Bonnie Garmus’ debut novel Lessons in chemistry made a splash on best-of-2022 booklists last year, resulting in my reading group scheduling it this year. It is an enjoyable read, but the intriguing thing is that more than one reader I know couldn’t remember what it was about a few months after reading it. Each remembered enjoying it but could not recollect the details. Why is this? Why, in fact, are there some books that we read and enjoy but forget quickly, while others linger long after we’ve turned the last page? I will leave this for you to ponder. Meanwhile, I’ll get onto the book.

Most of you will know the basic story, but I’m going to document it anyhow – because, you know, I might forget it down the track. It is historical fiction set in the 1960s, and tells the story of female scientist, Elizabeth Zott, whose only ambition is to be a research chemist but whose career is constantly derailed by powerful men’s determination to keep women out of the laboratory. She ends up in the most unlikely job, the host of an afternoon cooking show which, despite her best efforts not to fit the female-TV-star mould, becomes a hit.

Everyone in my reading group thoroughly enjoyed the read, despite some reservations, to which I’ll return later. Our overall assessment was that, with its stereotyped, larger-than-life characters who don’t really change, it read like a fairytale, fantasy or, revenge comedy. But, we also recognised that it dealt with some relevant and serious topics, particularly regarding the inequitable treatment of women – in science, and in life. So, here is the question: given my earlier comment regarding readers forgetting its details not long after reading it, how effective is its light, comedic approach to making the message stick? Humour is a tricky thing. We love reading it, but does it move us to take its target seriously?

Like all writing, some humour is more effective than others. Satire, for example, with its characteristic clever, ironic wit engages my brain and, in doing so, can help the message go down. Lessons in chemistry has some of these elements, but it felt more situational and laugh-out-loud than satiric. This is what makes it so enjoyable, but such humour can sometimes bury the message. Time will tell for me!

And now, let’s look at its humour. Some of my favourite scenes came from the cooking show which Elizabeth Zott uses to teach her housewife audience chemistry, but more than that, to empower them. In one show, she describes different chemical bonds, one being the hydrogen bond:

“I call this the ‘love at first sight’ bond because both parties are drawn to each other based solely on visual information: you like his smile, he likes your hair. But then you talk and discover he’s a closet Nazi and thinks women complain too much. Poof. Just like that the delicate bond is broken. That’s the hydrogen bond for you ladies — a chemical reminder that if things are too good to be true, they probably are.”

“See?” a woman in Santa Monica demanded as she turned to her sullen seventeen-year-old daughter, the girl’s eyeliner so thick, it looked as if planes could land there. “What did I tell you? Your bond with that boy is hydrogen only. When are you going to wake up and smell the ions?”

Her poor producer Walter Pine, whose boss is demanding sexy clothes and cocktails with the cooking, tries in vain to rein her in.

Rowing is another topic that recurs through the novel. Obstetrician Dr Mason wants to get single-mother Elizabeth back in the boat when her baby, Mad, is just one year old. He discovers that she has a keen, helpful neighbour, and suggests that she ask this neighbour to help out:

“At four thirty in the morning?”
“This is what is so unsung about rowing,” Dr. Mason said, turning to leave. “It happens at a time when no one’s really that busy.”

That made me splutter my coffee – as did so many other observations throughout the book. It is a chuckle-inducing read, replete with funny one-liners and surprising similes alongside its array of set pieces.

But, as I said, my group did have some reservations, though they varied. One, for example, didn’t like the anthropomorphism involving the dog, Six-Thirty, while others of us appreciated his astute commentary on his human companions. Another felt it read a bit like a catalogue of issues – suicide, rape, domestic abuse, single-parenthood, and plagiarism, among others. And a couple of us found it somewhat anachronistic. I usually give historical fiction authors a lot of leeway in this regard, but the novel felt imbued with a strong 21st century sensibility. For example, Elizabeth Zott’s young daughter responds to minister Wakeley’s question about her age with “I’m not allowed to give out private information.” Most of us remember the 1960s, but we don’t remember this sort of idea being promulgated. It was just “don’t talk to strangers”.

“Chemistry is change” (Elizabeth)

Garmus was 65 when the book was published, making her a late-bloomer in terms of a novelistic career. However, it also means that she has a lot of life experience to share. She – through Elizabeth – believes that science has much to offer human beings. Elizabeth is infuriated that “too many brilliant minds are kept from scientific research thanks to ignorant biases like gender and race”. She believes that science can be empowering – “when women understand chemistry, they understand how things work”. Indeed, for her science encompasses

the real rules that govern the physical world. When women understand these basic concepts, they can begin to see the false limits that have been created for them. 

Beyond this, however, is the over-riding philosophy that life, like chemistry, is all about change. Through the book Elizabeth has to cope with a range of challenges, some of them serious, and some, in fact, tragic. It is her faith in science – plus the support of some decent people, it has to be said – that see her through.

Lessons in chemistry is not a perfect book, but it is great fun to read and it has a big heart. I can forgive it its little failings for these.

Brona (Brona’s books) and kimbofo (Reading Matters) both enjoyed this book too.

Bonnie Garmus
Lessons in chemistry
Transworld, 2022
391pp.
ISBN: 9781473594531