Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

Lessons in Chemistry, a novel  by Bonnie Garmus, ticked my boxes: Cooking; Chemistry; Romance.

If that’s an odd list, so be it. It works for me and also for Elizabeth Zott, the protagonist of Garmus’s debut novel. Elizabeth Zott is the only female chemist at the Hastings Research Institute in the early 1960s. She doesn’t suffer fools gladly, and it’s not immediately obvious to her that Calvin Evans, a scientist as brilliant as she is herself, has fallen for her. But he has, and before long, their personal chemistry ignites. 

Their romance is cut short by tragedy though, and Elizabeth later finds herself a single mom, with a child (Mad) and a dog (Six Thirty) to support. When she returns to the laboratory, she finds she has been demoted to lab tech and will not be paid as a chemist. She quits, unsure what to do next. A chance encounter with a local television producer with an afternoon slot to fill results in an offer to host a cooking show. Despite her misgivings, she agrees to give it a try. After all, what is cooking but a type of applied chemistry?

Elizabeth Zott’s unique takes on cooking, chemistry, and women’s roles in society make the show a hit. There’s plenty of humor in the novel, plus a family mystery to solve. Readers will delight in the perspectives of Mad and Six Thirty, whose interior monologues make him one of the best animal characters I’ve encountered. 

Sometimes I’ve tried to read novels only to be turned off by characters whose quirkiness becomes grating. Not in this case. Garmus is a gifted writer who pulls off an unconventional character and plot with ease. Lessons in Chemistry has remained on the bestseller list since its publication in April of 2022, and for good reason. The book is available for checkout at Moon Lake Library.