Ask a Bookseller: 'Lessons in Chemistry'

Emily Crowe of "An Unlikely Story" in Plainville, Massachusetts was excited to recommend the novel "Lessons in Chemistry" by Bonnie Garmus. The novel by the debut author in her 60s launched this week to great fanfare. Apple TV+ has already optioned the rights to turn the book into a TV series that will star Brie Larson.

"If you can imagine Julia Child channeling a little bit of Lucille Ball, and all of the science edginess of Madame Curie, then you'll have a really good idea of the humor and the wit and the warmth that just shine through this entire novel," says Crowe.

The novel follows Elizabeth Zott, a 1960s chemist turned cook-show host. Elizabeth is brilliant, unconventional, and determined to succeed — attributes she needs working in a laboratory where she has to fight her male colleagues for access to proper lab equipment. When she encounters Calvin Evans, their passion for science and each other is "incandescent," says Crowe.

The narrative navigates back and forth between two timelines, so it's not a spoiler to say that several years later, Zott finds herself alone with a child, cast out of her university job.

A chance encounter leads to a new career hosting a cooking show. Over recipes for casserole, Elizabeth finds a way to teach science to the housewives of America.

"She subverts the act of making dinner, giving those housewives a sense of their own value, and intelligence and accomplishment," says Crowe, who calls the novel "a deeply satisfying read."

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