Lessons in Chemistry: A Novel

Not one of my favorites. I had to keep reminding myself of the time period. It is horrible how women were treated in the workplace. There were a few humorous and ironic parts, but overall, I had a difficult time getting into it. I was bothered by the attitude that you can not believe in science and God. The Pastor was too wishy washy on the subject. The author definitely had an agenda.,,,to promote atheism and slam anyone who believes otherwise.

I was completely bored and had to make myself finish. As a Christian and a long standing housewife I found this book incredibly one sided. I guess I’m very traditional but I don’t recommend this book to anyone who is.

After reading the reviews of “laugh out loud funny” and high ratings on numerous reading lists, our book club was really looking forward to this book. We rated it a 3 out of 5. The descriptions were well written, however we all felt that there were too many themes and ideas to determine the overall goal of this book or the motivation of the characters.

This book is difficult to read because so many terrible things happen to the main character for the first half of the book. I had to keep putting it down after every 20 pages. Once I got midway though I was able to finish the second half in a day. The biggest disappointment for me is the simplistic view of religion presented and the vendetta against it all the characters possessed. You can only oppose religion if you define it to yourself in a particular way and therefore your opposition is limited to that particular definition. Just as Buddhism is not guilty of the accusations in this book, there are sects of Christianity that aren't either. I got the impression that the author hadn't explored theology which is fine except that if one of your characters is a priest you need to research the things your character would know, understand, and believe to make that character more than a straw man.

“Courage is the root of change—and change is what we’re chemically designed to do.” Set in the 1960s, this book tells the story of Elizabeth Zott, a brilliant chemist who is fired from her job at the Hastings Research Institute for daring to fall pregnant out of wedlock. Faced with few options, Elizabeth agreed to host a cooking show but puts her own unique spin on it, merging cooking and chemistry while simultaneously inspiring women to embrace their intelligence and challenge the 1960s status quo. This book is filled with wonderful characters, but Elizabeth Zott is quite possibly the most perfectly crafted character I have ever had the pleasure of reading. She is, of course, brilliant, but is also strong, courageous and resourceful. She is determined to carve a place for women in science and in the world at a time when women were expected to fade into the background. To say that I loved this book is an understatement. It is funny, heartwarming, quirky and empowering all at once and it is one of those rare books that stay with you long after the book is finished. This is exceptional piece of writing and reads as though it was written by a seasoned author. I was astounded to discover that this is Bonnie Garmus’ debut novel! What an immense talent she is and I cannot wait to see what she writes next. 💪 “Children, set the table. Your mother needs a moment to herself.”