeth who is trying to survive single motherhood without the help of anyone. One day the cries attract her neighbor Harriet who is also a mother and a typical housewife of the time period. Harriet and Elizabeth start up a friendship which really is exactly what they both need. Elizabeth needs it simply because she is a new mom without any friends and Harriet needs it because her husband might be some of the biggest trash that ever existed.

Mad eventually makes it to school where sadly another little girl begins stealing her lunches. Once Elizabeth finds out she heads right to her father’s place of work to try and talk out the matter of his little girl taking Mad’s lunches. What Elizabeth does not expect is a job offer from this man Walter Pine. He offers her a job as the star of her very own cooking show. She is shocked and not the least bit interested but alas she has a daughter to support so she takes the job Supper at Six. Things may not go as smoothly as Walter had hoped because Elizabeth refuses to follow the script and puts her own SCIENCE SPIN on it. She sees the audience as more than just housewives and mothers but as people who have their own hopes and dreams. Her show brings out those desires in the audience making it one of the biggest shows on television at the time. This however is not enough for Elizabeth because she wants so much more from life than just cooking I mean after all she is a chemist.

If you are interested in reading a story about a woman in the sixties who so desperately wants to be able to live her life on her own terms then this book might just be for you. If you are a person who has had struggle upon struggle but has never given up on your dreams then again this may be a book for you. If you are looking for a story that will give you all the cozy feels while also making you giggle and want to scream at the injustice of things then this book could be for you. If you are interested in reading from an animal’s perspective then this story could definitely be for you. I do have to say though that this is not an easy read at times. It did make me giggle and also gave me cozy vibes but I should mention that it made me so angry at times and also I did cry during a particular scene. There is a lot that goes into this story so please check the trigger warnings down below. Now if you end up reading it or have read it please give me all your thoughts on it because I would love to engage in a conversation about this book. Spoiler this is one of my favorite books of 2023 so far.

Trigger Warnings:

• Rape
• Child Abuse
• Grief
• Loss of a loved one
• Parental Loss
• Suicide
• Parental Imprisonment
• Adoption