Book Review: Lessons in Chemistry

I finally read the super popular novel Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus. I first heard about the book last year when I saw it was Barnes & Noble’s Book of the Year in 2022. Then, the hit tv mini-series came out starring Brie Larson. I haven’t watched the show yet, but I picked up this special edition of the novel when I saw it at B&N months ago.

The novel takes place in the 1950s & 60s and follows Elizabeth Zott, a chemist. In the 1950s, Elizabeth is a chemist at Hastings Research Institute. One of, if not the only female scientist at the Institute. After being kept from pursuing her PhD. earlier in her career, she is determined to continue her research and make a name for herself despite society’s restrictions on women. At Hastings she meets Calvin Evans – a genius chemist who has been nominated multiple times for the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Like Elizabeth, he loves what he does and his brilliance in the field leaves him with few friends. The two meet and hit it off with their shared interests and fall in love. But tragedy strikes and leave Elizabeth alone and a single mother. Elizabeth must find a way to continue pursuing what she loves, even though now being without Calvin creates even more roadblocks for her at work, and raise her young daughter. One thing leads to another and Elizabeth finds herself the star of a live cooking show called Supper at Six where she teaches women not only how to cook, but chemistry via the chemistry of putting ingredients together.

I loved this novel and it was absolutely worth the hype. It was quirky and the way it was narrated and how so much of the storyline and characters connected reminded me of shows like Pushing Daisies. The quirky and sweet elements of the novel helped lessen the heaviness of the serious themes and topics in the book i.e. death, childhood traumas, etc. There’s also the running thread of the struggles women have gone through just to try to be treated as equal to men and I think Elizabeth is a really strong character. I love how empowered she made women feel through the cooking show. Although I knew that Calvin would die, I still wasn’t prepared for his death. I loved him so much! Elizabeth and Calvin’s dog, Six Thirty, was a phenomenal part of the book and their daughter, Mad, was adorable, brilliant, and the perfect embodiment of the two of them.

This is a book that will definitely stick with me. I miss the characters already! I’m anxiously awaiting for Bonnie Garmus to announce her next book. In the meantime, I do plan to watch the show soon, but I am a little worried because I loved the book so much and I heard there were some changes made to the show. I’ll be sure to share my thoughts after I watch!

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