Lessons in Chemistry: Crafting 2023's Most Popular Read

What are some reasons why this book resonates with this breakout hit? We'll give you a hint. It has to do (at least partially) with tropes.

Anyone who publishes a book hopes for a breakout bestseller—we see them popping up in book clubs like Whack a Mole, and sometimes hand-sold by your best friend and even in the ever-dwindling airport bookstores.

Lesson in Chemistry, written by Bonnie Garmus (2022), according to several public library reports, became that book last year. It was the most-read book of 2024. It's also been adapted into an Apple TV series. Since I love talking about story structure, let’s look at how tropes form Lessons in Chemistry and what we can learn from studying this breakout bestseller.

A Review of Genre Expectations for Women’s Fiction  

Knowing the genre expectations for your chosen story is critical to finding your audience. It's as much a part of the story process as drafting, revising, and publishing. Want to know what the genre expectations are? Read as much as possible in that genre and study what is important and why (or find a friend like me who breaks them all down for you).

The women’s fiction genre focuses on a woman’s physical, emotional, and spiritual journey; relationships are a key component. A love story is often a part of her journey genre but the story doesn’t hinge on it as in romance. Knowing these are the required story elements, now we look at how a unique story develops. We’re going to examine how the author combined genre expectations, tropes, and GMC in Lessons in Chemistry.

Lesson in Chemistry Synopsis:

Lessons in Chemistry is a woman’s fiction genre story about a physically attractive woman with a brain made for science, two qualities that clash with traditional expectations (across the tracks) in mid-twentieth century America (politics). Elizabeth’s quest is to live a life that her male professional counterparties take for granted—educational and professional opportunities seemingly based on merit but culturally rooted in gender.

Elizabeth’s scars are many: her brother’s death by suicide, the theft of her research, and the loss of her Ph.D. position after being raped by her chemistry advisor (woman in peril, violence). Her most significant loss is that of her lover and best friend, the genius scientist Calvin, who dies in a car accident before she discovers her surprise pregnancy.

Most of Elizabeth's journey is her struggle to provide for herself and her daughter, Mad, against a patriarchal society (antagonists). After being fired for her pregnancy, Elizabeth secretly helps the mediocre male scientists at Hastings with their research work to support herself and Mads (the con, fake relationship). She's verbally abused at the Hastings Labs (forced proximity) by her boss, Donatti, who also steals her research (secrets, hidden identity). She repels the studio executive Lebenmal’s attempted sexual assault (forced proximity, redemption). It’s not only men who undermine Elizabeth. Her daughter's kindergarten teacher and a former secretary at Hastings work to make her life more difficult, as well as a female stalker in the studio audience (secrets).

The story conflict stems from Elizabeth’s initial lack of support to develop a found family as part of her journey. Dr Mason, a former teammate of Calvin's, mentors her entry into the male-dominated rowing community (across the tracks). Her neighbor, Harriet, provides childcare (domestic help) for Mads. Her rescue dog, Six-thirty, acts as Elizabeth's protector, bringing his former bomb-sniffing skills to the job. Mr. Pine is her television station boss and eventual best friend. Rev. Wakely is Calvin’s former friend and develops a friendship with Mad. After initially disliking her, Frask is Elizabeth's peer and becomes her friend and eventual boss. Avery Parker is Calvin’s mother (billionaire, family, scar) who, after delivering her son, is told he is dead and never sees him alive (secret heir, hidden identity). Parker reunites with Elizabeth and Mads (reunion). Parker also funds the Hasting’s Chemistry department that Elizabeth takes over at the story’s conclusion (redemption). The ticking time bomb trope is part of Six Thirty's backstory, Elizabeth's pregnancy, income challenges, lab research funding, and employment contracts.

Tropes: across the tracks, antagonist, best friend, billionaire, the con, domestic help, fake relationship, family, forced proximity, found family, hidden identity, mentor, professions, protector, redemption, reunion, scar, secret, secret heir, surprise pregnancy,  ticking time bomb, violence, woman in peril.

Garmus built tropes into Elizabeth's story by tying them with her goals, motivation, and conflicts.

Role of Goal, Motivation, and Conflict in Chemistry

Applying Goal, Motivation, and Conflict (GMC) to tropes is a way to develop active characters. We want characters with goals and motivations because that gives us conflict. Conflict is the story gift that keeps on giving. It means creating characters that are scrappy as they go after their goal. It means characters persist even after repeated failures and that is absolutely the case with Elizabeth Zott.

Let’s look at Elizabeth’s GMCs.

• Goal: Support herself and her daughter by being a scientist

• Motivation: her passion for intellectual rigor

• Conflict: She lives in a male-dominated society threatened by her goals.

Elizabeth’s goal to support herself as a scientist is meaningful and measurable. Her desire to be back in the lab is a goal she has attempted several times. We know what she wants, and we root for her to succeed. She finally returns to the lab at the end of the book, but the person making her position possible is Calvin’s mother. The ending left me with two thoughts.

1. The ending ties in the found family trope as she invites everyone over for supper at six.

2. The same cronyism structure persists, only now it has taken a turn in Elizabeth’s favor.

More about Motivation

Character motivation is the emotional connection between her goal and her conflict. The more complex the conflict, the harder it is for Elizbeth to reach her goal. The more her various bosses attempt to discourage Elizabeth from her scientific work, the more she digs down into her core identity as a scientist.

As readers, we see this in her dedication to rowing early in the mornings. She enjoys pushing herself physically as well as intellectually. Elizabeth works to be noticed as a scientist by her Supper at Six audiences while her bosses push her towards a cliché housewife. We witness her resolve in the face of overwhelming forces throughout the story.

That dedication is what makes Lesson in Chemistry resonate with so many. Elizabeth is a type of superhero. Although tragedy piles on her, she presses on like an icebreaker ship in the Arctic. She never climbs back in bed or eats a tub of ice cream, although she does like baking brownies after a difficult day.

As the story progressed I found myself wishing for more glimpses of Elizabeth’s humanity. The very thing that appeals to the vast majority of Garmus fans, Elizabeth’s surety, was the same element that kept her at arm’s length from me.

Part of Chemistry’s popularity must be that vicarious escape from self-doubt. Most of us have days/months/years when we wonder about our life purpose but not Elizabeth. Like many a superhero, Elizabeth faces her various bosses Godzilla like glee in crushing her opportunity and life plans by doubling down on her resiliency.

Make the Why Specific by Twisting the Tropes

Lessons in Chemistry provides a twist on the underdog story by asking:

What if a woman didn't get bogged down by her scars and 1960’s societal oppression in the 1960s, but they instead doubled her resolve?

What if her story was delivered in a breezy beach-read voice that sometimes included the dog's perspective?

These are a few of the trope twists that Garmus uses to make her Lessons in Chemistry story world-specific. The story’s use of magical realism with Six-Thirty added to the element of a fairy tale

Relationships fuel Conflict

Tropes persist in storytelling because they keep the relationships front and center. Elizabeth’s obstetrician was also her rowing partner. Her boss, Mr Pine, was also the father of Mad’s one-time lunch-eating nemesis. Harriet was a nosy neighbor, then became a babysitter, and finally, a trusted family member. Avery Parker was Calvin's mother and Lab's mysterious benefactor.

Now imagine if the characters only played one role in Harriet’s life. It would make the cast much larger but also drain story tension.

By doubling up on potential relationship conflict, Garmus increases the power of the forced proximity trope—and whatever other tropes exist between the characters.

As I was finishing writing this piece, I came across another essay with thoughts on Chemistry’s popularity which I enjoyed if you enjoy thinking about what makes a story tick like I do.

In Save the Cat, a studio executive orders Blake Snyder to “Gimme the same thing, only different," that is precisely what Garmus has done in creating Lessons in Chemistry.

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Jennifer Hilt

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