Bonnie Garmus
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus is the story of the intrepid Elizabeth Zott.
The novel opens in 1961 with Elizabeth as the star of Supper at Six, a television cooking show for housewives. A single mother in dire need of an income to support her little girl, Elizabeth reluctantly agrees to host the show but determines to make it in her own image—that of a die-hard scientist. So while she instructs her audience on how to bake this or bake that, she familiarizes them with the chemical compounds of her ingredients and explains how they interact. She treats her audience as adults, coaching them and coaxing them to transcend socially-constructed, gender-specific limitations. Her producer is initially horrified; her audience is thrilled. They are inspired by her words and take copious notes as if attending a lecture.
The novel flashes back to the 1950’s where we see Elizabeth fighting to claim her position as a bona fide scientist in a male-dominated profession. Women are threatened by her; men can’t see her as anything other than a sexual being. She is sexually assaulted, harassed, ridiculed, humiliated, maligned, and suffers the indignity of having her research appropriated by her male supervisor. Fired from her job at the research institute, and having lost the love of her life in an unfortunate accident, Elizabeth reluctantly agrees to become a cooking show host to make ends meet.
The comedy stems from Elizabeth’s dogged refusal to be anything other than a scientist. She is fiercely determined to continue with her research at whatever the cost. She transforms her kitchen into a chemistry lab and is oblivious to the shocked expressions of visitors when they see it. She treats her little girl as a young adult, teaching her to read at a very early age and instilling in her a love for scientific inquiry, much to the chagrin of the girl’s kindergarten teacher. Convinced that her dog is capable of learning language, Elizabeth begins a systematic regimen of teaching him vocabulary words. In short, Elizabeth Zott is anything but conventional.
To enjoy the novel, one has to overlook the abundant cliches and lack of plausible situations. Elizabeth of the 1950s speaks as a feminist of the 21st century. She inspires her female audience to free themselves of restrictive, gender-based shackles. Apparently, that is all it takes for them to turn their lives around and share their success stories with her. So consumed by her work, she is completely unaware of how physically attractive she is. She takes up rowing and by figuring out the chemistry of rowing, she is able to excel in the sport in the space of a few days, out maneuvering hefty men who have been at it for years. She is out of touch with the world around her, is awkward with human interaction, and blithely marches on as if all life’s problems can be solved through chemistry. And she is an atheist because, apparently, faith in science is incompatible with faith in God.
Bonnie Garmus has written an entertaining, feel-good novel with a predictably happy ending. Its appeal lies in the deadpan humor; Elizabeth’s dogged determination to forge ahead; her laser-focus on science; the snappy dialogue; and the interiority of the characters; including, perhaps the most endearing character of all, a highly perceptive dog who has mastered several hundred words and whose running commentary on human behavior adds to the humor.