Lessons In Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus (2022), published by Penguin
What's it about? Chemist Elizabeth Zott is fired from her role at the Hastings Research Institute in the early 1960s as she comes up against the inequalities of that era. She becomes a beloved cooking show host of Supper at Six and uses her platform to set in trail an impetus to change the status quo of the times.
Why you should read it? Garmus’ debut novel has struck a chord with readers worldwide, leading author Stephen King to describe it as "the Catch-22 of early feminism." Creating an irresistible page-turner about anti-sexism, Garbus brings deft wit and compassion to a role model, acting as a cataclysm for change not just in the times in which it is set but today. She describes it as "a love letter to scientists and the scientific brain." It was adapted into a TV series on Apple TV with Brie Larson in the title role in 2023.
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Listen: Bonnie Garmus talks to Ray D'Arcy
What the critics say: "Much of the humor in Lessons in Chemistry comes from the collision of Elizabeth’s stubborn scientific rationalism with the unthinkingly conventional attitudes of everyone else… The dastardly, smug baddies of Garmus’ novel are the engines that drive her plot like a locomotive." - Laura Miller, slate.com
It’s never over… Reflecting on the fact that her first finished book was rejected 98 times, Garmus says, "The only woman who says it’s over is you."
For readers of… Where’d You Go, Bernadette, Maria Semple; The Female Persuasion, Meg Worlitzer; Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine, Gail Honeyman.
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