Description
THE MULTI-AWARD-WINNING MILLION-COPY BESTSELLER, now a major Apple TV series starring Brie Larson.
A New York Times Top 100 Best Books of the 21st Century Reader’s Pick
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‘The most charming, life-enhancing novel I’ve read in ages’ Sunday Times
‘Thought-provoking and stylish‘ Guardian
‘Page-turning‘ – Maggie Shipstead, author of Great Circle
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Your ability to change everything – including yourself – starts here
Chemist Elizabeth Zott is not your average woman. In fact, she would be the first to point out that there is no such thing.
But it’s the early 1960s and her all-male team at Hastings Research Institute take a very unscientific view of equality.
Forced to leave her job at the institute, she soon finds herself the reluctant star of America’s most beloved cooking show, Supper at Six.
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. One molecule at a time.
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A Book of the Year for:
Guardian, Times, Sunday Times, New York Times, Good Housekeeping, Woman & Home, Stylist, TLS Oprah Daily, Newsweek, Mail on Sunday, Entertainment Weekly, NPR, India Knight, Hay Festival, Waterstones, Amazon, Books are My Bag and many more!
Author of the Year at the British Book Awards
Author of the Year, Waterstones
Winner of the Goodreads Choice Best Debut Novel Award
Winner of the Books are My Bag Reader’s Choice Award
Winner of the Books are My Bag Breakthrough Author Award
Shortlisted for the HWA Crown Award
Praise for Lessons in Chemistry:
‘Full of humour, heartbreak and characters who feel like real people’ Red Magazine
‘Thought-provoking and stylish‘ Guardian
‘Laugh-out-loud funny and brimming with life, generosity and courage’ Rachel Joyce, author of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry
‘I loved Lessons in Chemistry and am devastated to have finished it!’ Nigella Lawson
‘A novel that sparks joy with every page’ Elizabeth Day, author of Magpie
‘Witty and sometimes hilarious … the Catch-22 of early feminism’ Stephen King
‘A beautiful, sharp, funny and dark modern classic. I adored it’ Chris Whitaker, author of We Begin at the End
Lessons in Chemistry has sold over 6 million copies worldwide across all formats, The Guardian, December 2023
Front cover may vary
dfridd –
Every now and then a book comes along that one feels compelled to make sure EVERYONE in your life hears about. “Lessons in Chemistry” is the one.
I honestly can’t stop going on about it to anyone that will listen. If you’ve been in the shop recently and looked even remotely like you might want to
talk about books or need a recommendation (often you won’t have known you wanted a recommendation) and I was within earshot then you’ll have got both barrels
of the Dan Book Bestowing Bazooka.
Why? What’s so good about “Lessons in Chemistry” by Bonnie Garmus? Lets start off with the hype. This is a debut novel. It created such a storm with publishers and agents that there was a massive bidding war. Production has already started on an AppleTV show, screenplay written by none other than Susannah Grant (Erin Brockovich). It won’t be as good as the book… how could it possibly be?
The Book. You’re introduced to our Protagonist Elizabeth Zott. A chemist and a bloody good one, implied that she’s potentially the best in her field in the world.
Unfortunately a female chemist in the 50s is not something the patriarchy can deal with and this is made very clear to Zott both at education and career level.
Trigger warning – Zott suffers sexual abuse. But that very much isn’t what the book is about. The book however does give you a peak into the misogyny that women have faced in the workplace and beyond forever. From micro aggression to pay inequality to plagiarism to bullying to slander to criminality and disparity in roles.
Sounds a joy right? Right! This book manages to deal with all of these pretty heavy subjects and keep you glued to the page the whole time. The character of Elizabeth is beautifully written. Her uncompromising approach to life, her dedication to her science, her belief in the people (and dog) close to her and her sharp witty tongue and immense intelligence make you long for the next page.
Hilarious at times. heart-breaking at others. A minds eye view of a dog and an appreciation of the damage the patriarchy has done to the world of science, the talent missed out on and the reminder that this particular battle is FAR from over.
It’s only just out in Hardback so it may be 9 months before it’s out in paperback but at “only” £16.99 it’s as cheap a hardback as you’ll find and I’ve yet to meet anyone that hasn’t loved it.