Title: Lessons in Chemistry
Author: Bonnie Garmus
# of Pages: 400 (hardback)
Genre: Adult, Historical Fiction, Romance
Rating: ★★★★☆
Synopsis: Chemist Elizabeth Zott is not your average woman. In fact, Elizabeth Zott would be the first to point out that there is no such thing as an average woman. But it’s the early 1960s and her all-male team at Hastings Research Institute takes a very unscientific view of equality. Except for one: Calvin Evans; the lonely, brilliant, Nobel–prize nominated grudge-holder who falls in love with—of all things—her mind. True chemistry results. But like science, life is unpredictable. 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. Elizabeth’s unusual approach to cooking (“combine one tablespoon acetic acid with a pinch of sodium chloride”) proves revolutionary. But as her following grows, not everyone is happy. Because as it turns out, Elizabeth Zott isn’t just teaching women to cook. She’s daring them to change the status quo.
Review: Despite going back and forth the whole time I was reading this book on whether to give it 3 or 4 stars, I finally settled on 4. At the end of the day, what matters is whether I, the reader, learned or enjoyed something from the book, the latter is certainly true.
I had mixed feeling when picking up Lessons in Chemistry - on one hand, it won two Goodreads awards (one for Best Historical Fiction and another for Best Debut Author). There has to be something good about it if it won TWO awards. On other hand, it just LOOKS like it could be on (perhaps the classier end) of a chick-lit - the bright cover (with the edges of the book painted blue???) and even the title scream "girly cheesy romance novel." NOTHING wrong with a chick-lit to pass the time, but I wasn't looking for a brain-rot read at the moment.
However, this book turned out to not be exactly what I was expecting. Yes, the target audience is definitely women - there are blatant feminist themes ENGRAINED in the book. Usually having such strong messaging in a book would come off preachy to me (I'm looking at you Jodi Picoult), and I wouldn't say this book is an exception either. That being said, I actually liked how women's rights was the main focus rather than the romance. It had to be this way; it would be hypocritical if it focused on the protagonist's romance and defining her story by her association with a man.
It also justifies the historical fiction element of the book - the 1960s portray how much greater women's struggles were in gaining recognition outside of (or even being) a homemaker. Yet their struggles are not entirely unfamiliarly to modern day women, who can still find elements of discrimination relatable in today's society.
I was initially concerned about this being Garmus's debut work - lack of experience sometimes means the author is more prone to portraying character unrealistically or building a weak story. It was unsurprising to me that Garmus has worked in medicine and is a rower; both of these experience surely influenced her decision to incorporate what she knows into her book. Despite her background, my concerns were at least somewhat actualized.
My main complaint with Garmus's writing is the dog's, Six-Thirty's, POV. For one, the book could have easily be written without his perspective - at most he is used as a plot device that could still be included from a different character's perspective. The only value of having his POV is to show that Six-Thirty has higher intelligence than most other characters are willing to believe. However, Garmus's over-personification of this dog is fluff at best.
As per usual, I didn't like the POV switching, although it being in third person definitely helped. I actually disliked the time skipping more, and combined with the POV switching, it felt like Garmus's writing style was a bit all over the place. I would prefer it if she stayed with one character in one time period for longer rather than skipping back and forth between paragraphs.
That being said, I couldn't put down this book. It finally got me out of my reader's block, and it had me smiling one minute and teary eyed the next. I wouldn't recommend it for everyone, but as someone in the target audience, I found it to be a very easy and fun read.
