Joe Dunthorne

I didn't think I was going to like this novel at first. Oliver is weird. I mean this in the sense that I thought he may be mental ill, possibly have some sort of social behavior disorder, something like that....but no, he is just weird. And a bit creepy. At first, I he kind of put me off, but as I read on, I git used to him, and it didn't seem as odd. Don't get me wrong, Oliver stayed rather creepy throughout the novel, but it somehow became more normal? Or you just got used to it? I'm not sure, either way, it got more interesting and I found myself semi caring about Oliver. I liked it. He's a quirky kid thats for sure, but after time, I came to care what happened to him.… (more)

A comic story, but with bitter undertones, Dunthorne’s tale charts the struggle of Ray as he tries to buy a property together with his wife Garthene in East London. Dunthorne captures Ray’s precarious position, his employment as a n internet journalist uncertain, which makes their mortgage prospects more difficult and fuels his growing resentment as his friends escape renting and also his parents who live a comfortable life in Suffolk. The fates seem to conspire against Ray as he gets caught up in a riot near their home and his attempts to deal lightly with events only put him in a more difficult situation. Dunthorne deftly paints Ray’s increasingly desperate responses to events around him and in an engaging novel, raises some sympathy for him, despite his ineptitude, sometimes adolescent behaviour and his lack of awareness of Garthene’s needs.… (more)

A revealing and at times humorous story of growing up in south Wales in the late 1990s, as Oliver Tate, 16, experiences love for the first time and also tries to cope with the pressures of GCSEs at school and for his future career and additionally the apparently deteriorating relationship of his parents. Dunthorne’s prose captures his naiveté as he negotiates the joys and sorrows of his first love for Jordana as at the same time he becomes more distant from his boyhood school friends. Oliver’s clumsy attempts to mend the rift between has mother and father leads to his own embarrassment. But through the lively writing you come to appreciate Oliver’s feelings and the course of the two problematic situations become part of his growing maturity as he achieves a greater understanding of the lives and aspirations of the people around him.… (more)