Lessons in Chemistry

 What delightful book.  This book was recommended by a friend and I really appreciate that she mentioned it to me.  I would have overlooked this book.  Though now I see that it is fast becoming a very popular read, if I had to reserve it now I would be 37th on the library's ebook waitlist.  

So entertaining ...I loved the quirky characters and the idea that love is a matter of chemistry ... cooking is a matter of chemistry and friendship is a matter of chemistry.. do opposites attract or similar people react to each other better?  This book covers the world of women, housewives and family interactions in 1960... like baking soda and vinegar it fizzles

This is such creatively written plot, with quite a unique writing style.  Readers meet Elizabeth Zott and Calvin, two characters with some personality quirks that some may say are on the spectrum but maybe just fun quirky personalities.  The chemistry between them is magnetic.  They are both chemistry scientists working at the same lab.

It is the 1960s and women are still expected to stay home, have children and be the perfect housewives.  Professional working women is still unheard of , so Elizabeth stands out and is unwelcome at the Hastings Laboratory.  When her greatest supporter , Calvin dies unexpectedly, and Elizabeth finds herself unwed and pregnant, also frowned upon, she is forced out of her lab.  Her daughter, named Mad Zott, and the dog, Six Thirty, benefit from Elizabeth setting up her lab  at home to continue her research.  She spends time educating both the dog and her young child.  

Slowly  as we read this story  more and more explanations are revealed about both Calvin's past and Elizabeth's thoughts.  Elizabeth takes a job as a television chef, using her knowledge of chemistry to teach the housewives of America how to make delicious meals.

This is a story of love, resolve to succeed and trust.  Elizabeth learns how to accept help and friendship from the TV  producer and the neighbor.  She learns to be a great mother and the ability to stand up for herself and succeed.  Mad is the catalyst that creates all the chemical reactions in this story.  She is a well developed character, with a clever, interesting personality.

If you have been a mother, a working woman and especially if you  grew up in the '60s and '70s, you will really relate to this plot and to the clever prose that is written into this story.