 | A WRITER'S WIT |  L. Sigourney |
MY BOOK WORLD
Garmus, Bonnie. Lessons in Chemistry. New York: Doubleday, 2022.
This novel may be one of the best that’s come out in ten years. It deserves all the accolades it has received thus far. I could see this as director Greta Gerwig’s next film project—another quirky woman’s story. [Funny thing, I wrote this post before learning that Apple TV+ will premier a streaming version of the book on October 13. Starring Brie Larson as Elizabeth Zott. Previews look good!]
Garmus sets the novel in the 1950s, but the protagonist, Elizabeth Zott, brings to the surface all the sexism and misogyny that professional women must face during that era. Zott falls in love with a fellow scientist, Calvin Evans, while they work side-by-side in the same commercial laboratory. With no intention of ever marrying or having children, she finds herself pregnant—just as her beloved lover (with whom she cohabitates) suddenly dies. Though she has only a master’s degree, her research is superior to the man in charge of her work and who steals it and claims it as his own.
Zott suffers a great deal: a single, unwed mother at this time period is all but spat upon by everyone in her community. Two saving features of her life: a nosy neighbor, Harriet, who volunteers to be Elizabeth’s babysitter and sometimes cook and housekeeper. Zott is also in tune with her dog that she names Six-Thirty. She proceeds to “teach” him nearly a thousand words. Readers get to see what the dog is thinking, as he helps Elizabeth navigate life.
So many wonderful features to this novel, it would be a shame to spoil them all by listing them here. Suffice it to say that Garmus has created a complex novel, yet one that reads simply. She does such an excellent job of guiding readers through the complexity by way of reminders of events that have occurred in the past—without seeming repetitious. Quite a gift. Get the book. Read it. Laugh out loud as I did. [Then watch the movie.] Cry during the denouement, as all the pieces, like an Agatha Christie novel, come clattering into place. You won’t be sorry.
Coming Next:
TUES: A Writer's Wit | Matt Bell
WEDS: A Writer's Wit | Molly Ivins
THURS: A Writer's Wit | William Saroyan
FRI: My Book World | Julie Otsuka, The Buddha in the Attic
This novel may be one of the best that’s come out in ten years. It deserves all the accolades it has received thus far. I could see this as director Greta Gerwig’s next film project—another quirky woman’s story. [Funny thing, I wrote this post before learning that Apple TV+ will premier a streaming version of the book on October 13. Starring Brie Larson as Elizabeth Zott. Previews look good!]
Garmus sets the novel in the 1950s, but the protagonist, Elizabeth Zott, brings to the surface all the sexism and misogyny that professional women must face during that era. Zott falls in love with a fellow scientist, Calvin Evans, while they work side-by-side in the same commercial laboratory. With no intention of ever marrying or having children, she finds herself pregnant—just as her beloved lover (with whom she cohabitates) suddenly dies. Though she has only a master’s degree, her research is superior to the man in charge of her work and who steals it and claims it as his own.
Zott suffers a great deal: a single, unwed mother at this time period is all but spat upon by everyone in her community. Two saving features of her life: a nosy neighbor, Harriet, who volunteers to be Elizabeth’s babysitter and sometimes cook and housekeeper. Zott is also in tune with her dog that she names Six-Thirty. She proceeds to “teach” him nearly a thousand words. Readers get to see what the dog is thinking, as he helps Elizabeth navigate life.
So many wonderful features to this novel, it would be a shame to spoil them all by listing them here. Suffice it to say that Garmus has created a complex novel, yet one that reads simply. She does such an excellent job of guiding readers through the complexity by way of reminders of events that have occurred in the past—without seeming repetitious. Quite a gift. Get the book. Read it. Laugh out loud as I did. [Then watch the movie.] Cry during the denouement, as all the pieces, like an Agatha Christie novel, come clattering into place. You won’t be sorry.
Coming Next:
TUES: A Writer's Wit | Matt Bell
WEDS: A Writer's Wit | Molly Ivins
THURS: A Writer's Wit | William Saroyan
FRI: My Book World | Julie Otsuka, The Buddha in the Attic
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