Book of the month: “Lessons in Chemistry,” by Bonnie Garmus

Don’t let the bright pink, quirky cover fool you: ‘Lessons in Chemistry’ by Bonnie Garmus is anything but a fluffy read. One of the book blurbs describes it as ‘zippy, zesty and Zotty’- the Zotty being a play on the main character’s name, and alliteration aside, there’s a lot more depth than is suggested by the book’s marketing messages.

Elizabeth Zott is a woman who is unapologetically herself, which in late 50s, early 60s America is not permissible, especially when being herself entails speaking her mind, pursuing a higher education, and (gasp!) having no intentions to marry. The first chapter sees her become a victim of a vicious sexual assault, and after reporting the matter to the police, they ask her to make a ‘statement of regret’, as she stabbed her rapist with a pencil in self-defense. ‘It will go better if you show some remorse’, the officer tells her, because what could she possible be doing in a school campus at night? Her attacker happens to be her advisor, so poof goes her spot in the doctoral program, because the school can’t afford to lose him while she’s expendable.

The advisor is not the only reprehensible character we meet. One boss steals her work and takes credit for it, and yet another attempts to violate her, but fortunately that does not end well for him. That kind of power play was an everyday reality for women of the time, and woe unto those who, like Elizabeth, dared to challenge the status quo. Even sadder is that 50 years later, it has improved only marginally. After all, we’re in the era of the Me Too movement. The casual, every day misogyny meted upon Elizabeth and the other characters in the book is exhausting. Serendipitously, she lands a job as a TV host of a cooking show, Supper at Six, where she is expected to play up her looks and dim her intellect. However, much to the chagrin of her long-suffering producer, Elizabeth approaches each show like a chemistry lesson, complete with a lab coat, and becomes a cultural phenomenon.

There’s a lot to unpack in this book. Despite the dark moments, there are some stand out experiences. Elizabeth and her soulmate, Calvin, enjoy an amazing relationship. She’s raising her precocious daughter Maddie in a manner many consider unconventional, but it provides for some hilarious and loving moments. Then there’s the anthropomorphic dog, Six Thirty, who you’ll either love or hate. Through its backdrop of characters, the author explores grief, marriage and discrimination, but also humour, specifically through Elizabeth’s TV exploits. There has been some criticism about Elizabeth’s character being a caricature of a woman in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics), stereo-typically nerdy and awkward. That said, I enjoyed reading her as she was written-unapologetic, opinionated, and marching to the beat of her own drum.

The author- Bonnie Garmus is a copywriter/creative director who has worked for a wide range of clients, focusing primarily on technology, medicine, and education.

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