I’m writing today about a novel I’m sure many of you have read or heard about, Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus. Maybe you haven’t read the book yet but are watching the Apple TV series based on the novel. I just finished reading Lessons in Chemistry and am starting the show with my husband. The novel and show are completely different, although both are enjoyable.

I expected Lessons in Chemistry to be more humorous than it actually was. The first half of the novel is fairly depressing, and I honestly didn’t want to finish reading. The main female character has been compared to Mrs. Maisel from the Amazon Prime series, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, and Bernadette from the novel, Where’d You Go, Bernadette? by Maria Semple in written reviews. The character is quirky, and there are witty lines, however, there is a heaviness to the novel that prevents the story from being primarily comedic.

I kept reading and was pleasantly surprised by the ending. I think you will be too, if you decide to give the novel a chance. Elizabeth Zott, the main female character, is a struggling lab tech in the 1950’s and 1960’s. She isn’t taken seriously by her male coworkers due to her gender and lack of holding a PhD. She experiences trauma from males in her personal and professional life which plays a role in her lack of desire to not wed and/or raise children. She’s able to connect with women of all backgrounds when asked to host the tv show, Supper at Six, which causes her rise to national stardom. She views her cooking as seriously as the science research she’s involved in for work. Her world is also changed by meeting fellow chemist, Calvin Evans, during her early work career at Hastings Research Institute.

Garmus addresses the challenges of being a woman in a way that doesn’t bring a sense of isolation to the female reader, which I believe was essential to the novel’s success. Many times, the different lives of women are accentuated in novels rather than being written in a way to bring the worlds together by commonalities.

The novel is essentially female focused, and a majority of the male characters are not written in a pleasant light. This might be off putting as a reader; however, I believe Garmus is highlighting the struggles of being a woman in the mid 20th century that is struggling to establish a career. I don’t think the sexual harassment and bullying that Zott experience is too far-fetched for the time period. Garmus highlighting the harassment women received brings additional focus to the male characters that shape Garmus’s success as a woman in her field. It’s a comment on how far we’ve come as a society today, and why societal changes and laws were needed to protect women’s rights in the workforce. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act that prohibits sex discrimination was not established until 1964. Zott begins her career in the early 1950’s. (U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, https://www.eeoc.gov/youth/timeline-important-eeoc-events)

Garmus not only addresses single motherhood, but single fatherhood and the stigma surrounding a man raising a child at the time. This is highlighted in a section of the book where Elizabeth’s daughter is being bullied into giving her lunch to Walter Pine’s daughter at school due to the fact that Zott makes more appetizing meals. Walter hires Elizabeth to work at the television studio where he is a producer based upon her ability to cook nutritious meals. Walter eventually confides to Elizabeth that his daughter’s teacher is suspicious of him raising a girl alone and the notion that she and others might view him as a pedophile (p. 211). This would be considered a harsh assumption in today’s society, however, in the 1950’s only 9% of children were raised by single parents so stigmas were more commonplace. (This is How Parenting Has Changed Since the 1950s, BestLife, https://bestlifeonline.com/how-parenting-has-changed/)

On a personal note, the novel made me appreciate advances made in the workforce for women. I’ve worked outside the home since my only child’s birth 11 years ago. The difference between my experience and a majority of women’s experiences 70 years ago is eye opening and worth reflecting upon. Women are given more educational and career opportunities than before, which brings additional security to women if they find themselves in a situation that requires returning to work outside the home.

About the Author: Bonnie Garmus lives in London with her husband and dog, 99. She’s a copywriter and creative director with experience in medicine, technology and education. Lessons in Chemistry is Garmus’s debut novel and was recognized by Goodreads, Amazon, New York Times, Good Housekeeping and NPR as one of the best books of the year. Garmus won British Book Awards Author of the Year, 2022. For more information about the author, visit her website at https://www.bonniegarmus.com/

Additional Readings and Author Interviews:

How Does the Lessons in Chemistry Series Compare to the Book? by Emma Fraser, writer for Elle magazine. https://www.elle.com/culture/movies-tv/a45527090/lessons-in-chemistry-book-show-differences/

What I’m Reading: Lessons in Chemistry, Bonnie Garmus by Stacy A. Nyikos, writer for Notre Dame Magazine. https://magazine.nd.edu/stories/what-im-reading-lessons-in-chemistry-bonnie-garmus/

‘Lessons in Chemistry’ Series-Final Recap: Chain Reaction by Maggie Fremont, writer for Vulture magazine. https://www.vulture.com/article/lessons-in-chemistry-finale-recap-season-1-episode-8.html

‘Lessons in Chemistry’ Author Talks Changes from Book to Series: ‘I’m Not Going to Compare’ (Exclusive) by Jen Juneau, writer for People magazine. https://people.com/lessons-in-chemistry-author-bonnie-garmus-talks-book-to-series-changes-exclusive-8349838

Bonnie Garmus interview: ‘I had to teach myself chemistry from a 1950s textbook’ by Sarah McKenna, editor for Penguin.co.uk https://www.penguin.co.uk/articles/2022/03/bonnie-garmus-interview-lessons-in-chemistry

Interview with Bonnie Garmus: Lessons in Chemistry, hosted by Cindy Burnett, Thoughts from a Page podcast. https://www.thoughtsfromapage.com/interview-with-bonnie-garmus-lessons-in-chemistry/