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Start giftingLessons in Chemistry
A Novel
Length
11 hours 55 minutes
Language
English
Bookseller recommendation
“I loved Elizabeth Zott! She's a quirky, dynamic, headstrong heroine who is, above all else, a brilliant chemist. She struggles to be taken seriously but refuses to bow to the expectations and societal norms for women in the sixties. The story is funny, profound, entertaining, brazenly feminist, and Elizabeth has the BEST dog ever, Six-Thirty! You don't want to miss this wonderful debut novel!”
Polly,
The Hickory Stick Bookshop
Bookseller recommendation
“Loved this book! I laughed out loud, I cried, and it made my blood boil. Elizabeth Zott is one of a kind. I wish she was real and I could travel back in time to watch Supper at Six! Expertly narrated by Miranda Raison.”
Kristine,
Buttonwood Books and Toys
Bookseller recommendation
“I loved this book so much that I read the hard cover and listened to the audio 2x!”
Jane,
Rediscovered Books
Bookseller recommendation
“Talented scientist Elizabeth Zott is thwarted at every turn in the male-dominated science world of the 1950s. But Elizabeth will not let anything stop her. Armed with a Number Two pencil piercing her bun, she is determined to complete her research project and enlighten women about the importance of science (even if it appears to be a cooking show for housewives). Equal parts charming and wise, Bonnie Garmus’s novel is making many more best-of lists than mine and features the best dog character since Winn Dixie.”
Sarah,
A Great Good Place for Books
Bookseller recommendation
“Lessons in Chemistry is a story of Elizabeth Zott: a brilliant female chemist in a man’s lab during the early 1960’s. She continuously faces challenges with grace and intellect. She rather begrudgingly hosts a cooking show which causes a ripple effect of women standing up for themselves, knowing their worth, and seeking higher education and pay. This quirky fictional book certainly challenges us not to just accept the 'status quo' and reach higher!”
Becky,
Cherry Street Books
Bookseller recommendation
“Lessons in Chemistry is a nearly-subversive feminist story wrapped in a delightful package of unlikely love, heart-rending loss, and how to make one’s way through life as a round peg that doesn’t even try to fit in to a square hole. This novel had me thinking hard about the women of my mother’s 1950s and 60s generation, women who often were confined to the role of 'homemaker' – or if they did work, were the bookkeepers instead of the mathematicians, the secretaries instead of the lawyers. How much brain power was kept on the back burner until feminists started speaking up and demanding equality? How much brain power is still being wasted? Lessons in Chemistry left me thinking about how far we have come, and how far we still have to go.”
Claire,
Honest Dog Books
Bookseller recommendation
“Love love LOVED this book! Our one-of-a-kind Read & Run Audiobook Club selected this book for our inaugural group, and we all enjoyed it tremendously. Elizabeth Zott is a force to be reckoned with, Bonnie Garmus's writing is dry, witty, and refreshing, and the story has some fantastic twists and turns that keep you on your toes to the very end. A fantastic feminist commentary on how far we've come as a society and where we're still stuck today. Highly recommend!”
Sari,
Verb Bookstore
Bookseller recommendation
“Formidable Elizabeth Zott will capture your heart as she, Six-Thirty, Mad and others did me. It’s 1960 and Elizabeth is a woman in a man’s field – she experiences sexism, inequality, and abuse. I found this heartwarming, fun, with a sense of intelligent humor, and full of charm and hope.”
Karin,
Bookworm of Edwards
Bookseller recommendation
“Character-driven and quirky, this book made me angry at what Elizabeth faces, yet at the same time, the fact that she faces it with such aplomb that it also filled me with joy to witness her journey. Reading this one at the same time as When Women Were Dragons made me wonder if Elizabeth would be dragoning pretty soon ;) but this one is set in the real world, where instead she used her very human, very brilliant brain to challenge the status quo. ”
Stacy,
The Curious Cat Bookshop
Bookseller recommendation
“Protagonist Elizabeth Zott's confrontations with 1960s patriarchy will resonate with women who lived it, but how she gets by while staying true to herself will inspire women of all ages. Read it — and give copies to all your friends!”
Ellen Klein,
Hooray for Books!
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • GMA BOOK CLUB PICK • Meet Elizabeth Zott: “a gifted research chemist, absurdly self-assured and immune to social convention” (The Washington Post) in 1960s California whose career takes a detour when she becomes the unlikely star of a beloved TV cooking show. • APPLE TV+ SERIES COMING LATER THIS YEAR
This novel is “irresistible, satisfying and full of fuel” (The New York Times Book Review) and “witty, sometimes hilarious...the Catch-22 of early feminism” (Stephen King, via Twitter).
A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: The New York Times, Washington Post, NPR, Oprah Daily, Entertainment Weekly, Newsweek
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.
Laugh-out-loud funny, shrewdly observant, and studded with a dazzling cast of supporting characters, Lessons in Chemistry is as original and vibrant as its protagonist.
BONNIE GARMUS is a copywriter and creative director who has worked widely in the fields of technology, medicine, and education. She’s an open-water swimmer, a rower, and mother to two pretty amazing daughters. Born in California and most recently from Seattle, she currently lives in London with her husband and her dog, 99.
BONNIE GARMUS is a copywriter and creative director who has worked widely in the fields of technology, medicine, and education. She’s an open-water swimmer, a rower, and mother to two pretty amazing daughters. Born in California and most recently from Seattle, she currently lives in London with her husband and her dog, 99.
