Book Club: Lesson in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

Posted by Nina Raoult

11 January 2024

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We met to discuss the book ‘Lessons in Chemisty’ by Bonnie Garmus, winner of Waterstones author of the year 2022. It’s also been adapted into a series: Watch Lessons in Chemistry – Apple TV+ (UK) 

Reviews of the book;

‘A delight of her rip-roaring, funny book is how it bonds familiar plot and character elements with the unexpectedly unconventional… a smart, funny, big-hearted debut combining chemical elements into what seems a winning formula.’ –

The Sunday Times

‘A concept as unconventional as Zott herself, each page is bursting with wit, optimism and female empowerment. I’ve not enjoyed a book so much in ages: it’s witty, sharp and full of life, with the very best canine character. An interesting insight into how far women have come, and how much is still left to do.’ – Grazia

The themes we discussed are as following.

• The main character Elizabeth Zott’s decision not to marry to avoid changing her name and losing her scientific identity versus the decision we face today about changing martial name and in publishing scientific journals. Even today, we are torn between continuing fixed-term post-doctorates or pursuing a permanent position. 
• The positive differences between today & the 1950/60s such as the upcoming 30hours free childcare per week (announcement from gov) in today’s world versus the reality of Elizabeth trying to return to work after having children. 
• Our more critical reviews of the book include its exaggeration (learning to row by understanding the mechanics rather than practise) make it hard for the reader to distinguish between what’s realistic versus fiction i.e. narrative of the dog. In addition, the fact Elizabeth’s scientific work was funded through family connections rather than quality of the science alone didn’t sit quite right. 
• The TV series appeared to further exaggerate the storyline with the inclusion of Elizabeth being forced into a beauty pageant with all the girls in the department, and hiring of a beautiful actress didn’t fit with the theme of the novel.

In summary, we agreed the novel was quite serious, rather than funny, and scary how the novel portrayed such a restrictive society relatively recently in time. The book touched upon many themes which are fundamental to keep discussing, even today.