Lessons in Chemistry: The modern classic multi-million-copy bestseller Paperback – 2 Mar. 2023

I’m amazed at how well the author understands the issues for women in the 1960’s without living through them. I did live through them , albeit in the UK, and she got it spot on. This is a book about an exceptional woman, Elizabeth Zott, who refuses to accept the role that male dominated society set out for her… and how she copes with the huge issues and struggles this causes. She is exceptionally intelligent, and a chemist. But in the 60’s there were few women accepted into male dominated areas like science, especially in Academe. But her treatment, though abusive to an extreme, was considered the norm in the 60’s and even 70’s.This is such a cleverly written novel, you can’t start to predict the outcome. It’s is funny on many levels, even endearing as the characters all juggle to survive and relate in different ways.. not all positive ones; it is sad to the point of tears at times. But both despair and hope work their way through the story , changing quite often from character to character.There were huge demonstrations in the 60’s to prevent the feminist movement but equal determination from top feminists to your average house wife to press forward with it. Films like ‘Mrs America ‘ show how deeply society was riven over the subject . It was accepted that men, especially ones in authority, were entitled to abuse female staff etc. No one blinked an eye! The idea of the ‘ little woman ‘ at home was even in books guiding women to happy marriages!So the struggles all the women go through are very valid.The small details, the quirkiness, the ups and downs of the heroine’s self belief are brilliantly and sensitively described. And the dog, Six thirty is a brilliant ‘ chorus’ type character.. both funny, eventually brave, and loyal.And he learns over 900 words to boot!I had no idea whether I’d enjoy it, but once I’d started, I just couldn’t put it down. And of course today, feminism or female equality still struggles and suffers many of Elizabeth’s hurdles, so it’s very relevant when we think of the Me Too movement, etc.All the characters are very realistic in one way or another, as they tumble through life , trying to progress. But for me, the women in it are the heroines, and Elizabeth the most fascinating of all. A must read if you like books about personal relatIonships, and coping with life generally.

This book has had a huge amount of marketing and appears to have sold a lot of copies which is always great for the writer (and the industry in general). I've also had a few friends read it too and have heard nothing but good.The book is 386 pages split into 46 chapters which makes reading it very easy.I had a look on Amazon before I started and was amused to se that this is the number one book in the "Feminist Criticism" category (there was me thinking it was a novel!).The story starts with Elizabeth as a mother, scientist and TV presenter, juggling her commitments in a way that was unusual for the 1960s. We then go back ten years and begin to understand how she got where she is now.Whilst appearing to be light on the surface, the book quickly moves to much darker territory, showing the sexism and abuse that was accepted as normal. That sums up the beauty of this book - it has an unforgiving hardness at its centre but is wrapped but a thin layer of social predictability making it accessible to read.There is a balance of comedy and serious issues that also makes the book fun. Elizabeth as a character is hard to believe and I thought the author could have softened her more but, let yourself go with the depiction, and she is a great focus for the novel. The story has a big build up before we actually get Elizabeth on TV (which is marketed as the core of the novel) - this feels like a long time but is necessary as it sets the scene.Everyone in the book is a remarkable person for all sorts of reasons - even Six Thirty (the dog) who is taught to recognise hundreds of specific words.Getting further into the book I became more and more aware of how deep the topic is. There is a lot of thought around the equality messages and you can't help but make comparisons to today's society - some problems have been reduced by legislation and gradual society change but many issues are worse than ever. Women appearing on TV today would say that their looks are analysed more than ever before, with the possibilities of feedback not limited to phone calls and letters.Endings of novels are hard to get right but this one is perfectly achieved. There is a lovely amount of emotion mixed in with a good balance of well structured plot.