What readers think of Lessons in Chemistry, plus links to write your own review.

“Lessons in Chemistry” by Bonnie Garmus tells the story of women in the sciences in the ’50s and ’60s confronting the type of sexism we wish was hyperbole, but we probably know better. My favorite reviewer, who happens to be female, rated this one of the best of 2022, but I think your gender will directly affect how you experience the rigid roles of the day.

Elizabeth Zott, a chemist who cooks with the same passion that she does scientific experiments, works hard and pairs off with famous scientist Calvin Evans. Both are damaged and do not usually pursue relationships as a top priority. Chemistry plays a key role, as Elizabeth attacks every problem, even grief and sexism, in a search for a solution.

Since I always read the flap summary, I realized that the blurb only covers about the first 100 pages. Many trials and tribulations await Mrs. Zott, and she has predictable results in unpredictable ways. We understand early on that the theme of sexism will permeate the story, but we do not know the depths and the subtle changes over the years.

Our heroine walks backward into a hosting gig on a local cooking show, and she becomes an overnight success. She deserves happiness after a laundry list of bad news came her way. Nonetheless, the plotline follows a predictable pattern since her failure would not have made for much of a story. Since I liked Elizabeth, I went along for the ride willingly.

The Internet shows varied reactions to the book, some inspired by the feminist message and others annoyed by the Zott character. Elizabeth has no filter, and that makes for fun reading. It takes a turn at the beginning of the last quarter, but I enjoyed it and thought it probably represented the ‘50s and ‘60s for female scientists well.

This book was such a fun read. Set in the 60's when women were to stay home and raise babies. Elizabeth did everything her way despite being under the thumb of men who made all the rules. She meets Calvin who accepts her for who she is, a chemist. I kept thinking of all the 60's sitcoms and the stereotype roles. I cheered for Elizabeth the whole way.

A friend told me to read this book because you see I am a scientist......and a successful one. Is science a male dominated field? Most certainly it is. Is there sexual harassment on the way up and in the workplace? Yes of course there is as in most fields. Do other scientists take credit for the work of others? Sometimes. Does this book reliably portray the difficulties of women training in science. Well maybe in 1952. I was only 3 then.

What did I really think? It was boring. I found the character to be unlike any other women scientist I have ever met. She takes "poor me" to a new standard. When in training you are learning to be a scientist. You learn to question your bias and hypotheses and you climb the ladder. There are hurdles to climb and then you get a doctorate and then you train more as a postdoc. As one reviewer said.....she should have been fired in the first chapter....I agree.

What did I like …cooking is a science! That is about it. I honestly do not know why this is a popular book. To learn that it is to be a movie made me shudder. Someone is making a lot of money and I hope will donate some of it to the real scientists who actually have one foot in reality.

I too was at the time in question a good looking science major getting too much attention of the wrong kind from men, and my career was thereby derailed from biology to law. (I was he winner.) To me this book while striving to be "cute" does not capture the time and there was no sense of place. To me this book is not satire, or if it is satire, it is satire failed. Satire needs to be timely comment, not rehashing the woes o 60 years ago. PS I handled all of my problems without ever stabbing anyone with a pencil or any other sharp object.