Erotomania: A Romance

Erotomania is an absurdist portrait of a modern-day romance. It follows James and Monica from their early days as couple that is forced to move into a nuclear fall-out bunker so their explosive sex life doesn't physically harm their neighbors, down the long journey to marriage counseling.

"James Moran relishes his roommate's gourmet cooking, helps the homeless and is a sex addict having a wild affair with a woman with whom he has yet to exchange names. The sex, which dominates the first half of the book, leaves James wandering the streets in postcoital amnesia. But just as the sex threatens to overload the story, James decides to establish a real relationship with his lover, and things begin to shift: other vices — from alcohol to abstract expressionism — enter the picture, with disastrous results. The book's raw but thoughtful carnality comes off as at once serious, clever and crude in sending up the absurdities of contemporary hookings-up. It's not a traditional love story, but debut novelist Levy puts thought and genuine feeling behind all the doings." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

"Although one can trace bawdy influences — from Rabelais to Henry Miller — all over the place, Erotomania is unlike anything I've ever read. I applaud it." Daphne Merkin

A unique and savage modern love story, Erotomania re-shapes the romance wheel.

A] hilariously satirical debut novel. Miller, Lawrence, and Genet stop by like proud ancestors... But it's a more recent generation of mischievous deviant writers (Nicholson Baker, Mary Gaitskill) that truly looms large — Erotomania's closest predecessor might be Baker's The Fermata. An] ambitious book... A] biting satire. --Zach Baron, Village Voice

Sex is familiar, but it's perennial, and Levy makes it fresh. --Richard Rayner, Los Angeles Times Book Review

Levy seems to have an eye for detail for all that is absurd, commonly human, and uniquely American. --Beth Harrington, Bookslut

It's a great book, written with flawless verve by a tremendous fictioneer and thinker, and it deserves glory. A classic. --Andre Codrescu, Exquisite Corpse

Erotomania] can just as easily be a bookend to the beautifully nuanced prose of Milan Kundera as it can be a long-version story for a nudie mag minus the accompanying photographs. It's all in the context — as it is with most relationships. --Quarterly Conversation

Erotomania wields a comedic punch that makes it, above all, a fun novel to read. --Nerve.com

Erotomania is an absurdist portrait of a modern-day romance. It follows James and Monica from their early days as couple that is forced to move into a nuclear fall-out bunker so their explosive sex life doesn't physically harm their neighbors, down the long journey to marriage counseling.

Francis Levy's short stories, criticism, humor, and poetry have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The New Republic, The Village Voice, and The Quarterly.

“Although one can trace bawdy influences—from Rabelais to Henry Miller—all over the place, Erotomaniais unlike anything I’ve ever read. I applaud it.”—Daphne Merkin

"Erotomaniawields a comedic punch that makes it, above all, a fun novel to read."—Nerve.com

Erotomaniais an absurdist portrait of a modern-day romance. It follows James and Monica from their early days as couple that is forced to move into a nuclear fall-out bunker so their explosive sex life doesn’t physically harm their neighbors, down the long journey to marriage counseling.

Francis Levy’s short stories, criticism, humor, and poetry have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The New Republic, The Village Voice, and The Quarterly.

Francis Levy's short stories, criticism, humor, and poetry have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The New Republic, The Village Voice, and The Quarterly.