Chemistry for Beginners

by Anthony Strong

Book Overview

In this charming, boy-meets-girl-in-a-sex-study love story, a clueless scientist falls for his most incurable patient and learns that romance is far more than a simple solution to a chemical equation. Dr. Steven J. Fisher is fascinated by the elusive nature of the female orgasm, passionately proclaiming it "the last great unexplored territory." But for all of his scientific candor about human sexuality in the lab, Dr. Fisher is really just a shy chemist...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1439108471
• ISBN13: 9781439108475
• Release Date: September 2009
• Publisher: Touchstone Books
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 0.67 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.2" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

Science meets romance

I thought this book had a dry, scientific beginning, but it picked up quickly. It's the story of an Oxford scientist, Steven Fisher, and his unorgasmic subject, Miss G. The mixture of science and romantic comedy is unorthodox, but it works (for the most part). It is also a sweet book.

More interesting than *Bonk*

This novel is clever, informative, and intriguing. It certainly isn't groundbreaking - it was a funny novel about a love affair between a sex researcher and an arts student; and during the course of the book the reader learns a lot of interesting facts about the science of orgasm and other curious sex facts. The main narrator is so smart and simultaneously so ridiculously clueless! The subject matter covered is similar to what is found in Mary Roach's *Bonk* but, frankly, presented in a more humorous and captivating manner. I was delighted by Anthony Strong's first novel and can't wait to see his next book. Most highly recommended.

A diverting romantic comedy that nearly transcends its obvious and shelf-worn elements

What is science fiction? Chemistry for Beginners is not a novel most of us would fit under that umbrella, even though it's all about working scientists doing cutting-edge research on the frontiers of biological science in what may be the very near future. But that research is into female sexual response -- Female Sexual Dysfunction, to be even more clinical about it -- and Chemistry for Beginners turns out to be a romantic comedy in the end. (Though it's more Shakespearean in both its romance and comedy than the usual slapsticky modern style.) So not even the fact that it's written in the form of a scientific paper -- with footnotes and references at the end and everything -- can save it from the taint of un-seriousness and girlyness. SF is about Big Men doing Big Things: shiny phallic rockets thrusting into the void and penetrating alien worlds, giant machines probing deeply into the inner recesses of the universe, wars and fighting and death. Getting an anorgasmic woman to achieve bliss is much too yonic for the True World of Skiffy. Strong's hero is Dr. Steven J. Fisher, a brilliant young biochemist at Oxford working on a chemical treatment for FSD as head of a team comprising the usual hot-to-trot female sexologist and bevvy of young and eager post-docs. (Eager for each other in particular, as the reader learns bit by bit as Chemistry for Beginners goes on.) Strong has a weakness for the cliche in his characters; Fisher is implausibly innocent for a researcher into sex, and fits far too closely the typical media stereotype of the science nerd. He is our first person narrator, so we get inside his head, the better to learn how carefully organized, disciplined and regimented it really is. We're told that Steven is brilliant, but he never exhibits the quirky, random interests that the truly brilliant acquire; he's focused entirely on his work to an unlikely degree. The other half of the sexual equation is provided by Ms. G. (Annie Gluck), a late addition to the study. She's goaded into it by her thesis advisor/boyfriend -- she's reading for a doctorate in English -- who gotten annoyed by her lack of response. She's attracted to Steven almost immediately, but denies it for a very long time; we read her locked blog entries interspersed throughout Chemistry for Beginners, so we can see that she's lying to herself as well. Strong isn't quite as clear about the results of the study -- since Annie is lying about it, and Steven is, of course, clueless -- but it seems as if she's quickly become orgasmic because of the sound of Steven's voice during the treatments, but lies about it for personal emotional reasons that never become entirely clear. Steven and his team are preparing a major paper on his treatment, KXC79, which will be a showpiece of a major conference presented by Trock Pharmaceuticals, the sponsor of his research. Steven is working hard, in the way that only monomaniacal fictional scientists can, to iron out the last few discrepancies

Clever, funny, and catching till the end

Anthony Strong makes an intriguing review out of scientific experiments and topics. His characters are well described, witty and humorous around the very erotic topic of female orgasms. Yet the book never becomes only about sex, and as explicit as the science part of the experiments are pictured, the people part stays erotic and most of all funny. This is a good read if you're looking for a page-turner that will keep you amused and interested till the end.

Geeky love story

Okay, I loved this book. I thought it was fantastic. you know those books that cater to the nerdy crowd? you know, the ones that use science jokes that are only funny because you actually understand. and the mannerisms of brainiacs that are only so funny because you recognize all the people you went to school with in them? And the excessive use of footnotes, akin to a "good omens" style. and of course...a really technical look at the female orgasm. with diagrams. this book was a real treat, and i would recommend it to anyone who likes a good nerdy love story.