The Drowners

The Drowners is a coming-of-age novel about Aaron, a young man who lives in Ireland in the 90s. The book is his journey exploring his sexuality and identity.

The book starts with Aaron spending his time on a mission to get a girlfriend. One day, he has a romantic thought about a man. These feelings evolve, and he develops feelings for his friend. I feel like the book is a bit like a literary novel in its plotting. I could summarize additional events that occurred in the story, but I feel it would be better to just experience the book without that context. I will say, the book does involve quite a few awkward encounters between Aaron and girls and guys. I think it really captures the life of a teenager quite well.

Given the subject matter, there are some sexual encounters. The book is tasteful in this regard; the sex is closed-door and implied, though sometimes briefly discussed afterwards. As a straight man, I may or may not be the intended audience for this book, but the writing is done so well that I found the romance compelling. I was interested in how Aaron’s newfound relationship would develop. Particularly between the two love birds, the book also has a few well-written quips, but I think I’ll let you experience them on your own.

The book likes to name-drop celebrities and other cultural icons often, sometimes to great amusement. I particularly liked the line, “He had a shock of white hair, offset by the bushiest black eyebrows this side of Eugene Levy.” Naturally, though, I didn’t understand every similar cultural reference, so some landed (like the one above), while others missed for me. That said, I think I knew most of them.

In addition to the celebrities, the book mentions quite a few literary works and films. Aaron is also very well read, referencing literary classics like Hemingway and Jane Austen. 

Throughout the book Aaron goes on tangents within his thoughts and brings in questions of values, what is right and wrong, good and bad, etc. One thought I found particularly interesting was: “It bugs me when ordinary folks admire the rich.” Aaron also likes the book The Sun Also Rises, which to me is exactly that: a story glorifying the lifestyles of the rich. So I thought it was a little interesting that the character had this thought. True to life, though, we are all a little inconsistent at times.

At times, the number of characters in the book was a little confusing. There were quite a few, and I sometimes mixed them up. Robbie and Roley have somewhat similar names. I know them now, but when I started the book, I was a little confused as to who was who.

The book has a bit of a literary style, but true to life, the plot takes more of a backseat to Aaron’s experience. The story arc isn't a here to there, but meanders and backpedals to ultimately get where it needs to go.

Overall, I think the book is good. I would recommend it to anyone who identifies with growing up in Ireland in the 90s, being gay in the 90s, loving 90s pop culture references. Actually I might be explaining it poorly, as you really don’t need to love the 90s to enjoy the book, it just provides an interesting cultural backdrop.

Length: 350 pages

Perspective: first person

Tense: Past

Kindle Unlimited: No

https://www.amazon.com/Drowners-David-Anderson-ebook/dp/B0DYK363NJ