A chemist-turned-tv-cooking-show-star must learn to prioritize different personal and professional goals throughout her life as the prejudices of the 1960s get in her way.
Like many of us, I saw the hype around Bonnie Garmus’ 2022 debut Lessons in Chemistry and liked the bubble gum pink cover. At the time, I was trying to read more sci-fi and fantasy novels, so I pushed it off to a later date. After many starts and stops with a physical copy of the book rented multiple times from the library in early 2023, I finally finished the book in audiobook format while packing up the contents of my house for a cross-country move this past holiday season.
The book follows Elizabeth Zott, a straightforward chemist working at the male-dominated Hastings Research Institute on ground-breaking work. No one takes her particularly seriously, except for the enigmatic Calvin Evans. Fast forward a bit, and we find Elizabeth as a single mother navigating the entertainment industry as the star of the TV show Supper at Six. She makes allies and enemies, finds friendship in a found family, and adopts a dog all while encouraging those around her, and her audience, to push back against the social conventions of sexism in the name of science.
This was a rough book for me to get through. It is told in an omniscient POV across many different narrators, which grated on me at times. I am usually okay with switching narrators when they happen on a chapter-by-chapter basis, but this book weaves many POVS together within a single chapter. It took a bit of getting used to. I also entered into this book thinking it would be a fun read, and while parts were entertaining, it is a VERY tragic book. If you could think of a list of calamities that may befall a main character to form the root of their trauma, all of them most likely happened to Elizabeth, if not one of the side characters. And while some of the side characters are wonderful (at times the best parts of reading the book), I distinctly remember not liking a single character until 30% through the book. I checked, and double-checked, the Libby App when I got to the first character I enjoyed, and it was much too far into the book for my liking.
That being said, when my husband and I found ourselves in-between houses and staying at an AirBnb, I signed up for the free trial of Apple TV and watched the TV adaptation of the book. And let me tell you, it was SO WORTH IT. I binged all the episodes in a day (technically two since I finished after midnight). The changing narrators worked well when different voices and story lines could be featured in individual episodes. Some changes (both large and small) to the plots and mannerisms of side characters including Calvin, Harriet, Fran, and Wakely were very much appreciated. They also explored the book's feminist undertones in a more intersectional way in the show, which only made the entire thing feel more accurate and richer. The show made me sob like a baby, yell at my screen in frustration, and cheer so loud that I woke my husband up at 1:00 am- and I had read the book and knew the main points of the plot already!
If you like historical drama books of that period, you will like this book. If you like a good dose of drama where multiple characters and story lines all interweave and pay off in the end, you will like this book. Elizabeth Zott is an abrasive main character, but as long as you lean into the way Bonnie Garmus writes her instead of waiting for her to change, you will like this book. I would say this book was a 3/5 for me- I don’t regret having read it, but it won’t be the first book I recommend for others to read, and I would HIGHLY recommend people check into what types of triggering content is explored in the book before reading it. I can’t dislike this book too much, though, because Garmus’ writing was witty and poignant, and it led me to the show, which I would give a 5/5. Lewis Pullman redeemed Calvin Evans for me, and Aja Naomi King as Harriet Sloane absolutely stole the show.
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