A review by mannieg
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

adventurous funny inspiring fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

 I enjoyed reading it but once I was out of the flow of the book (and especially once I heard the interview with the author at the end of the audiobook) all of the little, annoying things got more and more significant to the point where even thinking about this book makes me furious.  It doesn’t help that I was unable to properly vent my spleen during book club (I’m not good at speaking extemporaneously) where almost everyone adored it. Here are my main gripes: 
 
  • All of the characters were caricatures – and all of the men were pigs or cowards. Yes, including the “good ones.” The ones that aren’t slobbering sexual predators are utterly spineless
    (the TV producer)
    or secretly act against Elizabeth’s expressed wishes because they know what’s best for her
    (Calvin)
    . And fine, if you want to show the how harmful the patriarchy is for men, that’s a valid and worthwhile endeavor but after a few timid passes this book just entirely gave up on that angle in favor of making Elizabeth the ONLY “good” character in the book. 
  • Rewarmed, uncritical second-wave feminism. It is 2024. How can you write a book set in 1950s California and not have a single POC? How can you present the experiences of an absurdly intelligent white woman who is fortunate enough to own a house and have unlimited, unpaid childcare from her abused neighbor as a rugged individualist who successfully beats the system? How come all of these women who consume her show have no agency, are unable to advocate for themselves except through Elizabeth Zott, and never found a way to articulate their dissatisfaction with being housewives until she came along? There is a complete lack of recognition or empathy towards the experiences of literally every other woman – except maybe for the one who became a heart surgeon. Eye roll. And while quite a bit of hay is made about gender traitors
    like the secretary (who just so happened to be fat and ugly)
    Elizabeth made a living off of these dissatisfied housewives and then dropped them like hot potatoes because that job wasn’t professionally fulfilling for her. A shining example of women supporting women. 
  • Cut the capitalist crap. Why do I get the impression this book is telling me financial earnings and professional accomplishments determine the value of a human life? That gainful employment is the desired end state of every man and woman in the world? I am descended from a long line of what this book would derisively call housewives who lived happy, fulfilled lives and were fully actualized individuals in their own rights. There is no one in this book who represents that reality. A woman who is forced to work a crappy minimum wage job has suffered a loss of agency the same way that one who is forced to stay home and mind the kids has suffered a loss of agency. 
  • Where is the “historical” in “historical fiction”? I hate that this book passes itself off as in any way historical when it’s really a mish-mash of all of the worst stereotypes about the 50s crammed into a single book and then dialed up to 11. Not only that, Elizabeth herself is completely anachronistic – but anachronistic as if her daughter wrote the story. (Oh wait…) Some elements of this book might count as historical but giving it the imprimatur of historical fiction makes it seem like it’s more than a boomer author preaching to the millennials about “how good you have it, now sit down and stop talking about intersectionality.” 
  • Bury the Gays! Perhaps a minor quibble but I really thought we had progressed beyond stories where homosexual characters die tragically just so that readers (or other characters) can discover themselves.
    So glad the only non-straight individual in this ENTIRE book offs himself in the first chapter for the sole purpose of Elizabeth’s personal growth. Love that for him.

Things I liked about this book: the dog, the cooking, the audiobook narrator, the fact that it was a quick bubblegum read. 
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