Μαθήματα χημείας
Bonnie Garmus, 2022
★ 4.28 from 1.9m ratings on Goodreads
A chemist with a fierce mind and no patience for being underestimated becomes the unlikely star of a 1960s cooking show, and refuses to shrink. Witty and brisk, with a fierce, funny voice that carries you through ambition, family strain and a quiet melancholy.
Feels like wonder, melancholy and longing. About ambition, family and identity.
Who it’s for
You may like it if you enjoy smart, sharp-tempered heroines and domestic scenes shot through with workplace frustration and wit. The 1960s sexism is relentless, and some domestic stretches are slower than the sharpest scenes.
Why read it
For a bracing look at a woman refusing to be talked over, it pairs anger with humor and makes the case for stubborn curiosity.
A page from the book
What if a child's gift is the one nobody knows how to name?
Όμως εκείνη άρχισε να διαβάζει από τριών ετών και τώρα, κοντεύοντας τα έξι πια, είχε τελειώσει σχεδόν όλον τον Ντίκενς. Τέτοιο παιδί ήταν η Μάντλεν, ένα παιδί που μπορούσε να σιγομουρμουρίσει κάποιο κονσέρτο του Μπαχ αλλά δεν μπορούσε να δέσει τα κορδόνια του, που μπορούσε να εξηγήσει την περιστροφή της Γης αλλά μπερδευόταν στην τρίλιζα. Και αυτό ήταν το πρόβλημα. Διότι, ενώ οι μουσι κές ιδιοφυΐες πάντα αναγνωρίζονται, δεν ισχύει το ίδιο για τους πρώιμους αναγνώστες. Κάτι που συμβαίνει επειδή οι πρώιμοι αναγνώστες είναι απλώς καλοί σε κάτι στο οποίο τελικά θα γίνουν καλοί και όλοι οι υπόλοιποι. Συνεπώς η πρωτιά τους δεν θεωρείται ξεχωριστή, απλώς ενοχλητική. Και αυτό η Μάντλεν το αντιλαμβανόταν. What readers say
Readers say
Bonnie Garmus.Garmus was a creative director in advertising and wrote the novel in her sixties; it became a bestseller, and the character of Elizabeth was inspired by a rowing teammate. It was her debut at 64. She has said the character was inspired by a feeling of being talked over, and the book went on to sell millions worldwide.
Books that feel like this
More by Bonnie Garmus
Lessons in Chemistry
Bonnie Garmus, 2022
A 1960s chemist is pushed out of the lab, becomes an unlikely television cook, and refuses — flatly, unsmilingly — to be diminished.
Where to get it
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Questions readers ask
- Is Μαθήματα χημείας for me?
- You may like it if you enjoy smart, sharp-tempered heroines and domestic scenes shot through with workplace frustration and wit. The 1960s sexism is relentless, and some domestic stretches are slower than the sharpest scenes.
- What is Μαθήματα χημείας like?
- Witty and brisk, with a fierce, funny voice that carries you through ambition, family strain and a quiet melancholy. Feels like wonder, melancholy and longing. About ambition, family and identity.
- What should I read after Μαθήματα χημείας?
- If you liked Μαθήματα χημείας, try Yesteryear (Caro Claire Burke), The Midnight Library (Matt Haig) and Love, Theoretically (Ali Hazelwood).
A taste of the feed
The voice policing a woman's anger often wears her own face.
A voice in my head, echoing softly: America hates angry women. The Lord hates angry women. You hate angry women. Do not be an angry woman.
Yesteryear · Caro Claire Burke
The gap between a mother's corrections and a stranger's kindness.
It was hard not to compare Mrs Elm to her mother, who treated Nora like a mistake in need of correction. For instance, when she was a baby her mother had been so worried Nora’s left ear stuck out more than her right that she’d used sticky tape to address the situation, then disguised it beneath a woollen bonnet.
The Midnight Library · Matt Haig
How a doctorate turns into a side hustle you never put on the CV.
Not that there would be anything wrong: sex work is legitimate work, and people who engage in it are just as deserving of respect as ballerinas, or firefighters, or hedge fund managers. But ten months ago, when I graduated with a Ph.D. in theoretical physics from Northeastern, I figured that by now I’d have a reasonably remunerated academic position. I did not imagine that at twenty-seven I’d be paying my water bill by helping adult men pretend that they have dating lives. And yet here I am, fake-girlfriending my way through my student loans.
Love, Theoretically · Ali Hazelwood
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