Bonnie Garmus was fed up with certain situations being repeated in her work environment. It was during a rally that she exploded. She was the only woman in the room. She took the podium to present a large communication campaign in the technology sector and received nothing but murmurs from those present. When she finished, another colleague used the Power Point she had prepared and displayed the same concepts presenting them as his own. The applause was not long in coming.
Angry, that same night she began to write non-stop the first chapter of Chemistry Lessons (Salamander), the novel with which she has just debuted and which has already sold more than a million copies in the United States and more than 400,000 in Germany. .
The protagonist is Elizabeth Zott, a single mother who has become a television star in spite of herself, since her true vocation is chemistry. Her cooking show, Dinner at Six, was the most followed in the United States in the 1950s because of her unusual approach: combining a tablespoon of acetic acid with a pinch of sodium chloride is revolutionary. However, as her success increases so do her enemies. And it is that Elizabeth is not only teaching women to cook but also challenging them to alter the established order.
“Elizabeth is the person I would love to be. My model. A rational woman, with clear ideas and a lot of courage. She decided to study at a time when it was not so common for a woman to attend university. And much less that she later developed her career as a chemist. In addition, despite the obstacles that she finds in the way, she always gets up. A clear example of resilience”, points out the Californian author.
The protagonist is a victim of the machismo of the time. A machismo that “is still present today. It is true that things have changed since the 1950s and it is no longer necessary for a man to write a check or give permission to use a credit card. Also now a pregnant woman can work. But have we achieved equality? Obviously not. We are far from it. It is only necessary to take a look at the positions of power of the majority of companies, dominated by men”.
In the same way, she regrets that "work advances are often still associated with the relationships, friendly or loving, that we maintain with a man and not with our own merits." Elizabeth, for example, is put on trial for starting to date Calvin, a Nobel-nominated scientist. “Her classmates don't believe her when she claims to be in love with her. They are convinced that she approaches him to prosper in his work, but it is not true. In fact, she insists on not letting herself be helped to avoid all kinds of comments, ”she points out.
The writer is convinced that it is this reality that is still latent that has made her book so attractive in such different countries. “At one point or another in our lives, we have all been ignored, rejected, pushed aside, and belittled. No matter how hard you try, they judge you before you even open your mouth. And it is something that happens whether you live in the United States, the United Kingdom or the Middle East. I think that's what has made us all connect."
So much so that the work, which already has translations into thirty-nine languages, was chosen book of the year in 2022 by the Hay Festival and has also been nominated for best novel by the prestigious Barnes bookstore.
