Lessons in Chemistry: A Novel
#1 GLOBAL BESTSELLER WITH MORE THAN 8 MILLION COPIES SOLD • 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. • STREAM ON APPLE TV+
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.
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.
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Community Reviews
Phenomenal story...the prose, the wittiness, the characters, the cleverness of the plot...what a triumph! I fully understand now why this book was such a hit and a crowd pleaser - I think Elizabeth Zott is one of the most endearing and impressionable female protagonists I have ever come across - and her precocious daughter Mad (*curious like Anne and whip-smart like Matilda) found a very special place in my heart along with their dog, six-thirty ...
I think this story is also a reminder that nothing worthwhile in life is easy and the endurance gained from struggle can come with some surprising benefits (unlikely friends and well-earned recognition)
I also love this quote: "Chemistry is change... whenever you start doubting yourself, whenever you feel afraid, just remember: courage is the root of change - and change is what we are chemically designed to do - so when you wake up tomorrow, make this pledge; no more holding yourself back, no more subscribing to peoples' opinions of what you can and cannot achieve...do not allow your talents to lie dormant ladies - design your own future - when you go home today ask yourselves what you will change and then get started" (pg. 360)
Wish I could give it a .5 a point add because I liked it more than a 7 but not as much as an 8 hahaha. Cute book started off slow but picked up towards the end. Glad the character whom always got the short end of the stick won in the end. Would recommend.
So I wish I could give a .5 point because I liked it more than a 7 but not as much as a 8. Haha it was a sweet book that at first started off slow but eventually got good and picked up! I really enjoyed the ending and was very glad the character whom had always seemed to get the short end of a stick FINALLY won! Cute book would recommend again.
I have had a love/hate relationship with this book, and I’m not really sure why, because love won out. I think part of it is that I feel so angry at the horrible way the women in this book are treated, because it’s true in life, too. And I was reading another non-fiction book about women in chemistry and the parallels were uncanny. But this is a hopeful book and the heroine is a strong, courageous woman scientist. We have come so far, but we have farther to go.
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What’s it about?
Elizabeth Zott is a chemist- but unfortunately in 1952 this is no easy role for a woman. While we follow Elizabeth from graduate school, to work, to motherhood we begin to see what a hard road it was for women back in the 1950’s and 1960’s.
What did it make me think about?
I see why this seems to be the “IT” book of the summer.
Should I read it?
I love a novel with a sense of humor and this book never takes itself too seriously. Even though it touches on very serious subject matter. Elizabeth Zott is quite a literary character. I so enjoyed seeing the world from her perspective. What an easy way to introduce a whole new generation to women’s roles in the 1950’s and 1960’s. It is hard now to believe that women ever had to live and work in this environment. I would guess this will be the book club pick for 2022-2023. It is a fun, easy book, that allows for some good discussions.
Quote-
“She’d recently read about some country where both parents worked and took part in raising the children. Where was that, again? Sweden? She couldn’t remember. But the upshot was, it functioned very well. Productivity was higher; families were stronger. She saw herself living in such a society. A place that didn’t always automatically mistake her for a secretary, a place where, when she presented her findings in a meeting, she didn’t have to brace herself for the men who would invariably talk over her, or worse, take credit for her work. Elizabeth shook her head. When came to equality, 1952 was a real disappointment.”
What’s it about?
Elizabeth Zott is a chemist- but unfortunately in 1952 this is no easy role for a woman. While we follow Elizabeth from graduate school, to work, to motherhood we begin to see what a hard road it was for women back in the 1950’s and 1960’s.
What did it make me think about?
I see why this seems to be the “IT” book of the summer.
Should I read it?
I love a novel with a sense of humor and this book never takes itself too seriously. Even though it touches on very serious subject matter. Elizabeth Zott is quite a literary character. I so enjoyed seeing the world from her perspective. What an easy way to introduce a whole new generation to women’s roles in the 1950’s and 1960’s. It is hard now to believe that women ever had to live and work in this environment. I would guess this will be the book club pick for 2022-2023. It is a fun, easy book, that allows for some good discussions.
Quote-
“She’d recently read about some country where both parents worked and took part in raising the children. Where was that, again? Sweden? She couldn’t remember. But the upshot was, it functioned very well. Productivity was higher; families were stronger. She saw herself living in such a society. A place that didn’t always automatically mistake her for a secretary, a place where, when she presented her findings in a meeting, she didn’t have to brace herself for the men who would invariably talk over her, or worse, take credit for her work. Elizabeth shook her head. When came to equality, 1952 was a real disappointment.”
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