About the Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • GOOD MORNING AMERICA BOOK CLUB PICK • A must-read debut! Meet Elizabeth Zott: a “formidable, unapologetic and inspiring” (PARADE) scientist in 1960s California whose career takes a detour when she becomes the unlikely star of a beloved TV cooking show in this novel that is “irresistible, satisfying and full of fuel. It reminds you that change takes time and always requires heat” (The New York Times Book Review).
"A unique heroine ... you'll find yourself wishing she wasn’t fictional." —Seattle Times
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.
Top Review
5.0 out of 5 stars Very well written
Reviewed in the United States on October 1, 2022
I’ve noticed a few bad reviews of this book. I don’t know if it is because people have never experienced what is in this book or just too young to remember. I am a 71-year-old woman who worked many years in engineering. I was never sexually assaulted In the physical sense. When I was attractive and well-groomed. This seemed to give the men in my office a ticket to belittle me and make remarks. I never complained because I didn’t want to lose my job as I needed to eat. I was single. That also seemed to go against me. So in a sense I lived this woman’s life and it brought back some painful memories. By the 80s, men were no longer allowed to hit me on the bottom or verbally sexually assault me. There were still degrading comments at times. I held my own sometimes in an office of 60 men. It was not easy. They would bring in new people that I would teach and the next thing I knew they would be my boss. I can go on and on. So unless you’ve lived and have experience with some of this, you might not be able to identify with this book. It’s just not rainbows and unicorns. I personally think it’s one of the best books I’ve read in a long time. I am a very avid reader. When it was suggested to me I was afraid it was going to be a girly book. It’s nothing like that. It’s just real life and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
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