Lessons in Chemistry: The multi-million-copy bestseller

Product Information

I had misgivings going into this, because its premise is 'one fierce woman in the 1960s uses her cooking show to teach the housewives of America what they're worth,' and that's a big white feminist fantasy red flag to me. Turns out, I was right, but oh my God I didn't know the half of it. This book is insane in ways that I couldn't even remotely predict from the premise. The emphasis of her being ahead of her day; a strong woman; or a groundbreaking woman felt false-hearted. Anachronisms. Subsidized child care in Sweden wasn’t enacted until 1975, although the MC refers to it in 1960. And was defunding the police a thing in the early 1950s? I think not. With the help of her “wise beyond her years” child, her overachieving dog, and a community of wonderful supporting characters, Elizabeth Zott-may just “change the world” one “thirty minute lesson at a time”! Elizabeth Zott has a brilliant mind, so she believes but not a view shared by many men, except Calvin Evans. A man who has created his own rule book and because of his prized work is revered. Yet a man who shares Elizabeth’s passion for chemistry, igniting a romance and a discovery of soul mates that was not destined to last, when Calvin’s life was cut short prematurely.

You guys know how much I love strong female characters, and Elizabeth Zott is all that and more. She's fearless in the face of adversity, she stays true to herself, and she never lets others intimidate her into being less than all she can be. In other words, she is my hero.

Also in this Series

Her blunt and honest comments about marriage, religion, and society's norms will be considered rebellious and unconventional.

The sad turn of events leads Elizabeth to begin hosting a TV show where her cooking techniques use the unconventional notion and language of chemistry to educate her viewers. I'm a staunch feminist and I agreed and/or recognised most issues, still, I just found this novel annoying, heavy-handed, and way too on the nose. 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. Elizabeth and Calvin even get a dog and name him Six-thirty. Then fate intervenes and Elizabeth and Six-thirty are on their own until baby Mad is born. Elizabeth never wanted children and she certainly never wanted to be a single mother. Elizabeth never wanted to be famous for a cooking show that she gets wrangled into hosting, either, but when money is tight, something has to give and now Elizabeth is fighting with her cooking show bosses rather than her Hastings Research Institute bosses. Elizabeth is famous for all the wrong reasons (according to her bosses) while the women who are glued to her show five days a week are seeing all the opportunities they never knew they had, to be more than housewives and mothers.There's lots of self-conscious quirk, some of which fits the period more plausibly than others, and much of it is based on stereotypes played for laughs, rather than realism. Like Elizabeth, my 20-something is a scientist at heart, with a passion for cooking. They've extended their skills beyond anything I've taught them by structured research and experimentation around the chemical reactions involved. But even they wouldn't call salt “sodium chloride” (except perhaps as a one-off joke), let alone vinegar by... whatever the chemical name was Elizabeth used on her TV show.

I am not usually a fan of anthropomorphism but I loved the dog, Six-Thirty. By far he was my favorite character. And yay, he survives! 😍 A life-affirming tale of a chemist ahead of her time, a life-changing love affair, a dog with a huge vocabulary, and the combustible combination of chemistry, cooking, and afternoon television. Elizabeth Zott only ever wanted to be a scientist—but because she’s a woman in the 1960s, she has to go begging for beakers despite being the smartest researcher in the building. After Elizabeth is ostensibly fired for being unwed and pregnant (but really for being smarter than her boss and dating a rival scientist he loathes), she can’t make ends meet. Out of desperation she accepts a job hosting a tv show called Supper at 6. She loves to cook, because cooking, after all, is chemistry. The producers want her to smile and look pretty, but Elizabeth is much more interested in teaching housewives not just how to make dinner, but how to change their lives. Lively and life-affirming, with an unforgettable protagonist. Content warnings apply.Lessons in Chemistry is a breath of fresh air - a witty, propulsive, and refreshingly hopeful novel populated with singular characters. This book is an utter delight - wry, warm and compulsively readable." - Claire Lombardo the message is a worthy one. A woman ahead of her time in STEM who must fight the status quo in a male dominated world. But I think the message would have been stronger and more authentic if it had been realistic. There’s a lot of exaggeration and preposterous situations to drive a point home, which is not my favorite storytelling technique. I LOVED EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS BOOK!!! I would like to give it more than 5*. I highly recommend this novel to EVERYONE, especially if you are a woman and have ever been looked down upon simply because you are female!!!

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. 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.In front of a live audience, Elizabeth uses her platform to not only teach women about the chemistry of cooking, but about life being more important than cooking! It's about following your dream of having a family and a career just like men do!