Lessons in Chemistry
Fiction
Doubleday Books
April 5, 2022
Hardcover
400
Purchased
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:
No question that this will be in my top books of the year, and at this point (although it's early in the year) it's hard to imagine anything topping it! I absolutely adored this book! It probably helps that I have several things in common with Elizabeth Zott. I lived through the 60's (albeit as an elementary student, not an adult), I majored in science so did have to take a lot of chemistry courses in college, and we are very similar in our takes on organized religion and feminism. I loved the way that Elizabeth was a take charge kind of woman, and used unorthodox methods to empower housewives of that era. She was a force to be reckoned with, and was not going to take any flak from some overbearing man who thought a woman's place was in the home. There were many humorous moments in the book, but also a lot of poignant ones as well. The interspersed narration from the dog kind of threw me at first, but ended up providing a lightheartedness to the novel that was quite welcome as the plot moved along. I really can't pick apart any of this delightful story, and the ending was the cherry on top.
All hail to my new fictional god (I'd say goddess, but I don't think Elizabeth Zott would approve)!! I very rarely re-read books, but that may have to change with this one. I believe this is a debut novel, I'll be waiting with baited breath for what comes next from this talented author.
