Hardback: 386 pages
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: Doubleday 2022
Source: Tywyn Public Library
First Sentence: Back in 1961, when women wore shirtwaist dresses and joined garden clubs and drove legions of children around in seatbelt-less cars without giving it a second thought; back before anyone knew there'd even be a sixties movement, much less one that its participants would spend the next sixty years chronicling; back when the big wars were over and the secret wars had just begun and people were starting to think fresh and believe everything was possible, the thirty year old mother of Madeline Zott rose before dawn every morning and felt certain of one thing: her life was over.
Review Quote: 'Sparky, rip-roaring, funny, with big-hearted fully formed, loveable characters'SUNDAY TIMES
Favourite Quote: “(On religion) "I think it lets us off the hook. I think it teaches us that nothing is really our fault; that something or someone else is pulling the strings; the ultimately, we're not to blame for the way things are; that to improve things, we should pray. But the truth is, we are very much responsible for the badness in the world. And we have the power to fix it.” ― Bonnie Garmus, Lessons in Chemistry
Setting: California, USA
My Opinion:
This was so different from anything I have read recently. I doubt it is a title I would have picked up had it not been for the fact that I seemed to be in the minority not having read it, or raving about it, so decided I should maybe give it a try. It seems I joined the party rather late, but I’m so glad I did.
The protagonist is Elizabeth Mott, a research chemist, trying to make her way in life in fifties/sixties America. A time when women were very much still suffering from the sexist attitudes to women having careers outside the home.
The plot is crazy as are the characters but it is achingly funny and well worth reading.
Précis Courtesy of Goodreads:
'Your ability to change everything - including yourself - starts here' ELIZABETH ZOTT-------------
Set in 1960s California; Lessons In Chemistry is the brilliant, idiosyncratic and uplifting story of a female scientist whose career is derailed by the idea that a woman's place is in the home - something she most definitely does not believe - only to find herself the star of America's best-loved TV cooking show.
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Elizabeth Zott is not your average woman. In fact Elizabeth Zott would be the first to point out that there is no such thing.
But it's the 1960s, and despite the fact that she is a scientist, her male peers are very unscientific when it comes to equality. The only good thing to happen on her road to professional fulfilment is a run-in with famous colleague Calvin Evans, legend and Nobel nominee. He's also awkward, kind and tenacious. Theirs is true chemistry.
But life is never predictable and three years later Elizabeth Zott is an unwed, single mother and star of America's best loved cooking show Supper at Six. Her singular approach to cooking - 'take one pint of H2O and add a pinch of sodium chloride' - and empowering message prove revolutionary. Because Elizabeth isn't just teaching housewives how to cook, but how to change their lives.
Meet the unconventional, uncompromising Elizabeth Zott
Author Profile:
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Courtesy of Authors Website
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.
Photographs and Biographical Information courtesy of the following sites:
Author Official Website. Twitter Profile Bonnie Garmus - Goodreads
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