Review: Lessons in Chemistry

I know some people found this book annoying, but I just loved it. And I know a woman like Elizabeth Zott would not have been listened to in the 1960s, and certainly would not have been allowed free rein on television to voice her outrageous suggestion that women could do, and be, whatever they wanted, if they were given the same opportunities as men.

There is something very rewarding about seeing Elizabeth’s outspokenness being embraced by the housewives of America and starting a revolution. However, let’s not be too Pollyanna-esque - we know that this sort of outspokenness would have been shut down immediately. Let’s not forget that it’s only a few years after McCarthy made life so difficult for anyone who voiced dissension in America.

So this book is really a fantasy - but a rather delicious one! It’s also a love story between two misfits who find each other, but then lose each other too soon. So it’s an exploration of grief and it’s effect on how a life proceeds after great loss.

And it’s very, very funny.

So I suggest you put your reservations aside, and enjoy the ride - it’s well worth the price of admission!

• Review
• Bonnie Garmus