Joe Dunthorne
Joe Dunthorne (born 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 his poems w ...
. First published by
Hamish Hamilton
Hamish Hamilton Limited was a British book 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 ''James'' the English form – which was ...
Penguin
Penguins (order (biology), order List of Sphenisciformes by population, Sphenisciformes , family (biology), family Spheniscidae ) are a group of Water bird, aquatic flightless birds. They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere: on ...
imprint
Hamish Hamilton
Hamish Hamilton Limited was a British book 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 ''James'' the English form – which was ...
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 research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and 26 schools of study. The annual income of the institution f ...
, 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 particular subject, taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. State schools in Scotland use the Scottish Qualifications Certificate instead. Private sc ...
, 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 internal ...
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 Ellef Ayoade ( ; born 23 May 1977) is a British actor, comedian, broadcaster and filmmaker. He is best known for his role as socially awkward IT technician Maurice Moss in Channel 4 sitcom ''The IT Crowd'' (2006–2013), for which he ...
. 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 ...
as Oliver Tate, with
Yasmin Paige Yasmin, Yasmine, or Yasmina may refer to:
People
* Yasmin (given name), a feminine given name, and sometimes surname
* Yasmin (musician) (born 1993), English singer, songwriter, and DJ
* Yasmine (pornographic actress), Yasmine Lafitte, French ac ...
,
Noah Taylor
Noah George Taylor (born 4 September 1969) is a British-born Australian actor. He is best known for his roles as teenage David Helfgott in '' Shine'', Locke in the HBO series ''Game of Thrones'', Darby Sabini in the BBC One series ''Peaky Bli ...
,
Paddy Considine
Patrick George Considine (born 5 September 1973) is an English actor, director, and screenwriter. He frequently collaborates with filmmaker/director Shane Meadows. He has received two British Academy Film Awards, three Evening Standard Britis ...
, and
Sally Hawkins
Sally Cecilia Hawkins (born 27 April 1976) is an English actress who began her career on stage and then moved into film. She has received several awards including a Golden Globe Award and the Berlin International Film Festival's Silver Bear for ...
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.
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 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...