The Central Brown Baggers met Thursday, October 19 to discuss Lessons In Chemistry, the 2022 bestselling debut novel by Bonnie Garmus. Set in California in the 1960s, Elizabeth Zott is a lab chemist who becomes a popular TV cooking show host. Fiercely independent and an early feminist, she is determined to live life on her own terms. Zott is also the single mother of a precocious daughter Mad, who is curious about her origins and her biological father. Some chapters are told from the viewpoint of the Zott family dog, Six-Thirty, who makes astute observations on human behavior and is an important character in the family’s story. Told with humor, one reader said “it was too much, but in a wonderful way!”
Everyone in the group enjoyed the book despite some finding it unrealistic with a “Polly-Anna-ish” ending. Some didn’t expect to like it, based on the title and/or the book jacket cover. The cover leads one to think it may be “chick-lit,” and we did not think it was what Elizabeth would have wanted.
Many in our group had experienced in their own professional lives the same sort of sexism that Elizabeth encounters and while maybe it is not as overt now, all agreed it is still going on.
One of our attendees had started watching the TV series, but said that it doesn’t follow the book and she was unsure if she would continue.
What are your thoughts? Have you read the book or watched the TV series?
Related Links:
Lessons in Chemistry Book Club Kit (includes interview with the author, playlist and recipes)
BBC “The Food Chain” insightful interview with Bonnie Garmus
“Lessons From Friday: How Adopting a Dog Taught Us to Trust Our Kids” (She had mange, few teeth, smelled bad…and we fell in love with her.)
Upcoming titles for discussion:
December 21 – Potluck/title selection meeting
January 18, 2024 – And There was Light by Jon Meacham
February 15 – My People: five decades of writing about black lives by Charlayne Hunter-Gault
March 21 – Same Page community read
April 18 – Travels with Charley by Steinbeck
May 16 – Sapphira and the Slave Girl by Willa Cather