I received an invitation to an online screening of Apple TV's Lessons in Chemistry this past weekend. The series is based on Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus. The book, Lessons in Chemistry, was published in 2022 and was a major hit with readers , even being named Best Book of the Year by The New York Times, Washington Post, NPR, Oprah Daily, and Entertainment Weekly to name a few. I'm reading this right now... I like reading the book before seeing the movie... and that means finishing the book too, but I haven't yet... so what's a girl going to do with the invite?....... Accept it of course!
The Series premiers this Friday, Oct. 13th on Apple TV. The series will run 8 episodes. The pilot and first episode will be released on Oct. 13th, then a new episode every week until episode 8.
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Need to know what the book is about? Here's the synopsis from the publisher, Penguin Random House:
Lessons in Chemisty by Bonnie Garmus...Chemist Elizabeth Zott is not your average woman. In fact, Elizabeth Zott would be the first to point out that there is no such thing as an average woman. But it's the early 1960s and her all-male team at Hastings Research Institute takes a very unscientific view of equality. Except for one: Calvin Evans, the lonely, brilliant, Nobel Prize–nominated grudge holder who falls in love with—of all things—her mind. True chemistry results.
Like science, though, life is unpredictable. Which is why a few years later Eizabeth Zott finds herself not only a single mother but also the reluctant star of America's most beloved cooking show, Supper at Six. Elizabeth's unusual approach to cooking ("combine one tablespoon acetic acid with a pinch of sodium chloride") proves revolutionary. But as her following grows, not everyone is happy. Because, as it turns out, Elizabeth Zott isn't just teaching women how to cook. She's daring them to change the status quo.
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What did I think of it? I really enjoyed it! The TV series changed the order of some things. I don't want to ruin it for you, so suffice it to say, they changed some of the circumstances, but kept the flavor. Not unusual for a book to movie, or in this case TV, adaptation. First of all the cinematography is wonderful. They have captured the 1950's/60's perfectly! (Don't you just love the fashions of the day!) They also capture the sexism that existed and the frustration any woman in the workforce would feel. Especially in a male dominated environment that Elizabeth Zot, our lead heroine, works in. I liked the way Elizabeth Zot bucked the conventions of the times. The acting was very good, good chemistry (no pun intended) between our lead actors, Brie Larson and Lewis Pullman( he plays Calvin Evans). But I suspect the series will shift to Elizabeth being a cooking show goddess after the pilot. There are some flashbacks in the pilot that help flesh out Elizabeth, but because of some of these flashbacks there are trigger warnings. (Anyone who thinks this is a comedy may be surprised, because this deals with some very serious issues.)
What is a trigger warning? Here is the definition as per the Cambridge Dictionary:
a statement at the beginning of a piece of writing, before the start of a film, etc., warning people that they may find the content very upsetting, especially if they have experienced something similar: Trigger warnings are supposed to protect people from post-traumatic flashbacks.
What are some of the triggers in Lessons in Chemistry? rape, sexism, and suicide to name three. The pilot alluded to some sort of sexual abuse that happened to Elizabeth towards the end of the pilot. Towards the beginning of the book, there are no allusions, the abuse is in black & white on the page and it is brutal. But maybe that will be revealed in total in a later TV episode?
The pilot ends with a cliff hanger. Of course. But the first episode is right after, and I look forward to watching it.
I am enjoying the book so far. The "brutal" scene at the beginning does not take away from the rest of the story. It explains Elizabeth's actions. But as I move along in the story, I am really enjoying the writing of Bonnie Garmus. And I'm all there rooting Elizabeth on...
So now, I need to finish the book before the weekend so I can watch the series without ruining the reading experience.
Have you read Lessons in Chemistry?
Do you like to read the book before you see the movie?
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