(It's also useful to go into this understanding that epigenetics - Elizabeth's research topic - is the study of how environment can cause changes in the way our genes work. Because that's what this story is ultimately about - how the world we grow up in and the people we interact with change us in often unexpected ways.)
Loved the character of Elizabeth - such an eclectic combination of self-assuredness and social cluelessness! Not like any other fictional characters that come to mind (with the possible exception of Sherlock Holmes). Grateful that the author resisted the urge to turn her into some sort of woke feminist warrior, presenting us instead with a heroine who is at once strong but also flawed, in a "things that can't bend are the most likely to break" way.
Loved the journey that the story takes us on, as Elizabeth - much like the recipes she presents on her cooking show - finds herself transformed by her own chemical interactions with misogynistic colleagues, jealous rivals, and clueless peers ... but also friendship, motherhood, and that rarest of all chemicals on the periodic table of human experience, True Love.
Most of all, loved that this is a deceptively devastating satire - mostly aimed at mocking the destructive injustice of gender stereotypes, but also academia, motherhood, religion, the entertainment industry, and more.
Refreshingly original, genuinely funny, and unexpectedly affecting - definitely comfortable recommending this as a worthy read.
