Isaac
Curtis Garner
Verve Books
Isaac is counting down his final months in high school, waiting to take exams, and then wait for the results which will determine the next stage of his life. He loves literature, and writes his own short stories. One his teachers encourages him to pursue writing as a career, he secretly has a crush on his teacher.
He spends time with his best friend Cherish, she’s leaps and bounds ahead of him, she’s already had a boyfriend and moved on. Issac has just been chatted to guys, often older than his 17 years, on dating apps.
In those final months of high school, and across the gap to his commencement at university, he dives into an adult world, with hook ups, online dating, visiting new spaces, and having his expectations challenges.
He embarks in a series of mild adventures dotted with disappointing sexual encounters and uneasy interations, but then he meets Harrison, twenty seven, sophisticated but bohemian.
They begin to spend time together, Harrison exposes him to new foods and cultural experiences, and a group of friends that Isaac struggles to relate to, but slowly a relationship builds and the young man begins to share news of his new boyfriend with the his family and friends.
Curtis Garner’s debut novel is clever and sophisticated, it’s a story that slowly develops, and it’s one that takes an unexpected turn that leads to the lead character reassessing his actions and needs.
It’s a powerful reminder of what its like when you first enter the queer realm of clubs, bars and dark spaces. While also capturing the move from adolescence to adulthood, a burning desire to start life and be taken seriously, to achieve and conquer, while simultaneously being filled with doubt, confusion and inexperience.
Its exploration of a relationship, where you are trying to work out what makes this person you’re dating tick, and the moment where rush of lust and exhilaration subsides and you find yourself wondering, ‘who is this person I’m dating?’ While at the same time, you’re not really sure of who you’re meant to be, or you’re meant to be when your with this other person. It’s a deep plunge into a formative juncture in our lives.
In an interview with AnOther the author spoke about his book and its exploration of dating apps, hookup and relatinships came from his own life experience, describing himself as a “super-user” of Grindr.
“I wanted it to have a teenage protagonist because adolescence is all about incoherence and not understanding anything about yourself,“ Garner told journalist Nick Levine. “I think that Isaac’s first sexual experiences on Grindr heighten the fact he doesn’t know what he’s doing or the kind of person that he wants to be.“
The English and Australian cover of the book featured the jaw and neck of a young man with quotes from authors and writer’s delivering high praise for the work, among them Russell T. Davies, Jon Ransom, and Alex Pheby. For its Canadian and US release the book has got a fresh cover featuring two grinding torsos.
The book is largely set in London, but also takes a journey to Manchester – an echo of Garner’s own experiences. Born in Cornwall he moved to London at 18 to study Creative Writing and English Literature at the University of Greenwich. He later completed a Masters degree at the Manchester Writing School.
