Tues 13 Feb Book Group met to discuss “Lessons in Chemistry” by Bonnie Garmus.
As a new venture, we logged into a Guardian live interview with the author. With the use of 2 carefully positioned laptops and care with audio settings we enabled both those in the room and those on Zoom. to view the live interview.
I think we all enjoyed hearing Bonnie Garmus talk about her book. It struck me that she must have said everything many many times before but it came across as very fresh and direct and not a million miles away from the way her creation Elizabeth Zott might have spoken. I thought some of the questions put to her were a bit predictable, anodyne and uncritical. For instance nobody mentioned religion when in fact it was quite an important, and frequently referred to, topic in her book. And surely there must have been someone somewhere who wasn’t completely bowled over by Elizabeth, Calvin, Mad and Six-Thirty? I did really enjoy the book – such a page-turner – but liked the dog much more than the child. As for Calvin’s mother turning up right at the end – did anyone else think the plot was a bit clunky? We should perhaps have had a bit more of a proper discussion before the coffee stage.
Special thanks to the host for the entertainment of coffee making by Elizabeth Stott’s chemistry method.
What an exciting book group meeting.