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.

Praise for Submarine

" 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)

"Preternaturally wise, slightly devious and highly entertaining."--USA Today