Chemistry

I am reading a book called Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus. It was recommended to me by a friend or else I would never have chosen it. I always heard that chemistry was a very hard course and I was very successful in avoiding that course in both high school and college. I was able to take biology instead so I don't know the first thing about chemistry. Just looking at the cover of that book scared me. 

As it turns out, it is a fabulous book and you don't need to know much about chemistry to read it. And despite the title, it is really a book about feminism. Speaking for myself, the book is stellar at what it tries to do and it probably turns most of us into feminists. That is, if feminism means understanding that the deck is stacked against equality and means that women usually have a hill to climb, then the book is about feminism. 

Elizabeth Zott has the misfortune to be a chemist -- a serious one. In the 1960s that meant she was a minority. Most chemists were men. But Zott had a strong personality and was not easy to be put down. Regardless of your own sex you will find Zott to be a role model. A person you would admire and trust. Turning the pages ought to remove you from your own hang ups and turn you  into a cheerleader for people. Yes people. All people. Literature is wonderful at making you think beyond the usual stereotypes. Zott is a great human being. Period. One review of the book says the following, "A story for the smart girls who refuse to dumb themselves down." In truth, it is a story for anyone who might dumb themselves down. 

What else? I love the way chemistry and cooking are tied in a knot in this book. Even me with limited understanding of chemistry can appreciate the intersections of chemistry and cooking. I think of chemists as people who mix things together and watch the outcomes. Cooks do the same things. Zott has a daughter and is thrown into cooking and then her own television cooking show when her daughter is fed a less than healthy lunch at school. So if you like cook books and cooking, you should love this book for that part of it. 

It makes me think about what it is that creates an Elizabeth Zott. I realize that she is a book character but I have been lucky to know a few Elizabeth Zotts -- both men and women who are successful because they have strong characters and they know how to solve problems. They set goals and work towards them.