Attempted Chemistry
A Novel
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- ¥800
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- ¥800
発行者による作品情報
Chemistry is what everyone hopes for when meeting somebody for the first time. Yet, too often, relationships soon evolve into a union akin to rubbing two wet sticks together and hoping for fire, then hanging on for dear life should the spark produce flames of any size.
In Attempted Chemistry, Jeff Gomez, author of the cult favorite Our Noise, charts the lives and loves of a variety of Manhattan men and women who find that it’s not establishing the foundation of a relationship that’s difficult, it’s building the whole house that’s hard. In sharp prose and dead-on dialogue, these characters lead lives of restless discontent and desperation.
There’s Daniel and Eileen, a newly cohabiting boyfriend and girlfriend who are quickly realizing the difference between dating and living together; Josh and Kendra, a young married couple who are facing the first real challenges of their marriage; Keith and Brie, a couple who lie to themselves as much as to each other; and the singles Rick, Mike, Leslie, and Cressandra, all of whom try for love in various guises, yet just can’t seem to make a connection.
Sad, funny, and poignant, Attempted Chemistry is a book about trying to find communion with another soul; a process that all of us have gone through at some point in our lives, in our search for love, happiness, and, of course, chemistry.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Gomez covers familiar territory in his latest novel, tracking the ups and downs of a series of edgy, insecure Manhattan couples as they try to cope with success, failure, lust, indifference and infidelity in their personal and professional lives. Enough troubled couples are introduced to populate several soap operas, but the central narrative revolves around Daniel Lightman, a wannabe writer who finds inspiration after he moves in with his girlfriend, Eileen Mark, who works in an ad agency. Lightman's novel about his relationship with Mark soon threatens the dynamic of their tenuous relationship, especially when Lightman gets sucked into the make-an-impression whirlwind of publishing. The intersection between the world of the ad agency and Lightman's new literary terrain allows Gomez to introduce a steady stream of dysfunctional couples and 20-somethings. Kendra endures the serial philandering of Josh, who's capitalizing on his powerful position in the agency; Rick and Mike stumble after the respective girls of their dreams; and Katherine's painter boyfriend Cary drinks too much. The soap opera subplots provide plenty of opportunities for one-upmanship and bed hopping, which culminate at a club when Lightman succumbs to the lure of his new agent's gorgeous friend. Gomez's talent for exploiting the character flaws of his young protagonists produces entertaining scenes, but the redundant plotting makes it difficult to tell the couples apart as the novel progresses: Lightman is the only well-developed character. Gomez has employed this same material to better effect in previous efforts.
