Lessons in Chemistry

One chapter of my doctoral thesis was dedicated to Rosalind Franklin, the co-discoverer of DNA, and so I was initially fascinated by Elizabeth Zott's life as a chemist in the 1950s and 1960s. Zott's enormous difficulties in asserting herself against men in science and research captivated me (Rosalind Franklin also had these very problems). The fact that Zott is much cleverer than the men around her and yet, or perhaps precisely because of this, doesn't make any progress with her research is very plausible for the time and comes across convincingly in the novel. However, I didn't like the fact that Zott is slightly autistic. Nowadays, this trait might make a protagonist interesting, especially with a science and research background, but in the 1950s, a woman with such behavior and speech patterns would have been hard-pressed to get a foothold anywhere. I also had problems with the plot. Yes, there are meticulous explanations on how Zott gets back on track financially with her illegitimate daughter and how she manages to become a TV chef, but hardly any of it was plausible. Nevertheless, it was good entertainment and I thought it was wonderful that Zott, as a TV chef/applied chemist, becomes a TV icon with enormous reach. But this is precisely where the message that Elizabeth Zott sends irritated me: Becoming an icon as cooking chemist for women and being a role model for professional self-fulfillment is apparently not something to aspire to. From the very beginning, Zott devalues her own performance and achievements, as if science and scientific success only count in a male-dominated and male-defined scientific environment – and cooking, as a female activity in a female environment, apparently doesn't count, even when it's presented in a high-level chemistry context. I found this message very, very unfortunate. Even though Zott's TV show changes the lives of many women and massively broadens their horizons, Zott herself can't see anything positive in all these effects. What is the message the novel is trying to convey here? Success and recognition in a so-called women's domain are worthless? Long live the patriarchy? Disconcerting. But the most disconcerting part was the ending: Zott quit her TV show and is left with nothing, and no one will give her a suitable job. SPOILER: Here the author resorts to a trick from ancient theater: In the last chapter, a deus ex machina (God out of the machine), the organizing hand from above, appears out of nowhere and sets everything right, in the form of Calvin Evans' mother. Calvin is the deceased father of Zott's daughter and grew up in an orphanage himself, having been given away as an illegitimate child. Now it turns out that Calvin's mother is filthy rich and bought the laboratory from which Zott was expelled when pregnant. It also turns out that she knew about Calvin, Zott, and her daughter, but never approached any of them because she never considered it necessary. But now that Zott is financially at her wit's end, she intervenes and provides Zott with a carefree existence in exactly the scientific environment she desires. A veritable dea ex machina, then, who buys another woman a position in a male-dominated domain because Zott couldn't make it on her own. What a message! One detail has stuck with me in particular: I think I heard in the audiobook that Calvin's filthy rich mother was placed under guardianship and can only act through her guardian/lawyer, who has access to her wealth. So: One powerless mother (dea ex machina) saves another powerless mother (Zott) and secures the latter a secure position in the patriarchy of science. What kind of 19th-century message is that?!? Women are incapable and thus dependent on divine intervention? Only in patriarchal structures and male domains (research labs) does an intelligent woman want to achieve self-fulfillment? A truly disappointing final chapter. One star for the best character of this novel, i.e. the dog Six Thirty. PS: The English audiobook is nicely read by Miranda Raison.

Eine Geschichte über eine unglaubliche starke und mutige Frau! Das Buch hat mich sehr beeindruckt. Ich habe mitgefiebert, gehasst, geliebt, getrauert, war unglaublich wütend und äusserst begeistert und allzeit mitgerissen. Ich will diese Frau als Freundin, auch wenn es bestimmt nicht einfach mit ihr wäre. Sowohl Frauen wie auch Männer können sehr viel von Elizabeth lernen, über das Kochen, über Chemie, aber insbesondere über das Leben.

Elisabeth Zott führt ein ungewöhnliches Leben in den 1960er. In diesem Buch stimmt einfach alles. Die Lebensgeschichte der Chemikerin mit unehelichem Kind ist ungewöhnlich. Sie landet einen Job in einer Kochshow und gibt dort anderen Frauen Mut ihre eigene Ziele zu verfolgen. Es ist ein Kampf gegen die etablierten sozialen Regeln und jeder kleine Centimeter wird hart umkämpft. Ich mochte den Gedanken sehr, dass es Menschen befähigt an sich zu glauben, wenn man sie behandelt, als traue man ihnen mehr zu als sie selbst. So ist es ein Thema, dass Elisabeth immer wieder auf chemische Reaktionen verweist. Auch dass sich Elisabeth nichts gefallen lässt, war erfrischend. Sie liest sich nicht wie eine typische Frau: zu direkt, zu unbequem, aber sie ist eine Frau durch und durch. Die Kritik an religiösen Dogmen mochte ich, aber sie haben für mich irgendwie nicht in diese Zeit gepasst. Ich bin selbst Atheist, und ich denke auch, dass Wissenschaft und humanistische Bildung die Gesellschaft weiterbringen als Religion, aber ich bezweifle, dass in den 1960 Jahren der Gedanke weit verbreitet war. Es ist ein spannendes Buch darüber, wie wir alle uns durch unsere Selbstwahrnehmungen von innen und aussen einschränken lassen und die Hoffnung, ein erfüllteres Leben zu führen, wenn wir uns von gesellschaftlichen Normen verabschieden. Ein wirklich tolles Buch, das weit über die normalen Frauenthemen herausgeht. Eine klare Leseempfehlung für alle, die ungewöhnliche Protagonisten mögen.

Elisabeth Zott the woman you are!! I absolutely loved this book—every single thing about it. The characters are so deeply written and incredibly relatable. I even found myself wanting to get a dog and teach him the dictionary, just like the main character, Elisabeth Zott—a brilliant chemist! As a woman in STEM, the inspiration and motivation I got from this book were insane. I was crying way too much over mere ink on paper, but honestly? It was worth it. I’d recommend this book to everyone!

Bestes Buch seit langem. Konnte es fast nicht weglegen. Super geschrieben, erfrischend und locker mit sehr schwierigen Themen. Man fühlt sich als Frau gesehen und es trifft mitten ins Herz.