Lessons in Chemistry

Perfect for year 10, 11 & Post16s well as adults!
Inspirational female lead that has actually inspired a student to study biochemistry and university.
It follows the life of the female lead through ups and downs, misogyny and utter brilliance.
The book leaves you driven to go try your best, aim high, never give up and be your own leader.
Can't recommend this enough, a must for all girls leaving school.

St Just Monday Morning Reading Group 28th July 2025.

Lessons in Chemistry. Bonnie Garmus.

Most of the reading group enjoyed this book, finding it entertaining and cleverly written. The overturning of stereotypes was appreciated, particularly of women scientists and entrepreneurs – the plot twist concerning the latter was very satisfying.

Criticisms were that the ending seemed inauthentic, with all the loose ends being very thoroughly tied up; that there was possibly ‘too much plot’; and that the bright and breezy tone of the book seemed sometimes inappropriate for what was actually a very hard life story. Some readers also found the story a little predictable, and another would have liked to read more about the food that was made in the cookery demonstrations.

Arising out of the book we discussed a number of issues. Do we like a neat and tidy ending or do we prefer elements of it left to the reader’s imagination? Was this a ‘women’s book’ or not? Also we talked about the issues of science versus religion which run through the narrative; and the progression of women’s rights, particularly at work, and our experiences of this. And we wondered whether it was really true that (some) dogs are highly intelligent and can be taught a large vocabulary of words – Six Thirty’s achievements in this respect were generally considered slightly (only slightly!) far-fetched.

An interesting and generally enjoyable book.

I found this book a really interesting concept and was inspired by the feministic messages expressed throughout. I loved the tenacity of the protagonist and the strength she demonstrated in striving for equality for all.

Whitley Bay Book Group discussed Lessons in Chemistry in April 2024

We were so disappointed in this book, as it had so much good publicity and so many of our friends and other book groups we know loved it.

The main character Elizabeth is a talented chemist in 1960s California, who is frozen out of her profession because of sexual discrimination, and goes on to success with a cookery programme on television, by means of which she introduces the women of America to science and feminism.

Unfortunately, we found the characters one-dimensional and stereotyped, the plot relied too much on coincidence, and anachronisms abounded.

Elizabeth is a scientist, hence socially awkward, and beautiful, although unaware of it. Almost all of the male characters are idiots and misogynists, and all of the religious people are stupid and probably paedophiles. We found Elizabeth’s daughter and her dog implausible; some of us thought the dog was the best part of the book and got the best lines, but others of us found him just annoying.

Elizabeth’s views are anachronistic – we thought she gave the impression of having been dropped into the 1960s with 21st century views on women and science, which she proceeded to lecture everyone with in an unsubtle and patronising way. Her grasp of science and history is shaky – DNA profiling wasn’t available in the 1960s, and Sweden did not have its progressive childcare system until later.

Neither the author nor the characters seemed aware of the hugely successful and influential female TV personalities Julia Child and Lucille Ball, or of any real female scientists and mathematicians such as Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson whose work at NASA during the Space Race is celebrated in the film Hidden Figures.

On the plus side, the book was an easy and entertaining read if you suspended your incredulity. It was witty and quite a page turner. However we felt that the discussion of the serious issues of sexual assault, child abuse and misogyny sat awkwardly in such a lightweight book. It may be that we were taking it too seriously and overthinking it, but most of us thought it would have worked better as a piece of light and at times humorous fiction, leaving out the attempts to address serious issues.

There are good books out there which use fiction to explore the changing role of women in science but this is not one of them. The solution to discrimination in the workplace is not inherited wealth and a talking dog.

We awarded the book between 1 and 3.5 stars, with an average of 2. One of us tried to award it minus five points.