Lessons in Chemistry is a novel about being on the verge discovery, both in a scientific sense and in a self-discovery sense.
Elizabeth Zott is a chemist on the verge of an amazing research breakthrough about the origins of life. Unfortunately she’s a woman in the 1960s and her male colleagues belittle her, steal her work, and take advantage of their privilege in many ways that are appalling (and familiar to most successful women today).
Elizabeth is resilient. A series of events lead to her being kicked out of Hastings Research Institute and becoming the host of an afternoon cooking show, Supper at Six. She’s a superstar at whatever she does.
Elizabeth is smart. She refuses to pander to the tv executives. She refuses to believe there is an “average housewife” who prefers fun over science. Elizabeth brings chemistry to the kitchen (literally and figuratively), which makes this novel a delightful and educational read.
The marketing copy says it will appeal to fans of Where’d You Go, Bernadette. I think that’s a good comparison. Both novels are laugh-out-loud funny and both include shrew observations of society.
Other books with strong female characters, who are a bit quirky and easy to love: Eleanor Oliphant, Daisy Jones and the Sixes, and Where the Crawdads Sings.
I’m a fan of Lessons in Chemistry. More please!