The Drowners by David A. Anderson
Set in 90s Dublin, The Drowners follows Aaron, a precocious fifteen-year-old starting a new school after being unceremoniously kicked out of his old one. He is a combination of too smart for his own good and deeply unsure of himself, uncomfortable with who he is and uncertain of what he wants out of life, but very aware of how he comes across and has a strict moral code.
Starting a new school with no friends as a teenager is tough enough, but he also has a confusing home life – his brother is a drug dealer, his mother is an ardent worrier and his father is strictly religious and emotionally distant. It’s unsurprising that Aaron is conflicted, and he immerses himself in literature, movies and music to escape, but also in an attempt to gain some sort of understanding of the world.
At Aaron’s new school he meets Robbie, a boy of Jamaican descent with aspirations to become an actor. He is different to everyone else, and not just because of his race – he is confident, talented and smart, and while not arrogant, he is also not shy of any of these things. The two quickly bond over movies and music, and their friendship allows Aaron be more at ease with himself. But is it just friendship that Aaron wants? And is he prepared to put that friendship at risk to see if Robbie feels the same?
This novel is a gloriously awkward coming-of-age novel. Sexual confusion, heartbreak and embarrassment are rife within its pages, as well as the oh so teenage desires of wanting to be different while also wanting to fit in. Aaron clumsily navigates his adolescence, and I love how Anderson doesn’t shy away from describing the pain that comes with the teen years. Because let’s face it, are they anything other than excruciating?
‘When you reach a certain age, do you forget the ceaseless anxiety and remorseless boredom that constitutes teenage life? Does nostalgia induce selective amnesia? Because the way the neighbourhood dads tell it they all holidayed at this incredible resort called Adolescence. Where their Danny Zuko doppelgänger younger selves chased after a string of Sandy Olsson clones, and the days passed like greased lightning. And life was a gas.‘
Anderson doesn’t portray Aaron as an adult in a teenage body, which is a bugbear of mine with coming-of-age novels. Far from it, Aaron navigates the issue of race terribly with Robbie (but strives to do better), is selfish and horny and angry and makes terrible decisions frequently, but he isn’t a horrible character. He is a teenager, suffering with lack of experience yet has adult thoughts in his head and adult expectations put upon him. Plus, the poor kid has William Burroughs to blame for his gay awakening – he’s not set up for a stable young adulthood!
Aaron constantly flits between his staunch moral views in an unfair world with his simple desire to be liked. His lack of awareness is infuriating at times (and brilliantly written), especially when he can’t see how he’s getting in his own way.
While this novel was a wonderful imagining of teenagehood, my only slight criticism of The Drowners was that a handful of references were not in keeping with the time in which it was set, and I feel some of the concerns Aaron had would be more on a modern teenager’s radar than it would have been for someone growing up in the 90s. I also felt there was an easy acceptance in regards to sexuality than I remember there being at that time, perhaps even as late as the 2010s. Then again, would I enjoy reading an accurate representation of homophobia in the 90s? Or would I rather read about how a young lad learning to accept himself as his friends and family quickly learn to accept him too? The latter was a much more satisfying reading experience.
Coming-of-age stories are often hyperbolic in one of two ways – either they’re overtly exciting, romantic and energetic, where characters literally run around as they chase their dreams, or they’re deeply depressing and symbolise the removal of freedom and joy as the characters encroach the sobering reality of adulthood. Luckily, The Drowners is much more grounded as it delves into the misery and dullness that comes with being a teenager, but balances that out with the thrilling possibilities and opportunities that growing up provides. This novel is about the exploration and acceptance of the self, which is what being a teenager is all about. It reminded me that I never want to go back to those times, but I must appreciate how important those years were.
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