Neukölln novel with strong dialogues, original characters, and complex personalities even in the supporting roles. Berlin Neukölln 1973. Seventeen-year-old Jens comes to Berlin to avoid military service. He takes a short-term job as a laborer and dreams of becoming a second Justus von Liebig. On one hand, Jens wishes for his life to follow the predictable course of a chemical reaction; on the other hand, he hopes for change - which he believes is not a contradiction, because "chemistry is the science of substances and the transformations that occur with them." Through his landlord, the introverted Jens meets his peer Waltraut, an extremely moody creature, unpredictable and often confusing in what she says and does. For example, she enjoys speaking backwards. Jens, for whom interpersonal chemistry is a mystery, attempts to approach her timidly, setting off a reaction that is anything but controlled.