Lessons In Chemistry - Bonnie Garmus

Fiction

Rating: 9/10

Elizabeth was resolute in her vision of where her life was going to go; PhD in Chemistry, a lauded position in her field, a career peppered with groundbreaking innovations; and absolutely, positively, no romance or children.

You know what they say about best laid plans…

Elizabeth is a woman in the 1960’s, trying to succeed in a field rife with misogyny. She is blunt, impatient with small talk and niceties and does not suffer fools well. She stays laser focused on her work until she has the temerity to fall in love with a fellow scientist. And then gets herself knocked up to boot!

Laugh out loud funny, shrewdly observant and cast with characters so engaging that they jump off the page!  I loved each and every one of them!

Following Elizabeth’s unconventional journey as she navigates the highs and lows of life in challenging times for a woman was a joy. An utterly refreshing read that serves as a gentle reminder that as bad as we think we have it now, the women before us smoothed a lot of the edges on our behalf.

Be on the lookout for some hilarious blink or you will miss them moments…

1.  Why she wears a pencil in her hair.

2.  What can happen when a stranger touches her pregnant belly.

3.  Her daughter’s name is Madeline, but only Mad made it on the birth certificate.  So, she is legally Mad. You have no idea…

4.  The notes she leaves with her daughter’s school lunches.

5.  Her description of how preparing vegetarian meals is just as violent an act as killing an animal for sustenance.

Hopefully this is enough to entice you to pick up this book!

Book Pairing(s): Ghosts by Dolly Alderton, This Time Tomorrow by Emma Straub, Recipe For A Perfect Wife by Karma Brown