April/May Selection: Lessons in Chemistry

I'm anxious to dive into Lessons in Chemistry: A Novel  by Bonnie Garmus, the April/May selection here at Cook the Books.  I've had this book for almost a year and a half but have only cracked the first few pages.   I liked what I read but other commitments have gotten in the way.   I'll be diving in with the rest of the CTB members.

Image from Barnes & Noble.

About the book:

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • GMA BOOK CLUB PICK • Meet Elizabeth Zott: “a gifted research chemist, absurdly self-assured and immune to social convention” (The Washington Post) in 1960s California whose career takes a detour when she becomes the unlikely star of a beloved TV cooking show. • LESSONS IN CHEMISTRY COMING FALL 2023 TO APPLE TV+

This novel is “irresistible, satisfying and full of fuel” (The New York Times Book Review) and “witty, sometimes hilarious...the Catch-22 of early feminism.” (Stephen King, via Twitter)

A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: The New York Times, Washington Post, NPR, Oprah Daily, Entertainment Weekly, Newsweek

Chemist Elizabeth Zott is not your average woman. In fact, Elizabeth Zott would be the first to point out that there is no such thing as an average woman. But it’s the early 1960s and her all-male team at Hastings Research Institute takes a very unscientific view of equality. Except for one: Calvin Evans; the lonely, brilliant, Nobel–prize nominated grudge-holder who falls in love with—of all things—her mind. True chemistry results. 

But like science, life is unpredictable. Which is why a few years later Elizabeth Zott finds herself not only a single mother, but the reluctant star of America’s most beloved cooking show Supper at Six. Elizabeth’s unusual approach to cooking (“combine one tablespoon acetic acid with a pinch of sodium chloride”) proves revolutionary. But as her following grows, not everyone is happy. Because as it turns out, Elizabeth Zott isn’t just teaching women to cook. She’s daring them to change the status quo.  

Laugh-out-loud funny, shrewdly observant, and studded with a dazzling cast of supporting characters, Lessons in Chemistry is as original and vibrant as its protagonist.

I can't wait to get to the meat of this novel and I cannot wait to see what some of the more adventurous and creative members will cook up.  (No names, but you know who I mean.)  :)

Drop a line in the chat on this post with your link when you post.  Deadline for posting is May 31, 2023.    

Happy reading!

Debra

Eliot's Eats