Written by Bonnie Garmus, Lessons in Chemistry is a historical fiction book that follows a female scientist in the 1960s, Elizabeth Zott. Elizabeth is an aspiring chemist trying to find a place at the lab table in a male-dominated field. After being fired from her doctoral program because of sexual assault, and refusing to apologize for physically hurting the man who raped her, Elizabeth starts work as a chemist at Hastings Research Institute. There, she meets Calvin Evans, a highly regarded researcher. Although the two have a rocky start, they eventually start to date. Although they don’t get married, Elizabeth and Calvin have a good life together, adopting a dog and rowing every day together.
One day, Calvin’s skull gets injured in a bus accident and he dies. Elizabeth has no idea how to grieve, and struggles immensely without Calvin. To help her cope, Elizabeth decides to convert her kitchen into a lab where she can continue her chemistry research. She starts to make money doing this but is overall unhappy without Calvin in her life.
As the book continues, readers discover that Elizabeth is pregnant with Calvin’s child. Elizabeth has no idea how to deal with motherhood and struggles with raising her daughter, Madeline (Mad). As someone rooted in logic and sciences, emotion and love come across in different ways for Elizabeth, but she takes comfort in her daughter knowing that Elizabeth is there for her.
Elizabeth, working in her makeshift lab and taking care of Mad, soon realizes that she needs a way to make money after being fired twice because of the sexist ideals of her old bosses that deem that women have no place in the chemistry laboratory. So, she begins to host a cooking show called Supper at Six, where she not only teaches women around the country how to cook using chemistry, but also that they were made to go much farther than the limits patriarchal society has set for them. In every airing, Elizabeth teaches women who are stuck all day taking care of their households, kids and husbands that the world has something to offer them, and it’s up to them to find out what.
Lessons in Chemistry is an example of how women can thrive in a world where they may have to confront sexism. Elizabeth is not perfect. She is unemotional, cold, and often wrapped up in herself and her work. But, being a woman is not about being perfect; it is about realizing that you have a purpose, whether it be taking care of babies or pouring chemical solutions into beakers. Lessons in Chemistry teaches the value of women in a world that forgot the power they have, with the author, Garmus, combining cold humor with true feminism, scientific theories and experiments, and giving readers a feisty, intelligent, unforgettable protagonist who is pure gold. Lessons in Chemistry is a well-written book that anyone who likes learning about chemistry, cooking, feminism, or enjoys historical fiction should read.
