Synthetic Bi Products

By Sparrow L. Patterson

--Nominated for a Lambda Literary Award (2001)

"Patterson's sharp-eyed, disaffected but hopeful teenaged heroine Orleigh wends her way through a Midwestern suburban wasteland of Gen-Y anomie, dead-end jobs, petty crime, sex, and drugs, until she is saved by the transformative power of love. An affecting, fresh first novel." --Kate Christensen, author of In the Drink

"To call Sparrow L. Patterson's Synthetic Bi Products a coming-of-age novel is like referring to Bright Lights, Big City as a book about fact checking. Patterson has taken a perhaps familiar story--one of confused kids on the verge of adulthood, wandering aimlessly through shopping malls and on the streets of Chicago and LA--and made it her own, revitalizing her themes with her vibrant voice and prose. Her book makes the reader rethink a world they might have thought they had known by revealing the complex layers of humanity that exist beneath the commonplace. This feat is complemented by Patterson's engaging central character, a tough, bisexual young woman as uncompromising as the novel itself. This is a masterful debut." --Henry Flesh, author of Massage

Sparrow L. Patterson's debut novel follows a nineteen-year-old bisexual girl on her whirlwind journey of sexual escapades, drug-induced hallucinations, shoplifting sprees, and other criminal behavior. Searching for identity and meaning, Orleigh runs wild through a landscape of lost children--the mall rats, grunge kids, Deadheads, freaks, and slackers of the early '90s--first in Chicago then on to LA. Though she might feel lost herself at times, the undaunted, wisecracking Orleigh never shies away from an extreme experience of any kind, or from expressing her opinions. Sexy and romantic, a fast-paced story of lust, deception, and heartache, Synthetic Bi Products is a compelling and original novel narrated in a bold, fresh, funny voice.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1888451181
• ISBN13: 9781888451184
• Release Date: August 2001
• Publisher: Akashic Books, Ltd.
• Length: 350 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.8" x 8.1"

Customer Reviews

Counterpoint

I'm only writing a review to counteract the first review - I'm also a bisexual female - really don't judge by gender - and I was very fond of and surprised by the book. I would attribute the first review to lifestyle differences and an anti BDSM attitude [what was described as violence to me was tame eroticism - from a dominatrix-in-LA point of view] and strong traditionally feminist leanings. I don't know why the book would be condemned just because it doesn't fit traditional "queer" criteria - it was primarily about a person living her life. This is why they are called characters. You don't have to agree with their choices. As a former author, I found the book to be well written and interesting. Things happen to people. It was realistic. The ending was expected, though irrational. I would definitely recommend it.

Disturbing. Erotic. Compelling!

Disturbing. Erotic. Compelling. Sythetic Bi Product may be one of the best books I have read in a long while. Sparrow L. Patterson tells a disquieting story that is so sad and yet powerful, all you can do is turn pages and turn pages. You never know where you will wind up as Patterson skillfully leads you along a winding, often frightening, literary road. The main character, Orleigh, is nothing like your average teenager, or at least as a parent, you hope she is not. However, looking back on my own teen days I wonder just how many steps away from being in situations like Orleigh's I might have been. And yet, it is hard not to love this young lady and feel for her and just want to reach out and hold her close and protect her from a pathetic society.Orleigh is a confused teenager. She experiments with drugs. She is sexually active. She thinks she might be in love with her best friend Heather. When an estranged mother commits Heather to a psychiatric hospital, Orleigh plans to set her free. Together they wind up living in a house with a rowdy bunch of jobless, drug using people. Realizing Heather is a selfish tease, Orleigh finds she is attracted to Mark. He is a tender young man, physically abused by his father, attracted to Orleigh and likes to wear makeup like the lead singer of the alternative band The Cure. Reflecting, Orleigh remembers her first relationship with a woman. A commune accepted her. They lived as one, a community orgy. Like happy presence united, they did not approve of dating outside the group. Orleigh did not approve of the rules. They even ask her to have their baby.Trying to get Mark away from dealing, Orleigh and he set off on the road. They live in the car. They make money anyway they can. They survive. They survive until they return home and Mark has not changed, until Mark does something stupid. Synthetic Bi Products is all over the place in tight concise poetic narrative. It is a novel full of lively imagery and dialog. The sex is constant, unsettling, sensual-all at once. It is a difficult book to describe in a few paragraphs without giving the surprises of the book away. It is a book I read fast. It is a book I will never forget. Patterson has some amazing story-telling talent. I eagerly look forward to her next novel. --Phillip Tomasso III, author of Third Ring & Tenth House