Joe Dunthorne

Oliver Tate, a precocious fourteen-year-old boy growing up in Swansea, Wales, is determined to accomplish all of his goals, from losing his virginity before his fifteenth birthday to uncovering the secrets his parents, neighbors, and girlfriend might be hiding.

Submarine

a novel

Aparna

Chloe Hill

Meet Oliver Tate, 15. Convinced that his father is depressed ("Depression comes in bouts. Like boxing. Dad is in the blue corner") and his mother is having an affair with her capoeira teacher, "a hippy-looking twonk", he embarks on a hilariously misguided campaign to bring the family back together. Meanwhile, he is also trying to lose his virginity - before he turns sixteeen - to his pyromaniac girlfriend Jordana. Will Oliver succeed in either aim? Submerge yourself in Submarine and find out . . . Film tie-in edition of the freshest, funniest UK debut of 2009 - to accompany the major new film by comedy star Richard Ayoade.

Joana da Silva

Yep, another book I'll be talking about on my podcast, so hidden review it is. 

(view spoiler)[ Ok, what was this? I saw the movie adaptation when it came out and it became an instant personality trait of mine. That cinematography with an Alex Turner soundtrack on my Tumblr years? Easy to guess that outcoming, I know. However, this book was so disappointing. I spent more than half of it thinking "what the actual fuck am I reading?". Imagine The Catcher in the Rye, which I loved, but in the late 90s and with a much more annoying MC, Holden Caulfield was already a difficult one to bear but Oliver... Honey, just don't. In the beginning, I thought I was going to love this book. It was funny and very true to a 15-year-old boy mentality, but that was about it. The roller coaster went down really fast and never made it upwards.  (hide spoiler)]

Harriet Moar-Smith

I'm really glad that I watched the film before reading this (well, listening) as I think Oliver is a bit of a dick in this, in many of the ways that teenage boys are which I really liked but there was something that made him feel not hugely relatable at times. 

Overall some wonderful sequences and inner monologues, some funny moments and really wonderful sense of place and time but I don't feel like Oliver really grew much as a person.

Sally

At first I thought the book was completely weird and I did not like it at all. But the more I read it, the more I enjoyed it. 
It's quite interesting and I really want to watch the movie now.

Timi Uysingco

2.75 ⭐️

Set in the late 1990s at the English countryside where yahoo was still the main search engine. Deals with the coming of age of 15-16 year old, Oliver Tate, a smart, bully, narcissistic, borderline psychopath, horny teenage boy. See how he tackles life at home, his relationship with his parents, his first relationship, and how will he be in the future.

Trigger warnings: adultery, depression, bullying, manipulation, sex

This is straight up problematic. From how Oliver handles things with his parents marital problems. Maybe I just don’t know the culture of teenagers in the UK and maybe he just really really really loves his parents but Oliver dealt with the problems or to what was happening to the extreme. There is no doubt that his brain was very much showcased but he also overthinks every situation to the point that his actions could lead him to jail or even hurt (physically) depending on the person he is talking too. 

What I learned from the reading this though is a lot of words. I anotated my book, underlined the words I did not know or understand and after every chapter I would go back and write down the meaning of each one. Some of the words were made up but it made the way Oliver thinks very interesting. I also learned to always do the opposite of what Oliver would have thought of doing.

If you are thinking about reading this, make sure to take note of the trigger warnings that I listed above and maybe look into other trigger warnings as well.

lulu p :)

Jackson Weaver

Gabriella 

Nora 

wren

Amy Potter

Courtney 

Hello. I'm Oliver Tate, the protagonist. I am likely to use words like protagonist and, moments later, words like twonk. 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 yea I am monitoring my parent's intimacy via the dimmer switch in their bedroom. My parents have not had sex in two months which, my research suggests, points toward impending marital breakdown. There are other, lesser characters in the book: Jordana, who is my love interest, despite her eczema. Zoe, whose only real schoolfriend 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.

Submarine

Reviews