There was a bit of detachment in the narration style for me when it came to Elizabeth (some truly awful things happen to her), however rather than chalking it up to a lack of sensitivity on the author’s part, I view it as more of a tone of wariness (because such things were unfortunately much too common back then). Rather than let the harsh realities of gender discrimination chip away at her spirit, Elizabeth often refuses to acknowledge such limitations and just does what she wants anyways…often bulldozing right through said boundaries. As a woman reading this in 2023 there were definitely moments that made me so mad for Elizabeth (and all women who had to deal with the sexism of the time), but Elizabeth seems to take it all in stride- albeit warily.

In many ways this felt like a slice of life novel about a female scientist making her way through life in the USA in the 1960s in a world before second wave feminism.

I was so thrilled to find that Lessons in Chemistry ended up being an excellent read. I immediately jumped on downloading it to my Kindle and went in pretty blind, not even reading the synopsis. I decided to request it on a whim from my library and was like 128th in the hold line (lol) when I was selected for a “lucky day” copy (basically a copy with a shorter check out date that you can’t renew). I ADORE a good historical fiction novel, and Lessons in Chemistry did not disappoint! I honestly didn’t know much about the book other than always seeing it featured on blogs and book lists last year, and seeing even my non bookish friends reading and posting about it. She’s daring them to change the status quo. Because as it turns out, Elizabeth Zott isn’t just teaching women to cook.

But as her following grows, not everyone is happy. Elizabeth’s unusual approach to cooking (“combine one tablespoon acetic acid with a pinch of sodium chloride”) proves revolutionary. Which is why a few years later Elizabeth Zott finds herself not only a single mother, but the reluctant star of America’s most beloved cooking show Supper at Six. True chemistry results.īut like science, life is unpredictable.

Except for one: Calvin Evans the lonely, brilliant, Nobel–prize nominated grudge-holder who falls in love with-of all things-her mind. But it’s the early 1960s and her all-male team at Hastings Research Institute takes a very unscientific view of equality. In fact, Elizabeth Zott would be the first to point out that there is no such thing as an average woman. Chemist Elizabeth Zott is not your average woman.

Lessons in chemistry by bonnie garmus