Submarine

The dryly precocious, soon-to-be-fifteen-year-old hero of this engagingly offbeat debut novel, Oliver Tate lives in the seaside town of Swansea, Wales. At once a self-styled social scientist, a spy in the baffling adult world surrounding him, and a budding, hormone-driven emotional explorer, Oliver is stealthily (and perhaps a bit more nervously than hed ever admit) nosing his way forward through the murky and uniquely perilous waters of adolescence. His objectives? Uncovering the secrets behind his parents teetering marriage, unraveling the mystery that is his alluring and equally quirky classmate Jordana Bevan, and understanding where he fits in among the pansexuals, Zoroastrians, and other mystifying, fascinating beings in his orbit.

“Its in my interests to know about my parents mental problems,” he reasons. Thus, when he discovers that his affable dad is quietly struggling with depression, Oliver marshals all the daytime-TV pop-psychology wisdom at his command-not to mention his formidable, uninhibited powers of imagination-in order to put things right again. But a covert expedition into the mysterious territory of middle-aged malaise is bound to be tricky business for a teenager with more to learn about the agonies and ecstasies of life than a pocket thesaurus and his “worldly” school chum Chips can teach him.

Ready or not, however, Oliver is about to get a crash course. His awkwardly torrid and tender relationship with Jordana is hurtling at the speed of teenage passion toward the inevitable magic moment . . . and whatever lies beyond. And his boy-detective exploits have set him on a collision course with the New Age old flame whos resurfaced in his mothers life to lead her into temptation with lessons in surfing, self-defense . . . and maybe seduction. Struggling to buoy his parents wedded bliss, deep-six his own virginity, and sound the depths of heartache, happiness, and the business of being human, whats a lad to do? Poised precariously on the cusp of innocence and experience, yesterdays daydreams and tomorrows decisions, Oliver Tate aims to damn the torpedoes and take the plunge.

"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." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

Dunthorne's brilliant first novel, set in Wales, is a portrait of a boy on the brink of manhood. The story of Oliver Tate's 15th year combines delusion and insight, worldliness and childish innocence to heartbreaking and hilarious effect.

Joe Dunthorne was born and brought up in Swansea, South Wales. His poetry has been featured on Channel 4 and Radio 3; he has performed at festivals including Glastonbury, Hay-on-Wye, and Latitude. Now twenty-five, Dunthorne lives in London. Submarine is his first novel.