Reviews with content warning for Domestic abuse - Lessons in Chemistry

I wasn't sure what to expect when picking this one up. It was included with my Spotify Premium subscription and it sounded interesting, so I figured I'd give it a whirl. All I have to say is what a wonderful debut novel! Elizabeth Zott is such a refreshing character. She is very assertive and direct about her personal stances and has the intelligence to back it up. The story takes place in the 1950s and explores a lot of what the patriarchal culture was like for women at that time through Elizabeth's experiences. Themes such as sexual assault, workplace discrimination, homophobia, lack of support for single mothers, and abusive marriages are heavily explored within the story.

Elizabeth's romance with her coworker, Calvin, takes up the forefront of about the first quarter of the story. It was funny to see how Elizabeth disliked Calvin at the beginning and then ended up initiating the romantic relationship with him. Their romantic relationship is very cute and loving. Even before they were dating it was clear that Calvin had a crush on Elizabeth, it just also completely went over her head for a while. Calvin and Elizabeth are both nerdy and fascinated with scientific research. They end up adopting a dog together that they adorably dub Six Thirty. Despite the healthy compatability in this couple, the dynamics of the relationship are still limited by the patriarchy of the time. Elizabeth and Calvin living together despite being unmarried is looked down upon by coworkers and other characters. Calvin is a great partner to Elizabeth. They listen to each other's interests, and Calvin even introduced Elizabeth to rowing, his own personal hobby. Elizabeth at some point has a very serious discussion with Calvin pertaining to her aversion to marriage. Calvin respects Elizabeth as an equal. His opinions on women's issues are reasonably progressive for a man of his time, but even then there are obviously instances where his privilege as a man becomes apparent. Asking Elizabeth to marry him without completely understanding what the implication is for her is one of the instances where this shows. Women weren't even allowed to open a bank account on their own until 1974. She is living in a time where marrying a man meant becoming completely financially dependent on him. You would lose the little independence you had. Thankfully, Calvin genuinely loves Elizabeth and respects her wishes. It's possible that if the circumstances were different Elizabeth may have agreed to marry Calvin. Regardless, it's refreshing to know that even if she continued to refuse, they respect and love each other enough to stay together.

Elizabeth's past is both relatable and interesting. She is estranged from her parents as her father was a professional preacher and scam artist. Besides that, her parents are also homophobic,

so much so that her gay brother, John, saw no other option other than to commit suicide

. Unfortunately Elizabeth's father is just a representation of a religious leader who used his power to expoit. Elizabeth is an atheist, which is completely understandable after the hell of an upbringing she had. It's a quick way to lose faith, to say the least. It also informs how lonely and isolated Elizabeth is. She doesn't have a family or any real friends, which in retrospect also reveals how vulnerable she is despite being so intelligent and independent.

The men often serve as a vehicle to move the story along. This doesn't, however, undermine the relationships between the women in the story and the role that plays to the overall narrative. While working at Hastings Research Institute Miss Frank is a female coworker that consistently seeks approval from her male coworkers. This additionally comes at the expense of Elizabeth. Miss Frank is insecure and it manifests as judgement, jealousy, and bad mouthing towards her. Miss Frank and Elizabeth eventually meet again under different circumstances. This allows them to form a respectful bond with a strong sense of camaraderie, albeit due to an unfortunate event in common from their past.

It's unfortunate that Elizabeth and Miss Frank end up bonding over both being subject to sexual assault. However, this is unfortunately a very believable

.

Harriet is Elizabeth's neighbor, and over the course of the story they become amazing friends. She helps Elizabeth out as Elizabeth's life has major changes later in the story

Specifically, Calvin's death and the birth of her daughter

. Harriet in an incredibly unhappy and abusive marriage. Elizabeth and her disagree often on religious tenets and appropriate behavior for girls in public.

such as the proper way to raise a girl once Elizabeth becomes a parent

. Everyone Elizabeth has an amicable relationship with grows with her throughout the story and it's very satisfying to see.

This is a wonderful literary fiction debut novel that has a very strong hopeful feminist message. I'm impressed that this was this author's first novel, and I hope she has more to come in the future. I'm looking forward to following their work closely in the future.

Content Warnings

deepalidesai's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No

4.75

I really loved this book. The ending felt a bit rushed, but overall I'd highly recommend this. One of the best books I've read in a long time.

Content Warnings

bloomingbookworm's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced

2.75

It’s hard to rate this book. What I can say for sure is that it is absolutely not “laugh out loud funny” as the back of the book proclaims. Don’t be fooled by the cheery cover - the first half of the book was quite dark and had many upsetting scenes. The second half was intriguing but the tone felt off considering the darker scenes at the beginning of the book. All in all, I didn’t hate it, but I can’t say I’d recommend it.

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