Submarine: A Novel (Random House Movie Tie-In Books) [Paperback]

JOE DUNTHORNE (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 24, 2011 | Series: Random House Movie Tie-In Books

At once a self-styled social scientist, a spy in the baffling adult world, and a budding, hormone-driven emotional explorer, Oliver Tate is stealthily 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 mystifying beings in his orbit. 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, what’s a lad to do? Poised precariously on the cusp of innocence and experience, Oliver Tate aims to damn the torpedoes and take the plunge.

Now a major motion picture

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

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. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

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

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks (May 24, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812978390
• ISBN-13: 978-0812978391
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.7 x 8.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #238,999 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Creative and funny!, June 13, 2008

By 

Megan B. Mclees "howdymeg" (Kansas City, Missouri) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Submarine: A Novel (Hardcover)

I try not to judge books by their covers, but I couldn't help starting this book after seeing it at the library. I am very glad I did! Oliver, the young narrator, is full of hilarious observations and reactions to situations that we all seem to encounter at some point or other. It is clear the author put a lot of thought into his writing, and I found myself either laughing out loud or smirking many many times throughout the story.

This is the kind of book you can't put down, and hope that it doesn't end. I will be awaiting his next book anxiously!

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Buy this Book..., April 12, 2008

By 

Lorelei Armstrong - See all my reviews

This review is from: Submarine: A Novel (Hardcover)

...If you appreciate characters with a unique view of their world. Oliver Tate is a sharp fifteen-year-old navigating a tangle of relationships. He manages with marvelous dexterity and insight. The language is a pleasure. How unusual and refreshing to find a writer who knows how to capture the world of a smart teenager. I will be looking forward to Mr. Dunthorne's future work! He is a writer of rare and unique voice.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you like supremely precocious and intelligent characters, witty dialogue, and disturbing imagery..., April 3, 2008

By 

Chris LaVesser "Goofball on bowed legs" (Pewaukee, WI) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Submarine: A Novel (Hardcover)

The cover of this book caught my eye, so I started reading the jacket. Three sentences into the description I closed the cover and walked to the register. Sold.

This is an enjoyable romp inside the mind of a 15-year-old boy with girl problems and parent problems. Only this boy is intelligent, pedantic, richly observant, and prone to bouts of imprudence.

Dunthorne wrote this character and his shenanigans wonderfully. I tore through this book and had fun doing so.

If you read Marissa Pessl's Special Topics in Calamity Physics and enjoyed it, you'll love this book. This one just reads a little faster.

(Note: Dunthorne's a Brit, so if you hate reading about Pounds, Quid, Torches, and GCSEs, better to avoid this one (but you're selling yourself short with that kind of egocentrism.))