Submarine [Hardcover]

Welsh-born Dunthorne delves in his debut into the mind of a troubled 14-year-old boy obsessed with his virginity, his parent's failing marriage and the dictionary. Growing up in Swansea, Wales, Oliver Tate is curious about everything going on around him. Fixated on the personal lives of his parents and neighbors, Oliver compulsively keeps a log of his observations, activities and thoughts, many of which revolve around his new girlfriend, Jordana, she of the fully developed breasts and snogging experience. The two become inseparable and eventually wind up together in the sack. Oliver also believes his mother is having an affair with a family friend, and his growing suspicion leads to a half-baked investigation that only complicates matters at home. As Oliver and Jordana's relationship plays out and the truth about Oliver's mother is revealed, Oliver takes some lumps and learns a few lessons. Some readers will be turned off by Oliver's cruelty—among other things, he bullies an overweight girl at school and poisons Jordana's dog—and others by his precociousness (his log entries include word-of-the-day vocab lessons), but Dunthorne's creation is a true original. (Apr.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A New York Times Book Review Editor’s Choice
 
“[Joe Dunthorne is] probably destined to be compared with Mark Haddon and Roddy Doyle.”—The Miami Herald

“This absolutely winning debut novel isn't so much a coming-of-age tale as it is a reflection on what it means to be a certain age and of an uncertain mind.”—Los Angeles Times
 
“A brilliant first novel by a young man of ferocious comic talent.”—The Times (London)
 
“[Dunthorne’s] precocious talent and cheerful fondness for the teenage male are showcased in Submarine. . . . Oliver’s voice is funny and dead-on.”—The New York Times Book Review
 
“Preternaturally wise, slightly devious and highly entertaining.”—USA Today


From the Trade Paperback edition.

Hello. I'm Oliver Tate, the protagonist.

My ambitions are as follows: (1) To find out why my father sometimes stays in bed for days at a time. (2) To find out why my mother's getting surfing lessons—and probably more—from a hippy-looking twonk. (3) To lose my virginity before it becomes legal—in just over a year.

There are other, lesser characters in the book: Jordana, who is my love interest, despite her eczema. Zoe, whose only real school friend is a dinner lady. I feel sorry for Zoe, which, in turn, makes me feel better about my own life. Then there's my friend Chips, an outstanding bully. He made our Religious Education teacher cry. This book might not change my life. But there is no telling how you will react.

Joe Dunthorne was born in 1982, brought up in Swansea and now lives in London. His debut novel, Submarine, has been adapted for the big screen and was released to critical acclaim in 2011. His stories, poems and journalism have been published in the Guardian, Independent, Financial Times, and Sunday Times in the U.K. His second novel, Wild Abandon, was published by Hamish Hamilton in 2011.