Just Finished Reading: Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus (FP: 2022) [386pp] 

Elizabeth Zott is a chemist and a good one. She knows it, her colleagues know it and the head of the Institute knows it – especially after she produces some groundbreaking work. But Elizabeth has a few things against her – she has yet to finish her PhD, she’s attractive and, worst of all, she’s a woman in very much a man’s profession. It is, after all, late 1950’s America. It wasn’t long until she clashed with the star of the Institute, a fellow chemist who had been nominated for the Nobel Prize. Sparks flew, arguments raged, and, eventually, respect grew. Before long they had scandalised the Institute and the local community by moving in together – the rent was much cheaper that way – but almost before they knew it, he was dead and she was pregnant. With a child to support and no longer employed by the Institute Elizabeth needed a job, any job, FAST and a mixture of blind luck and desperation provided it. She had, by sheer accident, impressed a struggling TV producer with her cooking skills. Cooking was, after all, just applied chemistry. For more money than she could imagine she would be hosting her very own show – Supper at Six. But it would be HER show. She’d been assured of that fact. She would wear what she wanted, cook what she wanted and use advertisers that she respected. She also wouldn’t be treating her target audience – housewives – as idiots. But then she was used to flying sparks, arguments and arbitrary barriers placed in her way. She would be having none of that... 

I first caught wind of this on YouTube by watching clips from the Apple TV series starring Brie Larson as Elizabeth. It looked fun, different, interesting. Now I’ve read the book I can see that some elements of the show have been changed or removed (although I can’t be 100% sure on this account as I haven’t seen anywhere near the whole thing!) which I can understand. I was actually rather surprised that there’s a fair bit of tragedy in the story – both in Elizabeths (and her partners) childhood as well as in her adult life. There are also rather adult themes (sex, homosexuality, suicide, sexual assault) that I really didn’t get from my clip watching. They certainly didn’t detract from the story of Ms Zott and actually deepened her character in a number of significant ways. Elizabeth is, indeed, a fantastic creation. I can see why she was SO disruptive in that time period (late 50’s/very early 60’s) and why so many people found her frustrating, but I also understand why her partner and her (few!) friends loved her SO much. Her daughter (played by Alice Halsey in the series) was very much a chip off Elizabeths block in just about every way. One thing I didn’t see in any of the clips was the family dog (intriguingly called ‘six thirty’) who was a significant, and often hilarious, presence throughout. I do hope that he got some screen time. He was (again) a great character. 

I zoomed through this excellent novel rapidly and found myself more than once forcing myself to slow down in order to savour things. Although a little different than expected (tragedy etc..!) it was still very much a highlight of the year and yet another 4-5 star read. I hope that the author pens another (maybe a sequel that, undoubtedly, her publishers are badgering her for!) which would be an auto-buy for me. Highly recommended for anyone wanting a bloody good read. The more sensitive amongst you will need a tissue (or two) handy for the sad bits – but you’ll definitely be laughing out loud too!