Writing: 4.5/5 Characters: 5/5 Plot: 5/5

I love this book — it combines the humor and non-conformity of Eleanor Oliphant with the twisted and cleverly converging plots of John Irving.

Elizabeth Zott — master chemist -- trying to do science in a late 50s / early 60s world that treats women as incapable, inferior, and irrelevant. Her experiences are kind of over the top IMHO — she gets hit with every possible thing that could happen to a woman trying to succeed in a man’s world — but the real story is what she does about it, so I accepted the two dimensional portrayals of the really bad guys and their machinations (and to be fair she gives a lot more page attention to truly good men as well).

The characters are wonderful — both quirky and deep thinking — and include Elizabeth, her out-of-wedlock genius child, Mad, (so named as a result of a miscommunication with a cranky nurse), and a dog named six-thirty whose vocabulary is expanding at a carefully tracked rate. The story is told from each of their perspectives — yes, the dog, too.

The plot and dialog kept me constantly hooked and included plenty of twists and turns as well as interesting philosophy discussions, opportunities for characters to rethink their assumptions, and very positive messages about what is important, practical, inspiring, and possible.

Also — and this is important to me — Zott really does love chemistry and there is plenty of real science included. This isn’t one of those (very irritating) books where the main female character “loves” some kind of science / tech field but spends all her time worrying about her love interest and giggling with her friends while shopping for the perfect dress. At one point Zott is running a cooking show based equal parts on the chemistry of cooking and female empowerment and those scenes alone are worth reading the whole book.

A lot of the plot relied on the bad people doing bad manipulative things which is not a favorite plot device for me, but again I forgive it because of how much I liked the characters and what they did. Funnily, I realized that this book gave me the same feeling of pleasure that I get from old Clint Eastwood movies — when the bad guys are so very obviously bad it feels great when they are brought down (albeit in this case without violence).

Lessons in Chemistry is absolutely brilliant! Absolutely could not put it down.. I found myself actually laughing out loud so much I just had to read parts of it to my husband. It's clever, witty and tragic. What more could a reader want.? So well written I could see this as a mini series. I haven't fawned over a book in forever! Kudos to Bonnie Garmus on her fabulous novel. I wouldn't change a thing. Special thanks to NetGalley and Doubleday Books for this opportunity to read this e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This is an unconventional book about an unconventional woman. It is paradoxically inspiring and disheartening…and I loved every minute of reading it. I truly regretted coming to the end.

The story takes place in the southern California town of Commons in the early 1960s. The prevailing view of woman is best characterized by the popular sitcoms of the day – think Donna Reed, Harriet Nelson and the Beaver’s mom, June Cleaver.. (If you are too young to relate to these references, these woman wore make-up, jewelry, shirtwaist dresses and lived to feed their families and keep an impeccable home.)

Elizabeth Zott, however, is a woman born ahead of her time. Her dream of becoming a research scientist abruptly ends when her mentor in her master’s program sexually assaults her and denies her entry into the PhD program. Subsequently, her work environment at the Hastings Research Institute isn’t much better; she is demoted from her position as a chemist to a lab tech by a narrow-minded, jealous boss and eventually fired. As her life unfolds she loses the love of her life, becomes the mother of an “illegitimate” child and, of all things, hosts an afternoon television show featuring cooking based on chemistry. The show not only instructs women to cook from a very different perspective, but also inspires the audience to consider bold, new possibilities for their lives.

The qualities I admire most about this woman – what makes her a true heroine – is her honesty, her integrity and her perseverance. While her capacity to stand up for her truth in the face of overwhelming social and cultural prejudice toward women in general and in science specifically, her uncompromising posture ensures she will never “fit in” – a rather lonely and frustrating existence.

I love books with quirky characters and this book delivers them in abundance. Elizabeth, herself, exemplifies this; she lives predominately through her brilliant, rational mind and is so serious that it becomes the basis for some of the humor woven into the storyline. Her precocious daughter, Mad, is a wonder. Perhaps my favorite is Six-thirty, the dog who flunked out of the military training for bomb detection and emerges as a personality in his own right.

This book is a breath of fresh air. When so many authors rely on formulistic plot lines, Ms. Garmus has created an original and highly entertaining novel that finds a delicate balance between the humor and the pain of human existence.

My thanks to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for the privilege of reviewing this book. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This review is being posted immediately to my GoodReads account and will be posted on Amazon upon publication.

Dimensionality is a weird thing. It might not even be a word. The dimensions of the characters in this book are so flat you could put them in a frame. Hang them on a wall.

This book is gonna make a lot of money.

I want to thank Doubleday Books and Netgalley for allowing me to read and review Lessons in Chemistry, the debut novel by Bonnie Garmus.
“I’m Elizabeth Zott,” she said calmly, withdrawing a freshly sharpened fourteen-inch chef’s knife. But she wasn’t sure he heard. He’d fainted dead away.”
Don’t ignore this book because of the title. Chemistry is just the vehicle. Stealing beakers is how Elizabeth and Calvin meet.
Sex discrimination changes Elizabeth’s life.
Ms Gamus’s characters are so well defined. One of the most interesting is the stray dog, Six-Thirty who just happens to arrive at six-thirty. Mad, her daughter, gets her name when the maternity nurse asks what the baby’s name will be. All she hears is mad, mad reflecting how Elizabeth feels!
How does Elizabeth become part of an eight man crew? Why does her kitchen turn into a laboratory?
You’ll laugh, maybe even cry a little bit. Lessons in Chemistry will hold your interest.
This book publishes 04/05/2022.

I absolutely loved Lessons in Chemistry, by Bonnie Garmus. Not only is this novel engaging, with terrific characters, but the story itself is just wonderful. I have already recommended Lessons in Chemistry to my book club group and to everyone who will stop to listen for 5 minutes. This is a novel with love, grief, subtle humor, and on some occasions, laugh-out-loud hilarity. The dog is perfection, and while the author does not note the breed, I have decided that the dog is a terrier, specifically an Airedale. I could not put this novel down. It was that wonderful, and what an engaging surprise from a first-time novelist. I will be anxiously awaiting a next novel.
Thank you to the author, publisher, and to Netgalley for providing this ARC. 5 VERY Large Stars!