CBR Bingo – On the Air
This book came highly recommended by a few people who have similar reading sensibilities as me, so I went into it presuming I would like it, and I was not wrong.
However, bit of a quick disclaimer: I was shaken up at the start of the book because in this instance, judging the book by its cover will leave you on uneven footing as you get your book legs (I’m workshopping it a la “sea legs.” You heard it here first). The cover of this book has a pop art sensibility, with bold color and a sassy cartoon image of a person with a high bun and pencil stuck in it. So from the jump, I was primed for a fun time. Though the book does have a vibrant and humorous bend, there are some dark family twists and turns, not to mention a rape scene very early in the novel that created a real cognitive dissonance with my expectations. But I stuck with it and found that Garmus created an amazing protagonist, a bit of a 1960s manic pixie dream chemist, that rocked my socks and I believe may rock yours.
Elizabeth is the absolute epitome of a no-nonsense bold and unflinching personality. She knows that as a woman committed to being not just a professional, but a chemist, in the 1960s there is a hard road ahead of her filled with close-minded men who want nothing more than to put her in her place at best, or in worse contexts subvert and undermine her. But her recognition of the facts does not means she resigns herself to them, and she refuses to cower or capitulate, moving ahead boldly with her research and aspirations, despite knowing the deck is stacked against her.
After a turn of personal tragedies, she finds herself bereft, a single mother, jobless, desperate to find a way back to the research she sees as her life’s work. Through a (contrived) wacky bit of coincidence, she lands herself a role as a daytime tv chef on an undermarketed channel, meant to serve as filler to an audience of unremarkable housewives. Her set is filled with impractical tchotchkes she’s told what to wear (a too-tight dress, instead of her preferred lab coat), and what to say with a saccharine script written by the sheepish male producer. But will she fit into the box built for her? Absolutely not. This is a fanciful tale, a bit improbable but if you can get out of your head about it, you’ll be cheering on Elizabeth and the chosen family she meets along the way. If you enjoyed the Barbie movie you’ll like this book, and vice versa. P.S. If you are a pet person, you will positively adore the family dog with the burgeoning vocabulary.
