''Submarine'' is the first novel by

Joe Dunthorne Joe Dunthorne (born 14 January 1982) is a Welsh novelist, poet and journalist. He made his name with his novel ''Submarine'' (2008), made into a film in 2010. His second novel, ''Wild Abandon'' (2011), won the RSL Encore Award. A selection of ...

. First published by

Hamish Hamilton Hamish Hamilton Limited is a publishing imprint and originally a British publishing house, founded in 1931 eponymously by the half- Scot half- American Jamie Hamilton (''Hamish'' is the vocative form of the Gaelic Seumas eaning James ''Jame ...

in 2008, it was adapted into a film in 2010.

Background

Published by

Penguin Penguins are a group of aquatic flightless birds from the family Spheniscidae () of the order Sphenisciformes (). They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere. Only one species, the Galápagos penguin, is equatorial, with a sm ...

imprint

in 2008, ''Submarine'' was Dunthorne's first novel. He wrote most of the book while studying creative writing at the

University of East Anglia The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a Public university, public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus university, campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and twenty-six schools of ...

, where it won the university's inaugural Curtis Brown Prize. Originally a short story, Dunthorne posted the first chapter on ABCtales.com, a website that allows writers to share, discuss and develop their work. Its popularity on the site drove him to write the full novel.

Synopsis

''Submarine'' was marketed as "a tale of mock

GCSEs The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a range of subjects taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, having been introduced in September 1986 and its first exams taken in 1988. State schools ...

, sex and death." The novel is a

coming-of-age story In genre studies, a coming-of-age story is a genre of literature, theatre, film, and video game that focuses on the growth of a protagonist from childhood to adulthood, or "coming of age". Coming-of-age stories tend to emphasize dialogue or interna ...

narrated by fifteen-year-old Oliver Tate, who records with comedy and anguish his relationship with his girlfriend and his lop-sided view of the strains on his parents' marriage.

Reception

The novel was published in 2008 to critical acclaim. In 2014, it was put forward as a candidate in '' Wales Arts Review's'' search for the 'Great Welsh Novel'. Although Caradog Prichard's '' One Moonlit Night'' eventually took the accolade, reviewer Elin Williams argued that ''Submarine'' is "deservedly one of Wales’ best novels, simply because it just ''is'' Welsh. Dunthorne's writing is engaging and well-crafted. Tate is one of the most believable Welsh protagonists I have come across; full of flaws and full of himself."

Adaptation

In 2010, ''Submarine'' was adapted for film by

Richard Ayoade Richard Ayoade ( ; born 23 May 1977) is a British comedian, actor, writer, director and presenter. He played the role of socially awkward IT technician Maurice Moss in Channel 4 sitcom ''The IT Crowd'' (2006–2013), for which he won the 2014 Br ...

. The film cast

Craig Roberts Craig Haydn Roberts (born 21 January 1991) is a Welsh actor and director. He is best known for lead roles as Oliver Tate in the coming-of-age comedy-drama film ''Submarine'' (2010) and David Meyers in the series ''Red Oaks'' (2014–2017), and f ...

as Oliver Tate, with

Yasmin Paige Yasmin Paige (born 1991 or 1992) is an English actress. She played the film role of Jordana Bevan in ''Submarine'', and has appeared on television as Beth Mitchell in ''Pramface'', and Maria Jackson in ''The Sarah Jane Adventures''. Life and ca ...

Noah Taylor Noah George Taylor (born 4 September 1969) is a British born Australian actor. The accolades he has received include nominations for three Screen Actors Guild Awards, a Critics' Choice Award, and four AACTA Awards. He is best known for his ...

Paddy Considine Patrick George Considine (born 5 September 1973) is an English actor, director, screenwriter and musician. He is known for playing antiheros in independent films. He has received two British Academy Film Awards, three Evening Standard British ...

, and

Sally Hawkins Sally Cecilia Hawkins (born 27 April 1976) is an English actress of stage and screen. She began her career on stage and then moved into film, for which she has received several accolades including a Golden Globe Award, in addition to nominatio ...

in supporting roles. It premiered at the 35th Toronto International Film Festival, and was shown in London, Berlin and Swansea before going on general release in March 2011.

References

External links

Review
6 February 2008: Nicholas Tucker,

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

; retrieved 2 July 2017
Review
17 February 2008: Tim Adams,

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

; retrieved 2 July 2017
“Submarine”
at goodreads.com
“Submarine”
at

Penguin Books Penguin Books Limited is a Germany, German-owned English publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers the Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the ...

{{Authority control English novels Hamish Hamilton books 2008 British novels British bildungsromans British novels adapted into films