I wanted to love this book. I went in with such high expectations from other reviews but honestly I debated numerous times if I should even finish it.

The main character Elizabeth, was not a character I found to be very likeable. She’s a scientist in 1955 at a time when women were not scientist but instead of making it easier for other women in her feet steps I feel that she is just constantly making it harder. She is supposed to be very intelligent but I actually found her not to be but not in a funny way like other reviews led me to believe.

I was confused by the way some chapters seemed to happen in different years. One paragraph would be about the present and then it would jump back and it was sometimes hard to follow and I’d find myself scrolling back to see where I was.

This book also takes place from multiple peoples point of views but never tells you at the beginning of the chapter. At one point you are even getting the dogs point of view.

Overall this book is way to long and drawn out. I felt at times that I was being lectured to about chemistry and found myself skimming the pages just to get to the end, if I hadn’t needed to review it I wouldn’t have finished it.

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Lessons is Chemistry is priceless.

I wish there was more than 5 stars.

I laughed out loud many times, I cheered Elizabeth on as she tries to change things for women and I cried with her.

I certainly agreed with her saying you go Elizabeth !!

Her daughter Mad is the best and wise beyond her years.

Six-Thirty the dog almost stole the show.

Lessons in Chemistry will be a big Book Club hit .

Don't miss this book, in fact put it to the top of your TBR pile.

I have pre ordered this for my daughter.

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada, Doubleday Canada for a fantastic read.

ah! a new favourite! i loved this story from start to finish - so many quirky, interesting, smart characters! i loved how a dog played a main character! Lots of relevant issues - this would make an amazing book club pick!
It is a must read!!

How to describe a book that alternately, makes you laugh out loud, cringe at the no-holds-barred misogyny of the fifties, grieve and ache (when your heart’s not soaring with delighted wonder), and throughout it all, cheer with wild abandon for the main protagonist Elizabeth Zott (a mother, lover, Chemist, TV Cooking-show Star, and at her core, a fiercely confident combatant of inequity) - who is right up there with the very best-of-the-best female heroes to hit the pages during my watch.

(And don’t get me started on Six-Thirty - her immensely wonderful, compassionate and sentient dog - who unfortunately, cannot speak but can certainly communicate the nine hundred or so words proudly mastered.)

And then there’s Mad (Madeline) - Elizabeth’s charmingly precocious daughter, who, like her mother, refuses to settle for anything but the truth and the best, regardless of the consequences to her fantastically ineffectual kindergarten-centric social circle.

Who could not love the brisk, no-nonsense obstetrician, Dr Mason, who is just as likely to plunge his hands into soapy water and do a load of Elizabeth’s dishes, as he is to discuss child care, while, central to his world, (as is the case with several of our main and much-loved characters) the solution to life’s problems often comes down to the simple joys (and terrors) of competitive rowing.

I adored this book. From the very first pages it’s brilliantly clear that this is something fresh, effervescent, vivid and engaging, - an absolute joy this reader did not want to see end.

When Elizabeth meets Calvin Evans, a brilliant scientist, himself a strange and endearing six-foot-four sloucher, an impatient introvert who cannot help but hold a grudge, with his large grey eyes and the look of “a child who raised himself” - it’s clear that, for Elizabeth, with her “flawless skin” and deeply-entrenched independent-survival instinct - all bets are off.

The story that follows is as much a warm and wonderful huddle with the divinely odd as it is a blazing testament to perseverance, love, compassion, and ultimately, the ongoing, deliberate practice of standing tall, (alone if necessary), for what one believes to be right, to matter, to be intrinsically central to a valued and purposeful life.

A great big thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this book, easily one of my favorite reads this year and beyond. All thoughts presented are my own.

I was lucky enough to.get a Netgalley copy and read this in 24 hours. I cannot believe this is a debut. It's fantastic, wonderfully written, and I will be purchasing my own copy and telling everyone I know about it. My favourite book of the year by far.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4614980400?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1

Lessons in Chemistry is so many things. Empowering. Heartbreaking. Laugh-out-loud funny. Devastating. Whimsical. Perfect.

The author's expert ability to invite the reader into the minds of so many fantastically-crafted characters is something to behold. Hidden within each page is one breadcrumb after another, each offering a tantalizing glimpse of a larger puzzle... You'll salivate your way through twists and turns as you fly through this compelling read.

This book will take the world by storm. A fabulous choice for bookclubs - sure to inspire authentic conversation.
Thank you, Bonnie Garmus. 5 Stars.

This is one of the most enjoyable and unique books I have ever read. I wish I could give it more than 5 stars.

The book starts in the 1950s, one of my favourite decades. The star of the book is Elizabeth Zott. And, she IS a star. She is a scientist, fighting to find her spot in a man's world. We follow her life…..her involvement with a fellow scientist, single motherhood and being a reluctant star of a cooking show. Her thought process is black and white, very logical.

And then, there is Six Thirty, her dog who is a faithful companion. The dog voices his thoughts by sharing them with the reader. He is a bit of a wise guy. Yes, the dog is a character in the book and it works.

The storytelling style in this book is very unique. Parts of it are dry and witty. Parts of it are sentimental and emotional. And parts are sarcastic. None of it is flowery or overly descriptive. It is not necessarily realistic, but it IS very entertaining and enjoyable. And, it covers a very serious issue, a woman's place in the universe, society, the work world. How every achievement had to be fought for. Despite the fight, often it is a lost battle.

I usually characterize books as plot-driven or character-driven. In this case, the characters drive the plot. Elizabeth, Mad, Harriet and Six Thirty are all strong and unforgettable characters. Perhaps Mad and Six Thirty are a bit unrealistic but I will not forget them.

And, there was a perfect ending for a wonderful book. A little emotional but perfect.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an Advance Readers Copy to me.

This book was so different than what I expected…….I really enjoyed it…..it’s a great story of one woman wanting her own right to have the same respect, rights and equality in the 60’s.. Its told through the eyes of Elizabeth a brilliant chemist and very quirky character. She meets and has a relationship with Calvin another quirky character who is a leader in the world of chemistry. The story grabs you in and by 1/3 of the way in I was hooked and not wanting to put it down. Elizabeth is portrayed as a strong character who has been thrown many curveballs including the unexpected death of her love Calvin, but she continues to do what she needs to for her bright daughter which leads her to Walter a producer who asks her to host a cooking show. Supper at six becomes a platform for her to use chemistry and a platform to encourage women to stand up for oneself.
Most of all I loved the characters in this books…..they all had quirks to them yet they all intertwined so well in the story. My favourite character has to be six thirty the dog who can read and narrates parts of the story.

I received a free advanced copy from NetGalley and all opinions are my own.

I would recommend this book to my family and friends. I would love to have my book club read it , it would be a great book for discussions

Lessons in Chemistry is a novel about the many challenges of being a woman in the 1950’s, and navigating that as a scientist, a never married mother, and an all around no nonsense attitude.
I honestly did not care for this book. While the writing was good, I found the main character, Elizabeth very difficult to relate to, and I felt that her sweeping announcements of ‘scientist-y’ statements, such as broad statements about being on the side of Rosa Parks, and vague references to the civil rights movement, identifying as atheist, and only calling salt by its scientific compound, all came across as trying too hard to shove ‘calculating woke science lady’ in your face. While, of course, still managing to let the audience know that Elizabeth Zott may be a socially awkward and uncomfortably direct FEMALE SCIENTIST, but she is also unbelievably sexy, and she will be made to pay for that at every opportunity.
This book has Triggers for Rape, Suicide, and workplace abuse.
None of which lend to the plot in any sort of meaningful way because other than being triggering and awful, only have Honorable mentions as plot points later on, in I guess showing Elizabeth Zotts ability to persevere, and as a Cherry on top to wrap everything up nicely at the end.
As for the cast of secondary characters, Harriet, Wakely, Mad, a tv producer dude and the dog six-thirty, I found them charming but flat and single dimensional. The dog was like a Wes Andersen film dog, lacking the wit but I guess was meant to bring brevity?
All this is to say I’d give this book a 2/5 because I finished it and it had moments,

This was my first ARC through NetGalley, and my first proper review. I hope I like future books better!

Such a beautiful story! Oh I love these characters, I flew through this book. The dialogue is quick paced, and Elizabeth is so funny.

Heart warming, gut wrenching, stunning at times. What an adventure!!!

I love the found family aspect, and the little rag tag band Elizabeth gathers around herself.

And 630? Such a unique aspect to the book! I loved his point of view. This book really stands out.

TW for a short but kinda graphic scene containing SA, and a second attempted scene. I wasn't expecting it so it caught me off guard !

Everyone should read this book!

I have just finished reading Lessons in Chemistry by Author Bonnie Garmus.

What a refreshing, fun, smart, quirky, and unique book.

And to think it is the Author’s debut. I will be following her.

This was just a delight from start to finish. The main character Elizabeth Zott is like no other character that I have ever read in a book. She is truly a delight, one of a kind.

Elizabeth is a Chemist in the 60’s and has many obstacles to overcome. Her colleague Calvin Evans is a brilliant scientist, and someone who treats her as an equal. Both have unusual backgrounds, and truly love each other.

What happens along the way in Elizabeth’s career is very enlightening, she is a force to be reckoned with.

Her daughter Madeline ( Mad) is a wonderful, smart and unique character all her own. In fact, every character in this book is wonderful. Something that you rarely find in a story.

I laughed, I was sad, I was emotional, and I just could not put this book down.

An incredible debut from Author Bonnie Garmus.

5 Strong Stars

Thank You to NetGalley the Author and Doubleday Canada for my advanced copy to read and review.
#NetGalley

This was a fine book. I loved the cooking-chemistry crossover and the idea that anyone can be an encouragement or inspiration to others. I didn’t really love the main character, and felt a number of the supporting characters (namely the child and the dog) to be completely unbelievable. Honestly, the neighbour’s story arc (who doesn’t even appear in the book until halfway through) is one of the most believable parts of the book. All that being said, it’s true that huge strides were made in women’s rights in this time period, and it was interesting to consider how a story like this could have happened.

Not my favourite book, but still a good read!

(I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.)

In the ‘50s & ‘60s, it was still assumed the only acceptable job for a woman was housewife. They certainly weren’t expected to become scientists. But Elizabeth Zott was not one to do the expected thing - she was a chemist and a pretty damn good one. Unfortunately, faced with misogyny both at university and at her lab job after *gasp* she has a child out of wedlock, she finds herself unemployed and unemployable in the sciences. In fact, the only option she has is as host of an afternoon cooking show.

However, if that’s her only option, then, despite her male bosses, she will do it her way. After all cooking is chemistry and she is a chemist so she will use chemistry to teach cooking. Pretty much everyone involved thinks the average woman won't understand or accept this and the show won’t last. But Elizabeth is convinced women are much more than just average housewives. Now she just has to convince all the naysayers.

Lessons in Chemistry by debut author Bonnie Garmus isn’t my usual read but I decided to give it a try based mainly on the cover and description but I’m so glad I did. I enjoyed most of the characters including Zott’s very intelligent dog, Six Thirty. I loved the underlying humour that runs through it as well as the pacing and storyline. I also liked that it depicted the era in all its misogynist realities but, warning, this means some disturbing scenes which may be triggering to some readers.

Overall, though, I really enjoyed Lessons in Chemistry and recommend it highly. This is an amazing debut and I look forward to seeing what Garmus gives us in the future.

<i>Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review</i>

The story is from 1950s-1960s which kinda turned me off at first. I’m not a historical fiction fan and totally thought this was present day. However . It’s about a chemist who is trying to do good work .. fighting against misogyny .. showing up everyday to be taken seriously!! Sounds like a boring bit emotional read however There are a lot of funny situations in the story including heartwarming love .and friendship!! A story of strength, hope, determination, indomitable spirit!! A well written book that I really enjoyed!!

This one was a lot of fun to read, with a stalwart heroine you root for through her many ordeals and misfortunes. (You just know it’s all going to come out all right in the end.) Though the book’s over-the-topness strained credulity—a lot—just swallow it as part of the wacky charm and carry on. It features Alice Zott, a research chemist in the 1950s and 1960s, when women in the sciences were almost unheard-of and those who were were blatantly disrespected and had their work stolen by male colleagues. Sure enough, though Alice is a gifted scientist, she’s also lovely and is surrounded by patronizing males and faces constant sexual harassment—all an unquestioned part of the deal in mid-20th-century workplaces. Until, that is, she meets her institute’s shining star, Calvin, a young twice-Nobel-nominated scientist. They “meet cute” and are soon head-over-heels in love. Calvin, in addition to being brilliant, is a man in a million in that he considers Alice a true equal in every way and deeply respects her work. (Okay, this is where things start to get hard to believe; remember, this is the 50s in America.) Jump ahead a few years, and Alice is the single mother of Mad, an extraordinary little girl who is just beyond precocious, reading Dickens and The Sound and the Fury at 5. (Just keep parking your disbelief at the door.) Alice continues to have her work stolen by unworthy men and she finally has had enough and quits. She stumbles into a job as the TV host of what’s meant to be a cooking show but immediately becomes something that’s entirely her own: a no-nonsense primer on the chemistry behind cooking and baking, not to mention that she doles out important life lessons aimed at women. The show becomes a massive—in keeping with our theme, wildly implausible—hit. And so on and so on. Everything works out the way it’s meant to. Alice has built a family of caring souls around her and daughter Mad. She makes a triumphant return to science. The baddies get their comeuppance. Sigh. This is wishful thinking about the way life ought to have been for a very smart, dedicated (unmarried, atheist) woman in the 60s but so, so wasn’t. Tons of fun, though.

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley.

This initially charmed me, with its quirky, breezy tone, and then suddenly the protagonist was being raped, and the quirky, breezy tone felt inappropriate - even if she did stab an entire pencil into her rapist. I was quite enjoying Elizabeth and Calvin's relationship, and the set piece in the cafeteria where he proposes was entertaining, but then there was the rowing and the sections from the perspective of their dog (yes really). The constant unrelenting unchallenged sexism just got too much, and the narrative was very much all on one note. Not for me.

The perfect read for International Women’s day tomorrow (March 8th), and Women’s history month (March)🌟
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Honestly, no matter what I say, it will not do this book justice. It was such an extraordinary read. As a woman in STEM myself, it was at moments hard to read this book because I couldn’t believe the injustice women like Elizabeth faced everyday, simply for wanting to pursue the sciences, and for knowing that they were in fact smart enough to do it. It really put things into perspective for me, and made me realize how lucky I am to live at a time where it is socially acceptable for women to work as chemists, doctors, biologists, engineers or in any other STEM occupation.

Elizabeth is such a strong female lead, and that was one of the things I loved most about this book. No matter what anyone told her, she never gave up on pursuing her goals. Elizabeth wasn’t the only character I liked though, Mad was so fierce for being so young, and how could you not fall in love with their dog Six-Thirty? Overall, all the characters were well developed, and definitely believable.

This book gave me all the emotions! I found myself laughing out loud, smiling, gasping in shock, and even crying in a couple spots.

The ending was really well written. Bonnie Garmus managed to tie everything together, and I was left feeling satisfied with each characters storyline after I finished reading.

Overall, great read! I would definitely read this again, and can’t wait to get my own hard copy once it is published at the end of the month.

“…Elizabeth harangued about women accepting their subordinate positions as if they were preordained, as if they believed their smaller bodies were a biological indication of smaller brains, as if they were naturally inferior, but charmingly so.”

I almost didn’t request this book. I received an email from NetGalley promoting it and I clicked on it. I didn’t think it would turn our to be one of the best books I’d read this year, especially as it is a debut. I realize it is only the beginning of March, but this was just breathtaking. A large thank you to NetGalley, and the publisher, for offering this eARC. I am so glad I read it. It was delightful!

Sometimes a book just resonates with you and this book, these characters are absolutely on my frequency. I loved it. I couldn’t put it down. My one complaint is that I wish it wasn’t so accurate. Then, and now. Elizabeth Zott is wonderfully written. She’s real and full of ambition and life and keeps pushing even in the face of incredible unfairness. She continues to believe, perhaps naively or simply out of hope, that life could be fair to her if only she could fix the problem standing in her way. As incredibly intelligent and hard-working as she is, she is flawed, and naive and a bit broken by her experiences. She’s a real woman from the past trying to talk to real women and remind them they are allowed to have ambitions beyond having children and keeping house, but if they want to do that, that’s okay too.

The supporting characters are equally charming. The villains are painted a little one-sided, but it suits the narrative and it’s not that far off from the reality women talk about. I’m not old enough to have lived it myself. Six-Thirty, the dog, is one of my favourites. I loved that he was a character with a backstory that was, if not essential, important and not extraneous. Giving him a voice was wonderfully done.

Some readers may not like how neatly this was wrapped up; all the threads perfectly aligned. I loved it. It didn’t feel cliche or trite. It felt right and good and like something that should have happened, and certainly could have. I will be recommending this to all of my friends, especially the housewives. Walter’s speech in Chapter 24 about how homemakers are hyper productive was endearing. He was a favourite character of mine and I’m glad to see he got a happy ending too. I won’t risk spoiling anything.

Trigger warnings: on-page sexual assault, some violence.

Found family, feminism, and fairy godparents. The perfect recipe for any stellar novel. Even Elizabeth Zott (the protagonist of this novel) couldn’t contest that this is a perfect chemical combination for any hearty meal of a book.

This is a story of love, loss, and life. It follows the powerful, persistent chemist Elizabeth Zott and a collection of equally complex and interesting characters. My favourite being Six-Thirty the dog. Set in 1960s California, it delves into important topics including the gender gap, overcoming adversity, and familial problems.

I took a risk with this book as it's very outside my normal reading habits and I'm so glad I did. It's a very quirky debut with a fresh perspective on storytelling. The use of an omniscient third-person narration threw me off at times because the story followed quite a few different characters and it also jumped back and forth through time. But for the majority of the story, the flow worked, creating an interesting narrative that kept me on my toes and always wanting more.

Just finished reading “Lessons in Chemistry” by Bonnie Garmus.

Elizabeth Zott is a scientist in the early sixties when women aren’t supposed to be anything more than mothers or secretaries. She is a very independent woman before women’s lib was actually a thing. She meets fellow scientist, Calvin Evans, and the two have a very unique relationship.

Fast forward to the future and Elizabeth is raising her daughter, Mad, and running a lab in her kitchen. She is asked to host a cooking show. Elizabeth does things her way, much to the astonishment of others. Especially in a time when women were supposed to follow and not lead.

The supporting characters really helped make this book. There were times you just laughed out loud. I enjoyed the story and especially the underlying stories. I highly recommend this book.