This is part of my Summer Reads series where I’ll be sharing book recommendations – a series of “not just cookbooks”.
This week’s Summer Reads pick – Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus – was chosen because I’ve seen a LOT of people reading it this summer and figured that many of my friends can’t be wrong!
From the publisher:
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.
Strangely compelling is how I would describe this book. It’s not my usual sort of Summer Read and I wasn’t sure if it was going to be for me. The fact that I read it in a matter of days in every spare minute should be proof enough that it was! Don’t judge the book by its “chick lit” type cover, though – it’s so much more than it looks.
I don’t know I’d call it “laugh out loud” funny – it’s definitely more a quirky read than a belly-laugh-provoking one (also: trigger warnings, the book includes scenes with sexual assault and suicide). The characters are strongly written and, while they initially might not seem relatable, their quirks and foibles grow on you. The overarching theme of women’s rights is a timely one this summer and the majority of the book does focus on Zott’s struggle against inequality as opposed to the “cooking show” theme which the blurb suggests is a larger part of the story.
Zott’s character is fierce and honest in the face of, well, everything life throws at her and in different circumstances, her life might have been very different. Fortunately, she has an outstanding support network (her daughter, her absurdly intelligent dog – a standout character, actually! – her producer, and other friends) who help her along the bumpy road that was a woman scientist’s path in the 1960s. It’s actually quite surprising (but refreshing) that given everything Zott has faced, her resilience triumphs in the end. And the book’s ending was one I wasn’t expecting (no spoilers!).
The cooking show scenes ARE hilarious as Zott reels in her audience by not talking down to them (speaking in scientific language makes the women watching feel like they are being taken seriously) and speaking truth about everything from baking and cooking to religion and politics. I also love how she makes coffee in her home kitchen/ lab using scientific equipment (apparently producing the best cup of coffee!) and explains the chemical reactions that are going on when she cooks and bakes.
This was a page-turner because I really cared about Zott and her daughter and wanted to know they were going to be ok. An unexpectedly(for me!) excellent, thought-provoking Summer Read!
Buy Lessons in Chemistry on Amazon (this affiliate link should bring you to the Amazon store in, or closest to, your country). For free worldwide shipping, buy from The Book Depository.
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