Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

I knew this was coming out as a film so I quickly read the book. I hadn’t heard of the author but I had heard lots of people talking about the book and how good it was and I quite agree. I listened to this as an audiobook and it was read beautifully.

It’s the early 1960s and women were supposed to be seen and not heard, they weren’t supposed to have a career, or have children out of wedlock. When Elizabeth Zott goes to work in a research institute the men are all appalled except for Calvin Evans, a brilliant rising star at the institute. When Elizabeth takes his beakers, as she has run out of her own, he becomes very taken with her. This leads to an affair and Elizabeth becomes pregnant, which is all the more daunting as Calvin passed away and Elizabeth thinks it’s her fault. When Elizabeth gets fired from the institute as an unwed mother, her life takes a very different term.

An amusing, very original book. It is well researched, and I loved meeting the amazing Elizabeth Zott. If you listen to the audible version, you also get an interview with the author which is very interesting.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6072969207