Rating: 4.75 (out of 5)
Genre: historical fiction
Review: Being a chemist is not an easy thing for a woman to be in the '50s and '60s, and is maybe not all that easy now, although I imagine it would be easier if there really had been a woman like Elizabeth Zott to look the world straight in the eye, ask "Why not?" and refuse to take no for an answer. Elizabeth is a chemist, and refuses to be treated like anything other than the serious scientist she is.
However, until Elizabeth can remake the world in her vision of gender equality, she must go on doing her television cooking show so that she can support herself and her daughter. On Supper at Six, though, the cooking is a mere byproduct of the chemistry she's really teaching, and both cooking and chemistry are ancillary to the confidence she gives to the women across the country who tune in faithfully every weekday.
If this book has a flaw, it's that Elizabeth has one too many diatribes about the unfairness, nay, illogic, of keeping women out of the sciences. Fortunately, Garmus has given Elizabeth such an authentic voice, and made her such a sympathetic character, that this reader, at least, was more than willing to make allowances. And it's not just Elizabeth; Elizabeth has a support network par excellence, and each one contributes their unique voice to make this book a pleasure to read.
Garmus's debut effort is truly a wonderful book, and one that I'll be recommending for a long time. I'm excited to see what she writes next.
FTC Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher in exchange for this review.
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