Lessons in Chemistry

Bonnie Garmus's runaway debut wears its anger lightly, delivering social critique inside a briskly funny, warmly peopled crowd-pleaser. Elizabeth is a deliberately uncompromising heroine, literal-minded and principled to a fault, and the novel draws both comedy and pathos from a world not remotely ready for her.

Purists may note that the period is rendered with a distinctly modern sensibility; the pleasures on offer are those of the feel-good novel done with real craft - sharp dialogue, a scene-stealing dog, a cast to root for. Beneath the charm sits a serious argument about talent wasted by prejudice and the slow work of changing minds.