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LESSONS IN CHEMISTRY Paperback – January 1, 2022

by Bonnie Garmus (Author)
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 284,674 ratings
Editors' pick Best Literature & Fiction
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A delight for readers of Where''d You Go, Bernadette, this blockbuster debut set in 1960s California features the singular voice of Elizabeth Zott, a scientist whose career takes a detour when she becomes the star of a beloved TV cooking show. 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 1960s and despite the fact that she is a scientist, her peers are very unscientific when it comes to equality. The only good thing to happen to her on the road to professional fulfillment is a run-in with her super-star colleague Calvin Evans (well, she stole his beakers). The only man who ever treated her—and her ideas—as equal, Calvin is already a legend and Nobel nominee. He''s also awkward, kind and tenacious. Theirs is true chemistry. But as events are never as predictable as chemical reactions, three years later Elizabeth Zott is an unwed, single mother (did we mention it''s the early 60s?) and the star of America''s most beloved cooking show Supper at Six. Elizabeth''s singular approach to cooking ("take one pint of H2O and add a pinch of sodium chloride") and independent example are proving revolutionary. Because Elizabeth isn''t just teaching women how to cook, she''s teaching them how to change the status quo. Laugh-out-loud funny, shrewdly observant and studded with a dazzling cast of supporting characters (including the best canine character in years), Lessons in Chemistry is as original and vibrant as its protagonist.
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Previous page
  1. Print length
    400 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publication date
    January 1, 2022
  4. Reading age
    18 years and up
  5. Dimensions
    6.1 x 1.1 x 9.2 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0385697376
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0385697378
  8. See all details
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  1. Like most stupid people, Mr. Sloane wasn’t smart enough to know just how stupid he was.
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Doubleday Canada (January 1, 2022)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 400 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0385697376
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0385697378
  • Reading age ‏ : ‎ 18 years and up
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.08 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.1 x 1.1 x 9.2 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 284,674 ratings

About the author

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Bonnie Garmus

Bonnie Garmus

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Bonnie Garmus is a copywriter and creative director who has worked for a wide range of clients, in the US and abroad, focusing primarily on technology, medicine, and education. She’s an open water swimmer, a rower, and mother to two pretty amazing daughters. Most recently from Seattle, she currently lives in London with her husband and her dog, 99.

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
284,674 global ratings
Happy
5 Stars
Happy
started this book with curiosity, to find out why everyone was so attracted to the TV series. I thought of reading the book where the character is, trying to survive in a male, dominant world, had me being apprehensive. I have finished it and I have to say it's probably one of the better books l've read, Elizabeth is the main character and she's a woman trying to make her mark in a male dominant world. She is intelligent, strong, minded, and focused.There are moments in the book that really open your eyes to see how hard it truly was for a female to succeed in a career in the 1960s. You learn to love Elizabeth, because she challenges women to think and act outside the stereotypes of the generation in such unique ways.Of course, the ending clenches your heart and couldn't have ended any better.Her sidekick, 630 is the best 🩷🫶🏻
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Top reviews from the United States

William J. Cook
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant!
Reviewed in the United States on January 14, 2024
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I think I’ve used this idea before, but it’s certainly true of this book. Lessons in Chemistry should come with a black box warning: THE AUTHOR ASSUMES NO LIABILITY FOR READERS WHO LOST SLEEP, SKIPPED WORK, FORGOT TO EAT, OR NEGLECTED CHILDCARE DUTIES BECAUSE THEY FELT COMPELLED TO CONTINUE READING NONSTOP. This novel is at once laugh-out-loud funny, disturbingly poignant, and spot-on in its acerbic observations of human nature and society.

Set in the late 50s and early 60s, it tells the tale of brilliant chemist, Elizabeth Zott, whose intellect and talent a male-dominated world refuses to acknowledge. After defending herself from sexual assault by the head of a university’s Science Department, she is summarily expelled from school without a degree. She lands a job at the Hastings Research Institute, where her original work “must be the product of the man she’s in love with,” and is ultimately stolen and published by another man. Along the way, she becomes pregnant “out-of-wedlock,” (in the eyes of her employer, a crime located somewhere between murder and kidnapping), and is fired immediately. Eventually, she winds up as the host of a cooking show on afternoon TV, Supper at Six, where, in addition to lecturing her female audience on the chemical composition of the foods and additives they so mindlessly ingest, she provides them with recipes for skewering the status quo.

Lessons in Chemistry is full of unforgettable characters, not the least of which are Six-Thirty, a German Shepherd who flunked out of the police academy’s bomb-sniffing squad, and “Mad” Zott, Elizabeth’s precocious child, the brainy bane of her Kindergarten teacher.

Author Garmus has written a novel as hilarious as it is heartbreaking, as entertaining as it is thought-provoking. If you haven’t read it already (per usual, I’m late out of the gate), start today! Then share it with someone you love.
73 people found this helpful
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Mtlnative
5.0 out of 5 stars Wonder-full book
Reviewed in the United States on April 3, 2024
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I don’t know how it was that this book came into my hands at exactly the time it did. When its theme, about women and their treatment in the 1960s, about triumphing over it, about new beginnings, endings…. It spoke to me SO strongly. It’s funny, sad, I was crying for the last 30 pages but they were tears of release. This book meant so much to me. And the strangest thing was that, this week I was talking to a cousin who is going through some health issues because she’s a woman and I mentioned I was reading this book. She said, “Oh I have it right beside me, I’ve read it twice! I loved it!” I bought a copy for my daughter, I hope she reads it and reads it deeply because it has a message for every woman (I say woman although who knows, maybe men can “get” the message to) who has had to navigate our Western values and mores, especially these last 100 years.
9 people found this helpful
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Morris Nelms
4.0 out of 5 stars Strong writing and a powerful message
Reviewed in the United States on March 24, 2024
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I quite enjoyed this book. All the characters are well drawn and believable, and sadly, the behavior of the people of the 1950s and 60s is quite believable. Elizabeth Zott is a delightful character.
I would recommend this book with a caveat. It is, through the development of its main character, an apology for materialism, or as Elizabeth Zott would call it, humanism. I prefer to hear more than one side of an argument presented. Certainly, it is any writer's prerogative to speak in favor of what they believe, but I know it is possible for a writer to present multiple views of a difficult issue with clarity and realism. Cormac McCarthy does this brilliantly in The Sunset Limited. I would have liked a bit more of that in this book.
2 people found this helpful
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Emily Batista
5.0 out of 5 stars I laughed, I cried, I loved it.
Reviewed in the United States on April 28, 2024
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I thoroughly enjoyed reading this novel and didn't want to see it end. The protagonist is fascinating and all the characters around her are well-drawn. While several tragic events happen, the author doesn't leave the reader suffering long. There is a great deal of wit and many highly quotable paragraphs worth noting. Highly recommended to anyone with a heart.
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Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Quirky, Fun, Sad, and Uplifting
Reviewed in the United States on April 26, 2024
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This story of a brilliant chemist who has to fight for her place in society during the 50s and 60s is truly compelling. It's a good reminder of how bad things were for women back and how hard we had to fight for the rights we have now.
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yeyenism
5.0 out of 5 stars Tha Book is Incredible!
Reviewed in the United States on April 19, 2024
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What a fantastic read about chemistry, science, women, equality, injustice and so on. It was unputdownable. The story got me hooked from the start. I loved Elizabeth Zott- her intelligence, stoicity and dry humor. I loved all the other characters. What a brilliant read! It’s 10 stars for me.
3 people found this helpful
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Lauren Brennan
4.0 out of 5 stars Funny and inspiring, disappointed by ending’s development.
Reviewed in the United States on February 23, 2024
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Honestly, this book had me SHOOK, multiple times. Like jaw dropped, “absolutely did not see that coming” moments.

I cannot believe this was BG’s debut novel; I feel like her writing style was so unique and well-developed that I wouldn’t have been surprised if this was her 10th published work. I was most impressed by her ability to be funny and even a little silly in ways that didn’t detract from the storyline, especially in tense moments when it would have been very easy to ruin the mood by doing so.

I think it’s important to note that if you’re in the mood for a story where the main plot is a love story, you should pick a different book. While it does have a very worthwhile and sweet, “written in the stars” love story, that is not the main focus.

I HAD to knock points for the ending. It was SOOO rushed, and while I didn’t HATE it, I feel like it really failed to do some important parts of the plot justice. Another 3-7 chapters could have made quite the difference in the way things were resolved. I was sorely missing a proper denouement; it was like a slow build up/brewing of curiosity the whole book to be TOLD the ending in 3-5 pages.
26 people found this helpful
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Simply Sweet
5.0 out of 5 stars The best read in a long time
Reviewed in the United States on April 6, 2024
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I love the storytelling. The confluence of Chemistry and cooking is so well done and I love the pair of subjects separately and together. The relationships between the family of characters is inspiring and my favorite is between Elizabeth and her daughter Mad. Elizabeth’s attack on the status quo and her empowerment of the women who tuned in everyday is captivating. Reading Elizabeth’s story is invigorating and makes you want to conquer the world and have the courage to attempt the challenges in front of you.
3 people found this helpful
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Julia I.
5.0 out of 5 stars Hermoso
Reviewed in Mexico on April 7, 2024
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Lo ame mucho!!! Facil de leer, senti cerca a las personajes; me hizo reír y llorar 🥲
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Julia I.
5.0 out of 5 stars Hermoso
Reviewed in Mexico on April 7, 2024
Lo ame mucho!!! Facil de leer, senti cerca a las personajes; me hizo reír y llorar 🥲
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Rainner Teixeira
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book
Reviewed in Brazil on February 17, 2024
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There is long time that I’ve read something so impactful, interesting and profound. A book that took my attention since the first chapter and make me feel inspired by stories full of encrypted messages and important debates.
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Linda
5.0 out of 5 stars Fully deserving of its accolades
Reviewed in Canada on January 5, 2023
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I loved this story. I have a hard time understanding some of the criticism in the other reviews.

The prose flows easily. The dialogue has been crafted carefully to match the idiosyncrasies of each character. Their flaws, humanity, and humour come out so effortlessly - I was truly impressed.

I never believe reviews that claim a book is funny - I’ve never found them to be true. This novel is an exception, however. There are truly humorous exchanges that made me chuckle out loud (poor Walter trying to reason with Elizabeth - I could just picture the flustered, red-faced, exasperated man), as well as some EQ flaws from the most intelligent characters that are amusingly laid bare for the reader.

Despite the A+ stylistic marks, the content, plot development, and character growth are what really stick with you. It’s easy to forget in 2023 that, a mere few decades ago, women were subjected to abhorrent behaviours that were accepted as “the way things are,” with no credible recourse to justice. I love that our protagonist builds resilience throughout the story, and demonstrates gumption that so many women didn’t have the courage or opportunity to demonstrate in their day.

Let’s not forget that there are many Elizabeth Zott’s to this day still - women who get shunned, discredited, disrespected, or simply not taken seriously in their fields on a daily basis. Women who have to work much harder than men to prove themselves and “make it.” Women who are brilliant but, due to traditional family roles, had to make hard choices - the world isn’t kind to a mother who prioritizes career over housekeeping/childrearing. This book is an ode to women who have succeeded despite and in spite of.

I will be recommending this book to all my girlfriends. And I encourage you to read it - you will finish it with a renewed sense of purpose and drive, and a smile on your face.
9 people found this helpful
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aleranzi
5.0 out of 5 stars Non ho resistito
Reviewed in Italy on May 6, 2024
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Vista la serie ho dovuto leggere il libro!
Merita
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eva30
5.0 out of 5 stars Great story
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 5, 2024
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I usually read biographies and thrillers but this book positively suprised me . Different, funny at times. Mind opening and Light to read, would definitely recommend
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