Lliçons de química

Paperback, 464 pages

Published Feb. 16, 2023 by SALAMANDRA.

ISBN:: 978-84-18681-42-4

(56 reviews)

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 …

14 editions

_astronoMay reviewed Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

Review of 'Lessons in Chemistry' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

I'm struggling with how I feel about this one. On one hand, I related with so many of Elizabeth's experiences as a woman in STEM and thoroughly enjoyed six-thirty's character, in fact the dog was my favorite part of this book.

However so much of this seemed out of time, like the book either wasn't sure what era it was in or the author was combining multiple eras. At times it also felt like Elizabeth might be neurodivergent, others it felt like she was just an awkward scientist, so overall I wasn't entirely sure what her story was or how to interpret her actions. Elizabeth is also a terrible science communicator. The book shows women eating up Elizabeth's every science-heavy word, but in reality she wasn't actually making science accessible to these people with how she acted and how she spoke about it to them. That whole part of the plot came across to me like an attempt to be inspirational with how Elizabeth inspired so many women, but as a scientist myself who's passionate about science communication it read like the author just wanted a shiny story about a quirky woman scientist in the 60s without putting too much depth into the character. It would have been much stronger if Elizabeth had shown that women can be scientists and are regular everyday people too, instead of leaning so hard into the "she's a scientist so can only speak like a scientist" thing.