Lessons in Chemistry

by Bonnie Garmus

Doubleday

Scientist, 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 take 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 doesn’t always follow a straight line. 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. That’s because Elizabeth Zott isn’t just teaching women to cook. She’s daring them to change the status quo….

If you’re looking for a laugh-out-loud funny, observant, and heartfelt read, studded with a dazzling cast of supporting characters (including one of the best doggie characters I’ve come across, Six-Thirty, who often steals the show) Lessons in Chemistry is for you!  Elizabeth Zott is just the most wonderful character!  I absolutely loved her story!

a polished, funny, thought-provoking story, wearing its research lightly but confidently, and with sentences so stylishly turned it’s hard to believe it’s a debut – The Guardian

a page-turning and highly satisfying tale: zippy, zesty, and Zotty. – Maggie Shipstead author of Great Circle

irresistible, satisfying and full of fuel. It reminds you that change takes time and always requires heat – The New York Times Book Review

Between the outrageous sexism and the bitter misfortune that thwart our heroine at every turn, this may not sound like a comic novel, but it is. Full of charm, energy and hope—and featuring a really great dog—it’s one to savour – People Magazine

a luminous, accomplished story about conceptions of difference and taking a stand against structural inequality – Daily Maverick