Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Wow - this book was incredible and I'm still thinking about it several days after finishing it. Definitely five stars!! Elizabeth Zott is a chemist in a man's world in the 1950s and 1960s. After being fired for being pregnant without being married, she stumbles upon a job hosting a cooking show on the local TV channel. The show becomes wildly successful due to the way she approach cooking (like a chemistry experiment) and the support that she gives her audience of housewives. She has a very precocious 4-year daughter and a dog named Six-Thirty (the time he followed her home from the market). In my opinion, if you take Dr. Temperance Brennan from the Bones TV show, make her a chemist in the 1960s, and throw in Wes Anderson along with some quirky characters, and you've got Lessons in Chemistry. This is the author's debut novel, and I didn't want it to end. Looking forward to more from Bonnie Garmus in the future.
UPDATE: I re-read this book in January 2025 after recently watching the Apple TV+ streaming version. There were a lot of similarities to the book, but also content unique to the TV series. Both were both entertaining and poignant. Brie Larson was spot-on in her portrayal of Elizabeth Zott, and I was also very impressed by Lewis Pullman in the role of Calvin Evans. I would definitely recommend watching this series, especially if you enjoyed the book!
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