"A Question of Chemistry" by Bonnie Garmus: The chemist Elizabeth Zott

Elizabeth Zott is a chemist. Every characterization of the main protagonist should begin in the same way and no other. Elizabeth Zott may also be a talented cook, an authentic TV presenter, a self-confident housewife and an exceptional mother, but first and foremost she is a chemist in a time when this profession is predominantly practiced by men and women in a research institution are considered secretaries per se.

"In short, subordinating women to men and subordinating men to women is not biological: it's cultural. And it all starts with two words: pink and blue. From there, everything goes inexorably downhill."

In her debut novel published in 2022, American author Bonnie Garmus creates an incredibly intelligent and strong female character who rejects such role clichés and stands up for her goals and values in a male-dominated society. After all, the female sex doesn't have it easy in 1952: the professional aspirations of the protagonists in the book are often not taken seriously, they are beaten by their husbands, raped by their academic supervisors and labeled as liars by the police officers in charge, who shouldn't put on a skirt as an "obvious request" and should rather show "some remorse". Not only once does one feel reminded of the debates in today's society, although Garmus' story is set in a different time. For example, it is incomprehensible to Zott that she does not receive the same salary as her male colleagues or how it can be readily assumed that married women bear their husbands' surnames. Why isn't it the other way around? "Very funny. [...] You know why. Men don't do that".

"A woman wants to tell me what pregnancy is? Who do you think you are?" The question seemed to surprise her. "I am a woman," she said.

But the novel is not a drama, even if this introduction initially suggests otherwise. Although you become witness to extreme scenes, Bonnie Garmus manages to switch between a wide range of emotions seemingly effortlessly and within a very short space of time: She repeatedly brings you first to depressed speechlessness due to the described conditions and only shortly afterwards to liberated laughter. This humor arises above all from the sober and rational manner of the main protagonist. Zott doesn't seem to understand rhetorical questions or irony, often misinterprets what people want to express, can't read emotions and obviously has a very unique sense of humor, if any at all. When her daughter is disappointed that her friends aren't interested in knots and arrowheads, her mother advises her: "Well, why don't you try the periodic table next week? That always goes down well!" In short: Elizabeth Zott is different from the people around her. But she is wonderfully different. It is precisely this almost naïve character trait of the main character that allows Garmus to highlight the abstruse attitudes of society at the time. When Zott can't understand the thought processes of her fellow human beings, she bluntly picks up on them or usually unintentionally misinterprets their statements, so that the questionable beliefs of those around her are revealed in the subsequent dialogs, which are both clever and witty.

"And what's with the pants?" (...) "Do you like them? I'm sure I do. You wear them all the time, and I can see why. Pants are very comfortable."

"Now I break the inner bond to extend the amino acid chain [...] which allows the released atoms to bind to other atoms that have also been released." Which chemical experiment is described here? The whisking of an egg. That's not chemistry? Yes, that's exactly what cooking is according to Elizabeth Zott. Sodium chloride is salt, acetylsalicylic acid is aspirin, CH3COOH is vinegar, she calls a dish an experiment, instead of an apron she wears a smock and her kitchen is a laboratory. Due to a series of strokes of fate, she finally gives up her job at the research institute and becomes the presenter of the TV cooking show 'Essen um sechs'. There, she teaches the viewers in front of their TV sets recipes that are not always easy to understand, but delicious, and in the process becomes a role model completely unintentionally. With incredible courage, she defies the editor who demands that she be the "sexy wife and loving mother that every man wants to see after work". Instead, she encourages a rethink and encourages women to take control of their lives. If they are housewives, it is essential that society appreciates this, as this work is the "most underestimated job in the world". In the same way, however, it should be accepted when female viewers aspire to a career as a heart surgeon. Zott firmly believes that women can do anything and in this way becomes the idol of an entire generation. This feeling doesn't just remain within the pages of the book. The author creates a character who is thoroughly likeable. As a reader, you can't help but root for her through all the ups and downs of her life, rejoicing every time Elizabeth Zott triumphs over a man or helps a woman achieve the same self-confidence that she herself possesses.

"Cooking is chemistry," she says, "and chemistry is life. Your ability to change everything - yourself included - starts here."

Critically, however, it should be noted that the author often works with a dramaturgy that the story doesn't need. Tragic car accidents, abstruse entanglements and, above all, strange coincidences abound, so that the high number of unusual characters and outlandish life stories can be described as unrealistic. But as the quote on the blurb from Elke Heidenreich suggests ("She's so great and natural that I even googled her: She must really exist, I thought!"), Bonnie Garmus breathes life into the characters precisely because of the fact that they have such special traits. The omniscient, authorial narrator switches to the perspectives of other protagonists and lets the reader look into the most diverse minds. He travels into the future for a sentence, anticipates certain events in the story or poses numerous riddles that arouse curiosity. This play with the distribution of information keeps the tension high, the special characters immerse you in the narrative, the clever dialog makes you smile and the changes of perspective provide variety. Despite the sometimes overdrawn characters with highly dramatic experiences, Bonnie Garmus has created a character in her debut novel that you will remember long after you have finished reading: an emancipated fighter, talented cook, authentic TV presenter, self-confident housewife and exceptional mother, but first and foremost an intelligent chemist. Because Elizabeth Zott is a chemist.