At some point when I was at university I realised that I couldn’t cook. My mum is an excellent cook and she advised me to ‘go back to basics’, which obviously made sense, and yet… I didn’t. What I actually did was remind myself that I had completed Year 12 chemistry, and cooking was essentially the same thing. So I approached cooking with precision (my mum is an intuitive cook, which I eventually understood comes with experience), and I managed well from there onward.
Which leads me to Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus – it’s hardly worth reviewing this book because I’m fairly sure that everyone bar me has read it. I read a sample chapter back in 2022 – it didn’t appeal at all so I never bothered. Except that it turned up on the Literary Wives rotation… and so, I tackled this story about a woman, Elizabeth, living in the early 1960s – chemist, mother, rower, star of a cooking show (but not a wife – although the book has plenty to say about wives in general).
I’ll keep my ‘review’ short – I didn’t enjoy this book at all. I classed it as ‘fantasy’ as there were so many parts that were far-fetched (and there’s also a magic realism element – a dog named Six-Thirty – the dog was cute but magic realism… urgh, especially not paired with the science-dependent-evidence-based narrative).
I’m not going to delve into the feminist theme – some readers view this book as empowering, and I can understand that perspective – Elizabeth is determined, uncompromising and unconventional for her time. And that was partly the problem for me – I simply wasn’t convinced that Elizabeth was of her time. She seemed like a 21st century woman (her politics, her expectations, her understanding of social norms), plonked into the sixties. There was also an uncomfortable disconnect between her being ‘smart’ but also completely blind to many important social and emotional occurrences – what was Garmus trying to imply? That Elizabeth was neuro-diverse?
A pencil instead of a pen? Because unlike ink, graphite is erasable. People make mistakes… A pencil allows one to clear the mistake and move on. Scientists expect mistakes, and because of it, we embrace failure.
I was particularly irritated by the highly unlikely rowing scenes (firstly crews need to be of a similar height so that the length of each stroke is even. Secondly, Elizabeth ‘learning’ to row in a few weekends and then joining a successful men’s eight is ludicrous).
The main question we ask about the books we read for Literary Wives is: What does this book say about wives or about the experience of being a wife?
Elizabeth’s cooking show, Supper at Six, tackled the expectations for being a ‘good wife’ head-on. Her direct approach with her audience – speaking to them about self-care and nutrition, were the most entertaining scenes in the novel. There is a very clear ‘you deserve to put yourself first’ message. In fact, the highlight comes via a minor character who expressed her ambition to study – on air, Elizabeth encourages her, and this character is revisited toward the end of the novel in a lovely ‘where are they now?’ moment.
Other than that, Garmus presents marriage as a bad deal – Elizabeth never married her true love, Calvin, who was the father of her child (yes, a baby out of wedlock in the conservative early-sixties would not have been easy). Elizabeth’s neighbour is in an abusive marriage, trapped by her vows, her religious beliefs, and her template for ‘loyalty’. And there is a significant male character whose wife left him for another man, leaving him to raise their daughter (the focus is on his struggle with home duties).
See Rebecca’s, Kay’s and Naomi’s reviews, too. And if you want to join in, our next book (June) is The Constant Wife by W. Somerset Maugham.
2.5/5
“What do we have now? A mixture, which is a combination of two or more substances in which each substance retains its individual chemical properties. In the case of chicken pot pie, notice how your carrots, peas, onions, and celery are mixed yet remain separate entities. Think about that. A successful chicken pot pie is like a society that functions at a highly efficient level. Call it Sweden. Here every vegetable has its place…”
