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'Children, set the table. Your mother needs a moment to herself'- Elizabeth Zott
Dear Reader,
Lessons In Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus is quirky, rambunctious and off the beaten track. If you enjoy dynamic characters, layered narratives and a whole lot of fiery human potential, this may just be the book for you.
It's safe to say that Lessons in Chemistry is much more than the journey of a remarkable woman. Not only does it depict Elizabeth's justified scientific ambition, as she strains and strives in a patriarchal world, but Elizabeth puts on one hell of a show in the process- Supper at Six to be exact.
Melding together the ideas of both social and chemical science, this gem of a story expresses a number of witty perspectives. With our Leading Lady, her romantic ally Calvin Evans and one deeply underrated Six-Thirty....the dog, Lessons In Chemistry builds with a solid foundation of intriguing characters.
This quirky framework is only added to, as Garmus proceeds to weave together a comical and audacious narrative of resistance. She does so by unapologetically demonstrating how Elizabeth is a deeply intelligent woman but struggles to navigate the absurd limits placed on her progress.
Whilst Ms Garmus includes strong elements of a heartwarming, and at times slapstick romance, this is only one fragment of a fascinating and indepth social journey. Indeed, when Elizabeth is forced to resign from Hastings Research Institute, her destiny rewrites itself and that of overlooked housewifes all over America. Let's just say, dear reader, that things get explosive...Big Bang style.
What is most compelling about our protagonist, is that she is undeniably a modern woman, who seems completely displaced. With her often tounge in cheek attitude and inate sense of liberty, it is as though Ms Zott has been thrown back in time to the 1960s, and she is not best pleased. It is certainly intriguing to read the perspective of a woman, who is not only unaffected by the social conditioning of the time, but who individually and vehemently fires back at it. This Book Bee will never look at a number 2 pencil the same again.
A welcome anachronism and somewhat of a feminist fantasy, Lessons in Chemistry is refreshing and quiet an enjoyable read. It is a unique example of a writer, playing with fiction to individualise second wave feminism... before that ripple even happened. If you don't consider that to be inventive, I'd suggest you tell me what is.
A solid 4 out of 5 honey pots for Lessons In Chemistry. 🍯 🍯🍯🍯
'While the book deals with important issues, mainly gender equality, I found it a pleasure to read and a breath of fresh air. I was rooting for Elizabeth, Mad and Harriet and couldn't put the book down '- Catherine McArdle
'It was a delight to read. I think I'd reread this one'- Joanne Glymond
