Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

 

First Line: Back in 1961, when women wore shirtwaist dresses and joined garden clubs and drove legions of children around in seatbeltless cars without giving it a second thought; back before anyone knew there'd even be a sixties movement, much less one that its participants would spend the next sixty years chronicling; back when the big wars were over and the secret wars had just begun and people were starting to think fresh and believe everything was possible, the thirty-year-old mother of Madeline Zott rose before dawn every morning and felt certain of just one thing: her life was over.

 

It's the early 1960s, and chemist Elizabeth Zott is not your typical woman. Only one man at the Hastings Research Institute realizes that she is a treasure: Calvin Evans, the Nobel Prize-nominated scientist who falls in love with her mind.

 

A few years later, Elizabeth Zott finds herself a single mother and-- wonder of wonders-- the very reluctant star of America's most beloved cooking show, Supper at Six. Her unusual approach to cooking is revolutionary, but as her following grows, not everyone is happy. Elizabeth Zott isn't just teaching women to cook. She's daring them to change the status quo. 

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I kept hearing about Bonnie Garmus's Lessons in Chemistry, but it took me a while before I finally got around to finding out what all the talk was about. I decided to listen to the audiobook, and I found Miranda Raison's narration perfect. She brought Elizabeth Zott to life.

Elizabeth Zott will strike a chord with most women. Like it or not, most women have dealt with the same problems she has. What makes this story truly wonderful is that no matter the experiences she must endure, Garmus tells her story with a light touch. She never mines the depths, and the reader is never far away from a smile. 

Readers may learn a bit about chemistry, research labs, and television in the early 1960s, but that's merely a byproduct. What I loved about Lessons in Chemistry was the cast of characters surrounding Elizabeth Zott. Calvin, the man who loved who she truly was. Her daughter, Mads. Her neighbor and friend, Harriet, and Walter, her boss at the television station. Oops! I almost forgot her dog, Six Thirty, which is based on the author's dog. The story would not be complete without Six Thirty.

Speaking of the author, there's an author interview at the end of the audiobook which everyone should read after they've read the book. (It contains spoilers.) I think it brought me just as big a smile as Elizabeth and her friends and family did. 

If you're in the mood for a feel-good story, here it is. I loved every bit of it.

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

Narrated by Miranda Raison.

ASIN: B09BBK79VB

Random House Audio © 2022

Audiobook. 11 hours, 55 minutes.

 

Fiction, Standalone

Rating: A+

Source: Purchased from Audible.