Such a gorgeous book, I loved the story so much. Chemist Elizabeth Zott is not your average woman.
It's the early 1960s and her all-male team at Hastings Research Institute take 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.

My favourite element was the story itself. A real love story told through non-conventional characters who don’t conform to society’s views of what, or who, they should be. Plus, the dialogue was really pacy and funny.

I’m a huge fan of novels set in the 1960s, that’s my favourite by era to read about, but I felt like the story had been shoe horned into the decade because there needed to be constraints on women in the workplace. I didn’t really buy into the feel of the 60s at all. I think that’s to do with a lot of the opinions and the language used seemed modern.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House UK, Transworld Publishersfor the eARC of Lessons in Chemistry, I really enjoyed it.

A fierce woman fighting the patriarchy in science in the 60s? Sign me up!!
I absolutely loved this book. It's funny, it's timely... Has an amazing set of characters and even a plot twist.

This is the story of Elizabeth Zott, who's always wanted to be a scientist (sorry: IS A scientist) in a man-dominated discipline (like most of them, I guess). The narrator's voice is really sarcastic at times and I loved that for this book.
As a disclaimer: if you're here for the chemistry cooking show -- that doesn't really kickstart until 50% of the book, but to me all of it was worth it.

I am really looking forward to reading more from Bonnie Garmus.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free eARC of this book in exchange for an honest opinion.

A book that’s funny, tender and sad whilst still carrying a serious message about the role of women in society.

Set in the 1960’s, this bittersweet story will make you fall in love with the main characters: Elizabeth, Calvin, Harriet, Walter, Mad and 6:30. Their different perspectives are shared without any confusion and with charm and their own unique voices.

Battling to be taken seriously as a scientist in a world where women are still viewed in pretty much the same category as kettles and toasters, Elizabeth is a spunky heroine who ends up forging her own path with some unexpected deviations along the way.

If you don’t look at science, cooking and rowing differently after reading this book, you haven’t been concentrating!

With thanks to NetGalley, Random House UK, Transworld Publishers and the author for an arc of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

What a brilliant, quirky, powerful debut novel! Elizabeth Zott should be a hero for all women and all scientists too! I was totally swept along by the story and the unique, strong characters within (especially Six Thirty the dog). I am at a bit of a loss how to explain the full impact of this book!
The story, based in the 1960’s, leads the reader into a great understanding of gender stereotyping and how this can be turned around. The messages within are as pertinent now as ever they were.
The plot is cleverly developed and moved quickly. I found myself with some real ‘yes!’ moments as well as some powerful emotional scenarios too.
Life’s frailty and unpredictability is covered beautifully.
I was sad to reach the end and to say goodbye to the plethora of real characters. Totally recommend!
Thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK for the advance copy, for my honest and unbiased review.

Life is too short to read bad books and books that are badly blurbed. It's time, once again, for an unpopular opinion.

'Lessons in Chemistry', according to its blurb is about:

'Set in 1960s California; Lessons In Chemistry is the brilliant, idiosyncratic and uplifting story of a female scientist whose career is derailed by the idea that a woman's place is in the home - something she most definitely does not believe - only to find herself the star of America's best-loved TV cooking show."

Except it's not about that. Maybe 20% of the book is about that. And I felt so angry when I got to the halfway point of the novel AND NOTHING HAD HAPPENED. Literally. Nothing.

This novel is basically entirely set-up, tangents and occasionally some actual plot. Whilst the set-up is necessary, it goes on for WAY too long, dissolves into multiple tangents that don't particularly add to the story itself and doesn't actually start getting to the point until halfway through, by which you've forced yourself to read about sexism in the workplace and Catholic all-boys schools that mess up people. Which is fine! But that's not what this book said it was going to be.

I found the writing really difficult to get absorbed in. Everything is over-explained - information is spoon-fed to us, rather than allowing action to dictate how we understand these characters. And they are interesting characters - Mad and Harriet are particular favourites. But they're never given much chance to grow or develop because Garmus is so focused on telling us every minute detail of their backgrounds and what they did last Thursday. I got bored so quickly because everything was moving at a snail's pace. And when things DID happen - they were great! So what happened to make the rest of the novel so...desperately boring?

'Lessons in Chemistry' has good intentions - and I really wanted to love it - but it's hindered significantly by over-writing, too much exposition that drags on for too long and not enough time spent on the exciting, core crux of the story - the TV show and Elizabeth's role in it. I couldn't even force myself to get to the end. It felt like physical effort to turn the pages.

🧪 what was the last book you read where you loved the main character?
I loved Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus and I think you will be seeing more of this book over the coming weeks. Just call me Mystic Meg 😆

I had high expectations for this book and it didn’t disappoint 🙌 Elizabeth Zott is one of the most interesting and determined characters I have met in months. A true icon!😎

The book is set in the early 1960s and follows Elizabeth, a Chemist at Hastings Research Institute where her all-male team do not see her as an equal. Except for Calvin Evans. The first man to take her seriously. So sparks fly! However, things don’t go to plan and years later, 
Elizabeth 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 proves a hit! But as her following grows, not everyone is happy. Elizabeth isn't just teaching women to cook. She's daring them to change the status quo. Cue problems 🙄

Honestly, this book made me laugh, sob and punch the air with absolute joy! The writing was very vibrant and immersive as I felt I was in Elizabeth’s world. It tackles some serious issues yet balances this with humour. The book has an unforgettable main character who embodies female empowerment (CHEMISTRY IS CHANGE PEOPLE), a gorgeous dog called Six Thirty (what a name 🤣) and many a lesson to learn about life, love and family. What more could you want?! 😂 Honestly, such an utter joy from start to finish. I was gutted when I turned the last page 😭

Highly recommend this absolute gem. I dare you not to love this debut book 🥰 It’s been picked as part of the new series of #BetweentheCovers on BBC Two. Hurrah!

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus had me engrossed from the start. The main character and heroine, Elizabeth Zott, is a chemist who believes that understanding chemistry is the key to understanding everything. The story follows her life as a chemist, mother and tv cook, exploring feminism, gender equality and cultural stereotypes of the 1960s. There is a strong thread of being true to yourself which runs throughout, and I found it a thought-provoking read which explored themes relevant in today's world. Garmus' characters are all well portrayed - I particularly loved the character of Zott's dog, Six-Thirty! Definitely a book I'll be reccomending to others.
With thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Set in 60s America, our protagonist is a scientist who is constantly thwarted by the male scientific community and ends up hosting a cookery show on TV. She deals with sexual assault, bereavement and hostile work environments, to name but a few of her tribulations, with a strength and grace that are awe inspiring.
This is a lively and entertaining read, it is hopeful and positive with a wonderful sense of humour. A perfect balance of triumph and tragedy that makes for a riveting read.
I particularly liked that there were a number of male characters who were innately good and that we are given insights into the minds of some of the more hateful characters. More so that there is a chance at redemption for most, and that there is a sense of justice throughout. Although Mrs Mudford needed some kind of karma, she was absolutely vile. And I just have to say that I absolutely adored Six-Thirty!!

Lessons in Chemistry is Bonnie Garmus’ stellar debut. This book is an absolute force to behold; it is so very good and an easy 5 star.

Lessons in Chemistry takes place in the early 1960s and follows the life of Elizabeth Zott. Zott is not your average woman, and she would be first to point out that no such thing exists. The problem, however, is that the people around Zott don’t take her seriously as a chemist, after all she is female and it’s the ‘60s. That is except for Dr Evans, a famous scientist in his own right. Zott and Evans fall in love, but as with science life is unpredictable. A few years later Zott finds herself not in a lab but behind the screen of America’s most beloved cooking show Supper at Six. She is also the single mother to the incredible Mad Zott. But what happens when Elizabeth tries to teach her audience more than just to cook, and instead has them questioning the status quo?

I absolutely loved Lessons in Chemistry from start to finish. Garmus has written an absolutely exceptional story with characters that you simply will not forgot. Elizabeth Zott really is a fascinating protagonist. She is incredibly smart, driven and uncompromising, the problem, however, is that she is a woman in the ‘60s. The way that Garmus presents Elizabeth’s view of the patriarchal society that finds herself in is simply brilliant, whereby she is constantly pushing back on and questioning the false limits placed upon women by men. Despite her strength and conviction Zott faces so many set backs and hurdles, some of which are horrific. Yet still she tries to keep going.

Beyond Zott herself, I particularly loved her daughter Mad, friend Harriet and her amazing dog Six-Thirty. The relationship between these four was wonderful to read about and I loved how much they helped and supported each other. Six-Thirty was a brilliant character in his own right and I really enjoyed reading his thoughts and perspectives. I don’t think I’ve liked (or empathised with) a dog in a novel more than him.

Though many of the men in this book are deplorable (as are some of the women - heres looking at you Mrs Mudford) there are some stand out good men. There is Calvin of course, but also Walter Pine, Dr Mason and Reverend Waverley. I really appreciated that Garmus choose to include male characters who, in their own ways, sought to challenge or at-least acknowledge the issues with the societal norms.

This is a book that will make you feel many things. It will make you smile and laugh, but it will also likely make you cry. It will probably also make you very angry. Angry at the injustices Zott, and women more generally, faced, and in some cases still do now. That Garmus can elicit so many emotions in her reader is certainly very impressive.

I thoroughly recommend Lessons in Chemistry.

I was lucky enough to receive a copy of Lessons in Chemistry via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I cannot remember when I last enjoyed a book as much as Lessons in Chemistry; I LOVED it! Elizabeth Zott is just my kind of heroine and I absolutely adored her. The book made me laugh and cry in equal measure and there was a little bit of anger in there too at the way she had been so unfairly treated just for being a woman. The book was beautifully written and I found the well rounded characters believable. I can totally see this book becoming a book club favourite - thoroughly recommended read. I would give it 6 stars if I could!

It's hard to explain why I loved this book so much. It was wonderfully witty and funny with a strong female main character who refuses to bow down to what society expects of her. Set in the 50's and 60's, Elizabeth Zott is looked down upon because she's a female scientist; a professional field dominated by men. It's a time when women were expected to be housewives, putting their husbands dinner on the table when he gets home. Elizabeth does spend a lot of time in the kitchen, but its to perform Scientific experiments in her makeshift laboratory,

I absolutely adored Elizabeth, she's determined to live her life how she wants to and refuses to let anybody tell her what she can and can't do. I definitely found myself looking up to her and wishing I could be more like her. She's steadfast and intimidating, especially to men who aren't used to a woman standing up to them. Through her cooking show she also becomes an inspiration to bored housewives stuck at home and unappreciated.

Whilst this book was absolutely hilarious and had me in stitches it also had some very sobering parts too, from Elizabeth's childhood and more recent past. I was honestly in awe of her at times after what she'd been through, to still be her witty and quirky self was a tantamount to the strong women she is.

I'm so glad I requested this book when it came through in an email from NetGalley,; I wasn't planning on requesting anymore until I'd got through some of my backlog but something told me to request this one and I'm lucky I did because it was sensational. As much as I'm in awe of Elizabeth Zott, I'm also in awe of Bonnie Garmus; what an amazing debut.

I absolutely adored “Lessons in Chemistry”. It was such a down-to-earht and honest novel, that will definitely stay on my mind for a while.

While initiailly I wasn’t sure about the love story between Calvin and Elizabeth, I quickly got used to the style of writing – which was very down-to-earth – and I grew to enjoy the particularities of the characters in “Lessons in Chemistry”, especially Elizabeth. She’s such a strong character, not afraid to speak up and put her foot down no matter the circumstances, and I wish more women were like her in many ways.

Although set in the 1960s, I think that many lessons from “Lessons in Chemistry” are ever important (and applicable) now. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone.

It's the early 1960's in the US, and Elizabeth Zott is insisting that she doesn't believe in the institution of marriage - even to her soulmate, fellow scientist Calvin Evans. Elizabeth is an iconic new heroine, an intelligent, independent feminist and a thoroughly admirable and progressive parent. This is the whipsmart, funny, poignant, page-turning story you've been waiting for; Elizabeth Zott and 'Lessons in Chemistry' are absolutely electric.

If you’re a Mrs Maisel fan, you’ll hopefully appreciate this. Picture the 1960s and a chemist Elizabeth Zott – who can’t really be a chemist because she’s a woman. Moreover, Elizabeth is not your typical office worker; in the research institute in which she works, she won’t do the typical ‘female’ duties like make coffee or copies. She also won’t get a bit handy (if you know what I mean) with the male staff. But just as no one likes her for her aloofness, so too is Calvin Evans on the outs. A need for equipment necessitates Elizabeth stepping into Calvin’s life and while it’s not exactly rainbows and sunsets, it’s not a bad pairing. But it’s when she ends up in the spotlight, in front of an audience, something that she’s not exactly sure she wants, that Elizabeth really begins to blossom. There’s so much to say about this wonderful book that I can’t spoil it for a new reader. One of my favourite characters for 2022.

***** 5 Stars!!!

Where to start!! What an amazing book….

It’s 1952, women marry, have children and stay at home, men are the decision makers and 100% in charge… it’s a man’s world…. Elizabeth Zott is trying to forge her way ahead as best she can as the only female chemist at Hastings Research Institute, she is not welcome there (unless she’s a secretary) & she is certainly not respected. People don’t understand her, they don’t like her. (She is most definitely on the spectrum but that wouldn’t have been known back then)

Elizabeth is a force and we follow her through the 50s & 60s as she causes an absolute storm challenging the norm and unapologetically Elizabeth.

Throw in Calvin Evans an award winning chemist who is equally as misunderstood (colleagues are threatened by his intellect)

Elizabeth and Calvin are such unique individuals and it just works… then there’s Mad, child prodigy, Harriet and Walter - I loved them all!!

Witty, a love story, an education, a bit of heart ache (I shed tears) it encompasses everything that you want in a book

Highly recommended - If you read any book released so far in 2022, this is it!!

Thank you to netgalley & the publisher for access to the digital arc in return for an honest review.

Elizabeth Zott is a woman out of time. She is a career scientist, atheist and feminist BUT she is living in 1950s America, where none of these things are acceptable to the male dominant, chauvinistic society..
The story very much reflects the current times, sadly, where straight white men are still clinging on to power but are feeling threatened by the rise in social justice, equality and gender rights. The backlash to beat women and LGBTQ people back down through changes in law, such as anti-abortion and bans on gay literature etc, are hopefully desperate last gasps.
The delight in this book is to see her “kicking against the pricks” and winning in her own unique way and we can all learn from the lessons in chemistry that pervade this heartening, positive story: all states change.
The characters are engaging and empathetic; you could say that Elizabeth is prickly and distrustful of others, but given her treatment by people in positions of trust and enablement (both men and women), it is natural for her to be so. That she is determined and reveals a vulnerability as well makes her a character that steps off the page.
A joy to read and a call to recommit to social justice.

It is such a gorgeous feeling when you know within moments of reading the first few lines of a new novel that you are in safe hands and that it will be a 5 star read - you relax immediately and just enjoy it. This is how I felt reading Lessons in Chemistry. The story centres around Elizabeth Zott, a student of chemistry, who is thwarted at every turn in her attempt to become the best in her field. Along the way she meets and falls in love with her male equal, Calvin Evans. What follows is a tale of following your passions, inequality, overcoming obstacles, the importance of friendship and trying your best in life but ultimately being true to yourself. It is clever, witty, charming, heart wrenching and inspiring. I absolutely loved it. If you enjoy the work of Maria Semple and Katherine Heiny, then you will absolutely adore this. I will be forcing this on everyone I know!

Elizabeth Zott is my kind of person. And this is some very fine storytelling.

To be back in the world, without EZ and her matter-of-factness – her gumption – Real Humanness – her solid system of belief – and yes, her chemistry monomania – to be back in the world, without all of this, is honestly terrible. Absolutely terrible.

Let me walk you through this. Though it is one emotionally-charged story, and only reading it can make things right in this fairly horrible world we live in. Also, there is very little I can say without spoiling any of the twists-and-turns for you, and I would not even dream of it. In case you are wondering, however, you really do not want to miss out on EZ's lessons in chemistry.

Right. Coming of age in the 50s meant a lot of things. Most of them, admittedly, terribly-wrong-things. Society, still heavily patriarchal, hardly acknowledged the woman at all. Scratch that: it did not, or it did so only insofar as the woman's sole aspiration had to be that of marrying well and housewiv-ing. There was still the prevailing tendency of the male being under the absurd impression – I am trying not to hyperventilate here – that the woman was always-and-forever at his behest, to be sexually used at will. Disgusting. Or merely to be exploited for her brains, and never acknowledged. Paid much less than her male counterparts too, of course. Again: disgusting. (And one does wonder to what extent things have indeed changed for the ever-elusive better.)

The 50s/60s also meant corrupt religious institutions that feign charitable feelings for orphaned children. (Disgusting, this, to the power of powerlessness.) Calvin Evans, a brilliant precocious mind, ends up in one of these abhorrent institutions. And yet his story and its unfolding reserves startling levels of heartache and pain that reveal how much history truly gets wrong.

From her end, EZ suffers – with equanimity – the crude failures of society. She was born to be a force of nature. A scientist with an extraordinary mind. This serious-minded woman, constantly shrugged off by a world that envies her too-muchness and cannot begin to understand her. Too reasonable for her own good. And if there is one thing to be said about the workings of the world is that they are more often than not – no exaggeration here – based on reasonless assumptions. The world operates on fixed precepts that merely serve to perpetuate stifling determinations that depotentialise human beings. As opposed to, EZ stresses, chemistry: chemistry is change. And it is in all things. The potential to be and become, instilled in every moment of existence.

What is so impressive about this story is that there is nothing sentimental about it. The vision is crisp and powerfully channelled into plain words that carry feeling with a sense of knowingness. All of it – Elizabeth's early studying days, her years at the Hastings Research Institute, and her love encounter with Calvin Evans – is told soberly. What could have been a predictable, even unpleasant, regular love story, turned out to be, rather, a powerful, poignant look at the delicate brokenness of human beings. At the unlikely possibility of a connection that runs deeper than deep, but is made possible only through the risk - the choice to put oneself on the line. And insist on being real.

This novel veers away from the simplistic. It does not claim that religion is unequivocally false and corrupt. It does certainly expose the unbelievable inconsistencies that underlie religious belief, but it allows freedom of belief. Believing or not believing in God is just fine. Incidentally, the positive representative of religion, Reverend Wakely, admits that he does not believe in God.

The novel is also not blindly feminist. Its wish is to drive a point home: there is no end to what the human, women included, are able to do, by their very status of being human. If only the world would allow for sufficient gaps in the system. That need to be, perhaps, actually created by the individual. Against all odds.

It definitely offers loads of pondering-pockets. And that much more emotion. (Even, can you believe it?, through Six-Thirty, the dog!) The questions slipped into the narrative – about loss, love, and being true to whatever it is one needs to be doing in life – are strikingly relevant to all of us.

Bonnie Garmus is off to a brilliant start. I want to give this book 4.5 stars because I sense, deeply, what it was wanting to do – and it delivers.


Thanks go to Net Galley and publisher for giving me the opportunity to read and review this novel. All thoughts expressed here are my own.

I had been seeing rave reviews for this one so I was a little hesitant at going in but wow, just wow!

This book gave me all the feels, happy and sad and everything in-between and Elizabeth Zott will be with me for a long time and I am genuinely sad that I have finished.

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What an amazing book! I really wish that I could give this book more than five stars, it really is that good! This will definitely be one of my top reads of 2022!
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.
But it’s the early 1960s and her all-male team at Hastings Research Institute take a very unscientific view of quality. 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.
I loved the whole premise of the book, and I did warm to Elizabeth and her quirks, after initially finding her slightly annoying! My favourite character though, had to be Six-Thirty and his intuitions.
I honestly don’t know what to say about this book to give it the full justice that it deserves, so I urge you to read it for yourself and see why I’m struggling to put it into words. It publishes on the 5th April 2022, but pre-order it now, ready to devour and be swept away to America in the 1960s and be ready to join in with Supper at Six.
Thank you to @netgalley, @doubleday books and @bonniegarmus for a gifted copy of this amazing book.