I couldn’t help but laugh and cry with Elizabeth as she struggled to be the best mother and chemist she could possibly be. Laugh-out-loud funny, shrewdly observant, and studded with a dazzling cast of supporting characters, Lessons in Chemistry is as original and vibrant as its protagonist. When Calvin is out of the picture, Elizabeth gets fired after learning she is pregnant out of wedlock. I’m no bible thumping extremist, but it’s offensive when religion and people of faith are portrayed only in derogatory terms, such as faith is “a simpleton’s recipe for prayers and beads” and a funeral service was “boring verse and preposterous prayers”.

That is, until Calvin Evans, another brilliant chemist, comes along and really sees all that she is capable of. I did have some issues with the story but overall it is humorous, clever, and allows Elizabeth to shine in all her intelligent glory. LESSONS IN CHEMISTRY is both funny and rousing: it had me laughing one minute and air-punching the next. Another point I'd like to bring up as a chemist, Elizabeth Zott apparently has several PhDs worth of knowledge, on degrees that she didn't even do. Also, she won't make copies, get coffee, or do any of the other woman's work at the institute, and she's so cold and prickly she doesn't want to be touched or groped and isn't willing to provide "favors".Elizabeth is quite simply fabulous, I love her and want to be her but I’ll certainly need to mug up on the chemistry! This novel is "irresistible, satisfying and full of fuel" ( The New York Times Book Review ) and "witty, sometimes hilarious. I think when picking up a book like this I’m looking to escape darker reads that include violence against women.

She and Calvin Evans both have tragic backstories that leave them conveniently free of family ties, but with an air of mystery that may or may not be revealed: the means are largely unscientific. They were happy, even though Elizabeth rejected marrying him because she wanted to become an independent scientist without being acknowledged for her husband's contributions. Because of the gender roles of that era, her passions and talents for chemistry are going to waste until she ends up with a nightly television show teaching other women how to cook. Elizabeth Zott is a chemist in academia, but is forced out before her doctorate because of the misogyny of the times. The book zips from really dark subjects like rape and abuse to light somewhat farcical subjects like teaching a dog English or Elizabeth becoming an amazing rower by studying physics (women can smart their way into being better than six foot athletic men at everything because saying they can't is sexist, yo).

Elizabeth was difficult to warm to --not because of her abrasive personality-- because she felt like a mouthpiece for 21st Century feminist monologues. I’ll definitely be tuning in when it debuts, but personally I hope it softens the novel’s sharp edges a bit. She's weary of males talking over her when she presents her findings and taking credit for her work. The novel’s manuscript was snatched up in a bidding war for adaptation rights by Apple TV+ pre-publication, so actress Brie Larson is already cast to play Elizabeth Zott. Except for one: Calvin Evans; the lonely, brilliant, Nobel-prize nominated grudge-holder who falls in love with—of all things—her mind.