Lessons in Chemistry - Bonnie Garmus

    2022; 404 pages.  New Author? : Yes.  Genres : Humorous Fiction; Feminism; Chemistry; Cooking.  Laurels: Barnes & Noble 2022 Book of the Year (winner), plus five more.  Overall Rating : 9*/10.

 

    Elizabeth Zott needs a job.  She’s been expelled from her doctoral program and fired from her lab technician job.  There are bills to pay and a young daughter to raise.  TV executive Walter Pine has a job opening.  He works at KCTV and is putting together a new afternoon TV show.

 

    But afternoon TV shows are tricky things.  The target audience is retired old people who have quaint viewing preferences.  Walter reckons little old ladies would like a cooking show.  One that gives them new ideas to make for supper.

 

    The host of the show has got to be a good-looking woman.  Elizabeth meets that criterion, so she’s a good choice for the job.  And for the retired males who might be watching, the female host should be wearing a tight-fitting outfit and be a bit of a ditz.  Elizabeth preferred fashion outfit is a lab coat.

 

    Walter, we have a problem.

 

What’s To Like...

    Lessons in Chemistry is Bonnie Garmus’s debut novel, and won six literary awards, including the impressive Barnes & Noble’s “2022 Book of the Year”.  The main storyline is a clever blend of chemistry, cooking, science-vs.-religion, and feminism, yet somehow manages to be both thought-provoking and humorous at the same time.

 

    The book opens at an interesting point.  Elizabeth’s five-year old, precocious daughter “Madeline” (her real name is ‘Mad’.  Don’t ask why.)  is getting ready for school and her mom is heading to work as the host on the TV show “Supper at Six”.  The second chapter then ushers in an extensive flashback relating how Elizabeth got into this situation.

 

    The main focus of the tale is on Elizabeth learning to cope with being an attractive, highly intelligent, well-schooled, hard-working female.  You might think with all those assets, Elizabeth’s life and career would be smooth sailing.  It is not.

 

    I loved the character development.  Madeline is gifted but willful.  Six-Thirty is a sentient dog.  Walter Pine struggles to satisfy both a headstrong TV host and what his boss thinks will attract the largest TV audience.  Calvin Evans just wants a hassle-free job and lifestyle.

 

    The ending is both heartwarming and twisty.  A lineage issue is cleared up and Elizabeth finally finds a job worthy of her talents.  At least she, and the reader, hope so.

 

Kewlest New Word ...

Abiogenesis (n.) : the natural process by which life arises from non-living matter on Earth.

 

Ratings…
    Amazon:  4.6/5 based on 316,649 ratings and 8,650 reviews.

    Goodreads: 4.28/5 based on 1,899,426 ratings and 166,560 reviews.

 

Excerpts...

    Scientists.  They just had to be different.

    That was also part of the problem.  Most of the Hastings scientists weren’t different—or at least not different enough.  They were normal, average, at best slightly above average.  Not stupid, but not genius either.  They were the kind of people who make up the majority of every company—normal people who do normal work, and who occasionally get promoted into management with uninspiring results.  People who weren’t going to change the world, but neither were they accidentally going to blow it up.  (pg. 108)

 

    “After you’ve rubbed your steak with a halved clove of fresh garlic,” Elizabeth said a few minutes later, “sprinkle both sides of the meat with sodium chloride and piperine.  Then, when you notice the butter foaming”—she pointed to a hot cast-iron skillet—“place the steak in the pan.  Be sure and wait until the butter foams.  Foam indicates that the butter’s water content has boiled away.  This is critical.  Because now the steak can cook in lipids rather than absorb H₂O.”  (pg. 288)

 

“Pass the sodium chloride.”  (pg. 61)

    The profanity frequency in Lessons in Chemistry is relatively light; I noted just 8 instances in the first 10% of the book, two of which were f-bombs.  A few R-rated situations arise along the way.

 

    I didn’t notice any typos in the whole book, which is a rarity for me.  Elizabeth’s brother committed suicide because he was a homosexual, which has a profound effect on her.  One of the characters likes to debate the subject of Science-vs.-Religion with her.  Homophobes and Bible-Thumpers may want to give this book a pass.

 

    All of the plot threads get tied up, so I'm guessing there won't be a sequel to this novel.  It would be nice to be wrong about that though.  Bonnie Garmus’s second book, Peck & Peck, is due out in mid-October.  For a sneak preview, read Amazon's blurb.  It certainly looks promising.

 

    I am a (retired) chemist by trade, so Lessons in Chemistry really resonated with me.  The lab I worked in was usually an even mix of genders, and two of the four lab managers we had over the years were female.  Our experiences with intelligent female chemists were overwhelmingly positive.

 

    As the Ratings section above shows, Lessons in Chemistry is highly regarded and extremely popular.  It is fully worthy of the laurels that have been bestowed upon it.  I highly recommend it, both to male and female readers.

 

    9 Stars.  One last thing. At one point, the operetta Mikado comes under fire for being “sexist”.  I don’t do operettas, so this was a surprise for me.  Fortunately, Wikipedia gives an insightful explanation of why it’s garnered such criticism.

The Drunken Botanist - Amy Stewart

   2013; 400 pages.  Full Title : The Drunken Botanist – The Plants That The World’s Greatest Drinks.  New Author? : Yes.  Genre : Non-Fiction; Reference, Science, Chemistry, Booze, Botany.  Laurels : NY Times Bestseller, Amazon Best Book of the Month (March 2013); Winner, International Association of Culinary Professionals Judge’s Award (2014).  Overall Rating : 8*/10.

    Hey, I’ve got a great idea.  Let’s make our own booze!  I don’t care if it’s beer, wine, or whatever kind of hard liquor that floats your boat.  We can customize it to make it a truly unique microbrew.

    Of course, we will have to learn how to make it.  Grab some grapes or something and ferment them, or distill them, or whatever it takes create to a concoction that'll give you a buzz when you drink it.

    Hmm.  I wonder where you go to find out how to produce your own hooch.  Hey, I bet any book that’s titled “The Drunken Botanist” will give us some great tips.

What’s To Like...

    I liked the way Amy Stewart structured The Drunken Botanist.  The sections address topics in descending order of importance, and also kinda chronological.  You make the alcohol first, throw in additives to suit to taste, then adorn your creation with garnishes or mixers.  A brief outline:

Part A : Apertif (1%)

    Author’s Introduction.   

Part B : About The Recipes (2%)

    Tips about choosing glasses, ice, tonic water, etc.

Part 1 : Fermentation & Distillation (2%)

    “The Classics” (from Agave to Wheat)

    “Strange Brews” (from Bananas to Tamarind)

Part 2 : Additives (31%)

    Herbs & Spices, Flowers, Trees, Fruit, Nuts & Seeds

Part 3 : Mixers and Garnishes (65%)

    Herbs, Flowers, Trees, Berries & Vines, Fruits & Vegetables

Part C : Digestif

    Author’s Afterword.

    There’s a drawing included for each plant being spotlighted, and the pictures are all smoothly expandable.  Some of the subsections included are: “Bugs in Booze” (a guide to the critters that might infest those plants); “Grow Your Own” (tips on how to best ‘start from scratch’ when making ingredients yourself), and a slew of drink recipes that will appeal to the bartender in you.

    Amy Stewart also warns the reader of poisonous lookalike plants, should you be tempted to “pick your own”, and cautions you about crazy ideas such as importing some of the cited substances that happen to be illegal here.  She also sprinkles all sorts of historical trivia throughout the book, such as George Washington being the dominant force in the rye whiskey making market in early America, wine making that started as early as 6000 years ago, and the fascinating story of quinine.  A nice added feature is: if you want to look up something, there is a huge Index section at the back of the e-book.  Seriously.  It goes from 72% to 100% Kindle.

    Several of the anecdotal topics resonated with me personally.  Caramel coloring is mentioned as an additive in beer and soda.  My company supplied one of the reactants in this process for many years.  Pennsylvania Dutch country, which is where I grew up, is cited for loving its sarsaparilla.  The amygdalin cited in the apricots section is something I was once hired to develop a process for.  And I laughed at the mention of Theobroma; it played a key role in a book I read recently (reviewed here), and I thought at the time it was a figment of Kage Baker’s imagination.

Excerpts...

    Around the world, it seems, there is not a tree or shrub or delicate wildflower that has not been harvested, brewed, and bottled.  Every advance in botanical exploration or horticultural science brought with it a corresponding uptick in the quality of our spirituous liquors.  Drunken botanists?  Given the role they play in creating the world’s great drinks, it’s a wonder there are any sober botanists at all.  (loc. 103)

THE PERFECT PASTS

1 plane ticket to Paris

1 summer afternoon

1 sidewalk café

    Upon arrival in Paris, locate a café that appears to be frequented by actual Parisians.  Secure a seat and order un pastis, s’il vous plaît.  If it is served neat with a jug of cold water, you are expected to mix it yourself, drizzling the water in until you have achieved a satisfactory ratio – usually 3 to 5 parts water to 1 part pastis.  (loc. 2709)

Kindle Details…

    The e-book version of The Drunken Botanist sells for $9.15 at Amazon.  There are two other books in this series, Wicked Plants and Wicked Bugs, which go for $9.99 each.  Both of them await me on my Kindle.  Amy Stewart has written a number of other e-books, including a 3-volume “Kopp Sisters” mystery series.  Those sell for $9.99-$14.99 apiece.

 Next time you pull a piece of silk from between your teeth while you’re eating a fresh ear of corn, remember that you’ve just spat out a fallopian tube.  (loc. 827 )

    The quibbles are minor.  There are a couple links to pages, but since the e-book isn’t formatted to display page numbers, you find yourself at an unknown location when you use the link.

    Also, reading the “mixers and garnishes” sections gets a little bit tedious in spots, when they all start to sound the same.  I think Amy Stewart realized that though, and covers a lot of the most humdrum subsections via mercifully concise data tables.

    But let's not dwell on the minor minuses.  The Drunken Botanist is a fascinating read, and I’m looking forward to exploring the other two books in the series.  We’ll close this review with a quick trivia question to tickle your fancy:

    What is the oldest domesticated living organism?  Answer in the comments section.

    8 Stars.  Add 1 star if you love partaking of mixed drinks and/or beer.  My alcoholic taste buds confine themselves to wine, which means a lot of the sections in The Drunken Botanist weren’t personally relevant.

Periodic Tales - Hugh Aldersey-Williams

   2012; 429 pages.  Full Title : Periodic Tales – A Cultural History of the Elements, from Arsenic to Zinc.  New Author? : Yes.  Genre : Non-Fiction; Science, Chemistry; Reference.  Overall Rating : 9½*/10.

    Did you ever wonder what the “bis” in Pepto-Bismol is?  Or how about the “Bromo” in Bromo-Seltzer?  Or maybe you want to make your own charcoal from that old tree in the backyard.  Even better, let’s make a diamond from that charcoal.  They’re both just carbon, aren’t they?

    For that matter, why should gold be so valuable?  Yes, it’s pretty scarce, but copper is less plentiful than silver, and yet somehow, the latter is our runner-up to the gold.

    And who the heck came up with names for the elements like Yttrium Ytterbium, and the mind-boggling Gadolinium?  Who is the “Lawrence” that gave Lawrencium its name, and why didn’t he just go by “Larium”?

    If questions like these tickle your fancy, you might want to pick up Periodic Tales by Hugh Aldersey-Williams.  Prepare to be both enlightened and amused.

What’s To Like...

    Periodic Tales is divided into six parts.  Surprisingly, the author  goes neither in the order of Atomic Numbers, alphabetically, nor by columns in the Periodic Table.  The chapters are:

Part 1.  Power (5%).

    In which he focuses on elements associated with earthly power – gold, iron, etc.  I thought the subsection about Wollaston & Chevenix and their work with the Noble Metals was  fascinating.

Part 2.  Fire (23%).

    Elements that burn.  Elements that are corrosive.

Part 3.  Craft (43%).

    Elements that artisans can work with..  Tin, lead, silver, calcium, etc.

Part 4.  Beauty (60%).

   Elements used for their lustrous and inherent colors, either "as is" or in a compound.  Paints, etc.

Part 5.  Earth (73%).

    Elements that are mined.  Including the Rare Earth metals.

Part 6.  Epilogue (82%).

    Closing thoughts from the author.

    I didn’t do an exhaustive search, but it appears all of the elements get at least passing mention.  At times, Aldersey-Williams lumps a bunch of them together, such as the trans-uranium and rare-earth elements.  Even one of my pet elements, Lawrencium, gets a nod, albeit a brief one.

    Nevertheless, quite a few of the elements do get detailed attention.  Stylistically, the author uses any or all of the following to acquaint us with any given element:

    Production: how to synthesize a given element.  What you can make by reacting it with something.

    Historical: particularly if the element has been known for ages.

    Discovery:  who first isolated it, and/or correctly identified it as a new element, including mini-biographies of some of the foremost chemists and physicists of the day.

    Properties: density, color, reactivity, etc.

    Cultural: where do we find it is literature, paintings, books, etc.

    Political: the pros and cons of fluoridation, homeopathy, etc., and sparingly used by the author, which is a plus.

    As expected, the text abounds in trivia about each element, and I ate these bits of interest up.  Some examples of the tidbits discussed: the Willamette meteorite, how to make charcoal, how to extract Iodine from kelp, sulfur and its bad reputation, polysulfides (which I work abundantly with), phlogiston, Wilfred Owen, aqua regia, etc.  I could tell you amazing anecdotes about making my own aqua regia in high school chem lab, but perhaps it’s best to keep those misadventures to myself.

    I particularly enjoyed reading about some of the claimed-to-be elements, that were later disproved, such as occultum, coronium, and nebulium.  Just because you find something new, doesn't necessarily mean it's elemental.  I was also surprised by how many elements weren’t discovered until the 1800’s.

    There are a ton of pictures to go along with the commentary, and that was a plus, even if they were small in the e-book format.  Periodic Tales is written in English, not American, so you get words like grey, colour, aluminium, lustre, tonne, etc.  The book is a vocabularian’s delight; see the next section for just a few of the great unfamiliar words I encountered.  The footnotes were handled as smoothly as I’ve ever seen in an e-book.  And if you’re OCD like I am, keep in mind that the text ends at page 398 (84% Kindle).  The last 16% is the Index, Bibliography, etc.

Kewlest New Word ...

Synecdoche (n., and not pronounced even remotely like you'd expect.) : a figure of speech in which a part is made to represent the whole or vice versa, as in “Cleveland won by six runs” (meaning ‘Cleveland’s baseball team’).

Others : ludic (adj.); palaver (n.);  caryatids (.n, pl.adj.); tetchy (adj.);orotundity (n.); BOGOF (acronym); Piranesian (adj.); quiddity (n.);  semiotics (n., pl.); menhir (n.); intaglio (n.); field-fares (n., pl.); hoicks (v.); auto-didact (n.);

Excerpts...

    Working with tellurium is always unpleasant – the compound that it forms with hydrogen is like hydrogen sulphide, with its infamous rotten-eggs smell, but far more offensive.  Later, Seaborg managed to delegate the tellurium chemistry to his own student, who had great trouble ridding himself of the stink.  Days afterwards, it was even possible to tell which library books he had been consulting from the revolting odour they exuded.  (loc. 1085)

    The first primitive electric telegraph line was built in the 1790s by Francisco Salva and was capable of transmitting sparks from Madrid to Aranjuez fifty kilometres away.  Salva proposed a separate wire for each letter of the alphabet with the arriving spark briefly illuminating letters in turn to spell out messages.  (He apparently also considered connecting a person to each wire and having them shout out the letter when they received an electric shock.)  (loc. 3323)

 Civilization, it is immediately apparent, is simply organized resistance to oxidation.    (loc. 2242)

    I don’t really have any criticisms or even quibbles with Periodic Tales.  It is well-written, and with a lot more details than I had expected, which made for a pleasant read.  I suppose I could've asked for all 118 elements (there were only 103 when I was in school) to have detailed attention paid to them, but I think that would’ve made for some slow spots.

    Full disclosure: I’m a chemist, so this was happy reading ground for me.  Using silver nitrate as an analytical test for the presence of chlorine is a test method I'm familiar with, and it was fun to see it in cited in this book.  Surely any scientist is going to enjoy Periodic Tales.

   However, if you are not a science-lover, or if you have recurring nightmares about being forced to take chem lab in high school or college, I can see where reading this book might get tedious. So perhaps the target audience for Periodic Tales is rather narrow.

    9½ Stars.  Science, History, Vocabulary, Culture, and Make-Your-Own Chemicals.  What more could a geeky nerd like me ask for?