Submarine -

Joe Dunthorne

Hamish Hamilton

2008

304 páginas

10h 8m

ISBN-10: 0241143969

Hello. I’m Oliver Tate, the protagonist. I am likely to use a word like protagonist and, moments later, a word 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 year.

I am monitoring my parents’ intimacy via the dimmer switch in their bedroom. I know when they have been at it because the next morning the dial will be set to halfway (romance lighting). My parents have not had sex in two months which, my research suggests, points towards impending marital breakdown.

I will employ various techniques to save their relationship. I have read the book Simple Methods – Super Marriages. I know how important it is to go on outings. I know about feng shui and that peach-coloured wall furnishings can encourage affairs.

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 really 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.

Resenhas (1)

5 (Perfeito)

Inspirada e cômica vida adolescente

Em Submarine, Joe Dunthorne utiliza um senso de humor à la Apanhador no Campo do Centeio e cria um personagem inesquecível: Oliver Tate, um jovem intelectual e ansioso de Swansea, no País de Gales. Certamente, o que Oliver mais gosta é de si mesmo - seguido talvez por descobrir novo vocabulário e monitorar o casamento de seus pais.
Eu não costumo rir com livros, mas a inventividade e o funcionamento da mente do jovem tornam impossível não fazê-lo. O personagem, assim como todos os jovens de 15 anos, é forçado a conviver com o ambiente escolar, bullying e o primeiro amor, mas o faz com uma auto-indulgência hilária, demonstrando constante fascinação com a própria mente. Demonstrando a ingenuidade inerente à juventude, mesmo achando que sabe todos os fatos, Oliver procura entender o mundo a seu redor e como participar efetivamente dele.