The year is 1961 and TV star Elizabeth Zott is balancing her responsibilities as a mother, a talented chemist, and the demands of a daily TV show. She is, we learn, perpetually depressed, and from the notes she leaves in her daughter’s lunchbox, ‘it is not your imagination, most people are awful’ we see that she treats her young child as the intelligent person she is. We learn, also, that her daughter, Madeline, is intellectually advanced for her years but is determined to hide this fact from her peers, determined to fit in as she sees what has happened to her mother as a consequence of her refusal to. Before long we have jumped back in time to see how they all arrived at this point. Elizabeth is working at the Hastings Research Institute, the only woman in a team of chemists. She soon meets her future love, Calvin Evans, the Institute’s star chemist who nobody really likes but tolerates for the funding he brings in. She is largely unimpressed with him when they first meet but they soon fall hard for each other and she comes to understand why he has isolated himself at work. Their blossoming relationship is looked on with disdain from their colleagues, jealous of her good looks and his brilliance, although some of the women in the office are pleased that she is no longer their competition. Everyone’s perception of them having an easy time of it for their natural advantages miss entirely the difficulties they have both faced. As time passes and Calvin is no longer around things become increasingly difficult for Elizabeth. Hastings try to fire her for being pregnant and unmarried (she refuses to accept their dismissal), she struggles to earn enough money to look after herself and her daughter, and her attempts to be respected for her scientific endeavours are constantly belittled, despite the fact they know her work is good, good enough to steal.
One of the main themes of the novel is the treatment of women. Elizabeth does not want to marry or become a housewife but she completely respects those who choose that life. Sadly, some of her colleagues are less understanding. Miss Frask ‘like so many other women, assumed that downgrading someone of her own sex would somehow lift her in the estimation of her male superiors.’ Elizabeth does not accept limitations either for herself or others. From the days of her PhD she has struggled to be taken seriously, and has repeatedly had to fight off unwanted approaches from male colleagues. She persists nonetheless, confident in her abilities, and even creates a lab at home when she is pushed out at Hastings. When she unexpectedly gets her own TV show she uses the opportunity to teach some chemistry through cooking, but also uses her platform to advocate for respect for the work women do in the home, and to inspire those who dream of a different life. It’s aspirational if not a little unrealistic at times.
Elizabeth feels that she has never been seen as her own person. As a child, she was seen either as the arsonist’s daughter or the sister of a suicide. Dating Calvin she worries that she is seen merely as the girlfriend of a famous chemist. Their discussions around marriage and why she doesn’t want it reveal that she doesn’t want to be even more subsumed by this. If she published under the name of Evans people would assume the work was his. When he pushes back on this she asks if he would change his name to hers, unsurprisingly he isn’t keen on the idea.
Calvin’s story is revealed to us gradually. He reveals to Elizabeth that he was adopted and then sadly orphaned, growing up in a boys home. He has since been plagued with letters from people claiming to be long lost family members. When Madeline is set the homework of creating a family tree she begins to delve more into the life of her father. His frequent correspondence with a pen pal, the Reverend Wakeley, reveals much about his views and life choices. She attempts to track down the home he grew up in, and unwittingly opens a can of worms that is wrapped up by the end of the book. This is a book of huge coincidences, missed opportunities, and many selfish and unkind characters. The resolution may feel a little overdone, but the twists and turns will doubtless inspire strong emotions.
Many of the characters Elizabeth interacts with, especially at work, are quite contemptible, but she also finds goodness in many others. Her neighbour Harriet, although nosy, is kind and becomes a real support for her. She may not agree with all of Elizabeth’s decisions, but she helps her to achieve her goals by sharing the burden of childcare. Madeline, through the innocence of childhood seems to bring out honesty in the adults around her. She comes to know Reverend Wakeley, and he admits to her his doubts about his vocation. Even Miss Frask eventually reveals to Elizabeth her own frustrations and the traumas they share. There is a clear divide between the good and bad characters, but within that, certainly the good characters have layers.
This is an enjoyable read, and although it deals with difficult topics such as grief, sexual assault, and sexism it doesn’t feel like a heavy read. Elizabeth is a headstrong, to the point protagonist, and we’re able to see a little more of how hard she has to fight to keep going through the eyes of Madeline. Their dog, Six Thirty, makes a sympathetic narrator at times. He is kind and riddled with guilt. Always looking out for the family, his voice is a sweet addition. The many injustices Elizabeth faces will make you rage against the perpetrators, yet within a few pages you’ll be chuckling over something else. Garmus writes compelling characters with sensitivity and realism and easily keeps you turning the pages.
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