In his stellar debut (and our November Book of the Month!), Curtis Garner weaves a multi-layered coming-of-age story that turns a sharp eye into the core of his protagonist, interrogating masculinity, desire and youth in the process. The titular character, Isaac, is a young gay man coming into his sexuality. Initially turning to Grindr for his first experiences, Isaac’s world opens up for both the better and the worse.

On the one hand, we are taken on Isaac’s numerous erotic encounters, seeing how he is confronted by his own naiveite, which in turn opens him up to finding himself in the context of the gay community. But we also see how this exposure creates vulnerability, especially around his relationship to his body. The interaction between Isaac’s fragile, developing selfhood and his body continues to be a pertinent and thoughtful theme throughout.

As quickly as Isaac’s world is thrown open by sex and parties, it narrows again. This is when Isaac meets Harrison, a charismatic, wealthy and painfully smug artist ten years Isaac’s senior. Soon, Isaac sees the world through the pinhole lens of their troubling relationship. A great strength of the book is Garner’s characterisation of Harrison, he is very cleverly reminiscent of Francis Bacon, whose paintings he hangs above his own bed. Harrison’s treatment of Isaac builds subtly, and is powerfully written to encapsulate the novel’s exploration of masculinity, queerness and shame.

There is so much more to discuss with Isaac, it’s such a wonderfully rich novel. Garner’s writing is stand-out, with a blend of tenderness, criticism and lyricism. He also injects plenty of sex scenes into the book, all written with delicious eroticism, driving home that Isaac’s sexuality is at the beating heart of the story. I cannot recommend this debut enough, and look forward to seeing what Curtis Garner has in store for us next!

’Curtis Garner captures the complexities of coming of age as a young, queer person… Isaac’s journey is every queer reader’s journey delivered with wit, honesty, sexuality and tenderness’ — ATTITUDE

‘The gay dating scenes crackle with energy’ — Financial Times

‘So vivid and real, it brought a thousand memories rushing back’ — Russell T Davies