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A review by saylaurmoon
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
4.0
↠ 4 stars ⭐︎
Elizabeth Zott is a brilliant chemist working at the Hastings Research Institute. The only problem? No one takes her seriously—because it's the 1950s + 1960s and... she’s a woman. An unconventional woman at that. A woman who has no interest in the things a woman should. No interest in marriage. Or children. Or being a housewife. Instead, she is overtly dedicated to and passionate about her scientific craft, yet no one at Hastings takes her seriously. Until the famous Calvin Evans takes notice of her, and like a perfect chemical reaction, the two fall in love. But years later, she finds herself in an unpredictable situation: a single mother, raising her wildly precocious 4-year-old daughter, while being the famous host of a cooking show. Similarly to Elizabeth, Supper at Six is not your typical cooking show. Not only does she teach her audience how to cook delicious and nutritious meals, but she also inspires them to recognize their potential and challenge the status quo.
I was really going back and forth about this book’s rating. Ultimately, I’m giving it 4.5 stars. This story is SO beautifully written. It’s eloquent, creative, and compelling. The author expertly evoked all but every emotion on the spectrum in me—happiness, sorrow, amusement, anger, hatred, and grief. Out of them all, I definitely experienced seething rage most often, due to the seemingly unceasing sexism, bigotry, and ignorance some of the characters either exhibited or experienced. The author perfectly showcased the struggles that women experienced during this time period and showed us all how one inspirational, courageous, and tenacious woman overcame them.
Elizabeth was a truly unique character. Honestly, it took me a while to really warm up to her. Despite this, she was an intriguing character from the very beginning. She was shamelessly blunt, intimidatingly intelligent, courageously rebellious, and perpetually resilient. She was inspirational in how she vigorously challenged the status quo in everything that she did, even in the face of stubborn resistance.
There were also several memorable side characters that aided the plot. While a number of them were memorable because they were the absolute worst kind of people, there were several more that were memorable because of the support and love they showed Elizabeth throughout her struggles. Frankly, though, Six-Thirty is the best character in the entire book, hands down.
While I genuinely enjoyed this book, I do have a few reservations about it that had me question how I wanted to rate it. First, I found myself having difficulty getting invested in it at first. I had to really power through a lot of the first half of the book, which is not common for me. Maybe I was just having an off day. Additionally, I felt like there was far too much talk about rowing, especially because it never really felt that it was all that relevant to the plot. Lastly, and probably an unpopular opinion: for two chemists… Elizabeth and Calvin’s relationship ironically lacked chemistry. Were they perfectly made for each other because of their passions? Oh, undoubtedly. Did I love Calvin because he was the first person to take Elizabeth seriously and really see her? Yes, of course. However, even those facts did not make reading about their overall dull romance any more compelling for me.
Also, I wouldn’t particularly describe this book as “laugh-out-loud” funny. Did it have its funny moments? Absolutely. However, I wouldn’t say that the laughter outweighed the serious topics addressed or the level of sheer frustration I felt for Elizabeth (and women as a whole) throughout the story.
While I have my complaints, I really enjoyed this remarkably creative and quirky story of female empowerment. It was deeply emotional and thought-provoking. It is a truly unique story, one that is in a league of its own and well worth the read. This is probably a book I will reread in the future.
“Imagine if all men took women seriously.”
Elizabeth Zott is a brilliant chemist working at the Hastings Research Institute. The only problem? No one takes her seriously—because it's the 1950s + 1960s and... she’s a woman. An unconventional woman at that. A woman who has no interest in the things a woman should. No interest in marriage. Or children. Or being a housewife. Instead, she is overtly dedicated to and passionate about her scientific craft, yet no one at Hastings takes her seriously. Until the famous Calvin Evans takes notice of her, and like a perfect chemical reaction, the two fall in love. But years later, she finds herself in an unpredictable situation: a single mother, raising her wildly precocious 4-year-old daughter, while being the famous host of a cooking show. Similarly to Elizabeth, Supper at Six is not your typical cooking show. Not only does she teach her audience how to cook delicious and nutritious meals, but she also inspires them to recognize their potential and challenge the status quo.
I was really going back and forth about this book’s rating. Ultimately, I’m giving it 4.5 stars. This story is SO beautifully written. It’s eloquent, creative, and compelling. The author expertly evoked all but every emotion on the spectrum in me—happiness, sorrow, amusement, anger, hatred, and grief. Out of them all, I definitely experienced seething rage most often, due to the seemingly unceasing sexism, bigotry, and ignorance some of the characters either exhibited or experienced. The author perfectly showcased the struggles that women experienced during this time period and showed us all how one inspirational, courageous, and tenacious woman overcame them.
Elizabeth was a truly unique character. Honestly, it took me a while to really warm up to her. Despite this, she was an intriguing character from the very beginning. She was shamelessly blunt, intimidatingly intelligent, courageously rebellious, and perpetually resilient. She was inspirational in how she vigorously challenged the status quo in everything that she did, even in the face of stubborn resistance.
There were also several memorable side characters that aided the plot. While a number of them were memorable because they were the absolute worst kind of people, there were several more that were memorable because of the support and love they showed Elizabeth throughout her struggles. Frankly, though, Six-Thirty is the best character in the entire book, hands down.
While I genuinely enjoyed this book, I do have a few reservations about it that had me question how I wanted to rate it. First, I found myself having difficulty getting invested in it at first. I had to really power through a lot of the first half of the book, which is not common for me. Maybe I was just having an off day. Additionally, I felt like there was far too much talk about rowing, especially because it never really felt that it was all that relevant to the plot. Lastly, and probably an unpopular opinion: for two chemists… Elizabeth and Calvin’s relationship ironically lacked chemistry. Were they perfectly made for each other because of their passions? Oh, undoubtedly. Did I love Calvin because he was the first person to take Elizabeth seriously and really see her? Yes, of course. However, even those facts did not make reading about their overall dull romance any more compelling for me.
Also, I wouldn’t particularly describe this book as “laugh-out-loud” funny. Did it have its funny moments? Absolutely. However, I wouldn’t say that the laughter outweighed the serious topics addressed or the level of sheer frustration I felt for Elizabeth (and women as a whole) throughout the story.
While I have my complaints, I really enjoyed this remarkably creative and quirky story of female empowerment. It was deeply emotional and thought-provoking. It is a truly unique story, one that is in a league of its own and well worth the read. This is probably a book I will reread in the future.
“Sometimes I think that if a man were to spend a day being a woman in America, he wouldn’t make it past noon.”