Review by Jill Hedgecock
Lessons in Chemistry (Vintage, April 2025, paperback, 400 pages, $14.24) by Bonnie Garmus is as much as a humorous character study as it is a statement of society’s views of women in the 1960s. But it’s more than that. Somehow mixed into this quirky tale of a woman chemist turned TV cooking show celebrity is how to make science entertaining.
Our primary protagonist, Elizabeth Zott, believes in the sciences and it is her sole mission in life to study abiogenesis—the theory that life arose from nonliving matter. The problem is that she’s a woman before her time. Convention in the 1960s was that women should aspire to snag a husband and raise babies. Much to the chagrin of her male colleagues at Hastings Research Institute, Zott is anything but conventional. Elizabeth Zott won’t let anything stop her in her quest to further her research, so when she doesn’t have the proper equipment, she decides to collect a few beakers from her colleague, Calvin Evan, under false pretenses. Evans is a brilliant chemist, who has been nominated for a Noble prize multiple times. But he is also known for holding a grudge. But instead of being angered by Zott’s ruse, Evans falls hard for her, and the two socially challenged misfits soon become participants in a different type of chemical reaction.
Zott’s life takes many dramatic turns because of her love for Evans. She becomes a rower, which was a passion of Evans. The two lovebirds also adopt a former bomb detection dog named Six Thirty. Six Thirty, it turns out, is exceptionally smart like his two owners. Zott teaches the dog words, and his vocabulary nears a thousand words by the end of the novel. Six Thirty, who becomes an integral part of the story, even narrates a few scenes in the book.
Elisabeth Zott’s misfortunes include being fired after becoming accidentally pregnant. Her financial situation forces her to take a job as a television personality on a cooking show called “Super at Six.” The problem is Elizabeth has her own ideas on how to create a meal, which she views as another form of chemistry. The results are often hilarious, but also sometimes life changing for her women viewers.
In Lessons in Chemistry, Zott helps us explore questions such as what makes a family and what might be possible if women are given equal opportunities. The book also offers a fascinating exploration into the science of food preparation all told with a dash of humor and a pinch of sarcasm. In an era of the “Me Too” movement, “Lessons in Chemistry” reminds us how far opportunities for women have progressed since the 1960s.
Lessons in Chemistry is a New York Times Bestseller, a GMA Book Club Pick, and was considered a best debut by Goodreads in 2022. In 2022, it achieved Best Book of the Year by Barnes and Noble, The Washington Post, NPR, Oprah Daily, Entertainment Weekly, and Newsweek. The novel has been translated into 40 languages. It was as an Apple TV+ series, starring Brie Larson, Lewis Pullman, and Beau Bridges. Fans of Anxious People by Fredrik Bachman, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevinand, and The Maid by Nita Prose will not be disappointed in this novel.
Lessons in Chemistry is Bonnie Garmus’ debut novel. Like Elisabeth Zott, she’s a rower. But unlike Zott (who can’t swim), Garmus is also an open water swimmer. She is a copywriter and creative director. Garmus has raised two daughters and currently lives in London with her husband and her dog, 99.
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