Chemistry [Paperback]

Lewis Desimone (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 31, 2006

This is a bittersweet, emotional story of love, life and the chemistry that affects behaviour. "Chemistry" is the emotionally charged story of Neal and Zach, passionate gay lovers torn apart by mental illness. At first meeting, they discover a sexual and emotional chemistry that cannot be denied. Then, as illness consumes one, each must grow, repair himself, and work to become stronger and more independent to ultimately conquer the life-crushing consequences wrought by mental illness and emotional dependency. This touching, introspective story will move readers and have them thinking about the motivations and events in their own lives. Neal Bauer is an intellectual and rather controlled gay man, in love with the idea of being in love. His past holds an unhealthy relationship which he struggles to come to grips with. Now he is faced with another relationship with a man in which he can lose himself, a descent of self into the inevitable trap of co-dependence. The story of the chemical attraction between lovers, the brain chemistry that determines personality and mood, the medications needed for regaining mental health, and the relationships between people who care for one another, "Chemistry" is an enthralling and compelling novel of courage, liberation and self-realisation.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A THOROUGHLY ENJOYABLE READ. This is a love story . . . and so much more." -- Daniel M. Jaffe, Author of The Limits of Pleasure

"Chemistry is about attraction and repulsion—finding new love and nursing broken hearts." -- Gary M. Kramer, Author of Independent Queer Cinema: Reviews and Interviews

About the Author

This is Lewis DeSimone's debut novel.

Product Details

• Paperback: 301 pages
• Publisher: Harrington Park Pr (March 31, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1560235594
• ISBN-13: 978-1560235590
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,805,394 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

A native Bostonian, I majored in English at Harvard and earned an M.A. in creative writing at the University of California, Davis. I currently live in San Francisco, which I believe is as close to paradise as the Lower 48 can get. My work has appeared in Christopher Street, the James White Review, the San Francisco Sentinel, the Bay Area Reporter, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Harrington Gay Mens Fiction Quarterly, and the anthology Beyond Definition. My debut novel, Chemistry, is a love story about the ineffable qualities that draw people together and sometimes force them apart.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent first novel looks at dynamics of relationship based on mutual attraction, June 30, 2006

By 

Bob Lind "camelwest" (Phoenix, AZ United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Chemistry (Paperback)

Back in high school chemistry, we defined the term as the science of mixing elements, creating a compound that is very different than either of the ingredients. It works the same way with people, as pointed out in Lewis DeSimone's excellent first novel, "Chemistry".

The narrator of the book is Neal, a gay man in his late 20's who is a new arrival in San Francisco. Having left behind a failed relationship in his native Boston, Neal finds a unfulfilling but well-paying job as an ad copywriter, and starts to explore the city with Martin, an older man who is the brother of a female friend back in Boston. On one of his first trips to a local bar, Neal is charmed by the impulsive and outgoing Zak, and the two begin a relationship, despite not having much in common (other than a mutual attraction to each other) and Zak's increasingly worse mood swings. It soon becomes apparent that Zak's condition is more physical (a "chemical imbalance") than behavioral, and Neal stands by him throughout a most difficult time in his life, despite Martin's suggestion that their relationship is more than a bit one-sided and codependent. Ultimately, Neal has to take a step back and look at what the relationship is doing to him, as opposed to what he really gets out of it.

A frank, intelligently-written and well paced novel, saying what needs to be said to people who rush into "loving" relationships without really understanding what the word should mean. As someone who has occasionally tended toward codependence in past friendships and at least one relationship, the book definitely spoke to me, and I recommend it highly to all.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Utterly absorbing and believable, May 6, 2006

By 

Gerald M. Daley (Somerville, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Chemistry (Paperback)

Lewis DeSimone's Chemistry is an incredible first novel. However, it certainly doesn't feel like a first novel - the writing is that polished and assured. The story itself is immensely moving - a developing relationship and love affair between two men, one of whom, we gradually learn, suffers from mental illness. On no account, however, is the story depressing, although it is extremely moving. The protagonist, Neil, who loves Zach - a charming manchild, gradually becomes aware that he is treading on uncertain ground as the depths of Zach's illness becomes clearer. Written in short chapters, the story moves quickly, but never seems rushed. In fact, I often re-read chapters just because the author's prose is so beautifully crafted.
There is a lot of writing that is marketed only to gay audiences. It would be a shame for this book to be categorized as such. DeSimone is a powerful writer who reminded me enormously of Colm Toib?m, the great Irish writer. He is a voice I want to hear from again - and again.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Breathtaking First Novel, January 20, 2007

By 

Hans Castorp "Vince" (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Chemistry (Paperback)

Chemistry blew me away. I read a lot of contemporary gay fiction, and I would rank this among my favorites, with Alan Hollinghurst's The Line of Beauty, Matthew Stalder's Alan Stein, and Andrew Holleran's In September, the Light Changes. There's a lot to admire technically--the grace of the sentences, the tight thematic structure, the effortless plot. But what's stayed with me the most is the wisdom, the human and humane understanding that reverberates throughout the work. Like the best books, I finished Chemistry feeling that I learned something more about what it means to live, to lose, to desire, to fear, to hope...