An unforgettable coming-of-age story from a stunning new voice in Australian fiction, for those who love Mark Brandi, Favel Parrett and Tim Winton.
I was six, turning seven, and all I really remember is the loneliness, and the lumpy feeling that I was somehow doing everything wrong. And then I met Rat.
Jimmy Quinn is only a boy when he meets Rat Daniels down by the creek. Until that moment, Rat wasn’t called Rat, and Jimmy didn’t have a best friend. That day at Edens Ridge is the beginning of everything.
Mercurial, wild and rebellious, Rat is thrillingly far from Jimmy’s tidy world. But there is a dangerous current in Rat that scares Jimmy sometimes. So do the things that happen in Rat’s house: the yelling, the violence and, most of all, Rat’s hatred for a man named Davey Callaghan.
As they get older, Rat slips toward the darker elements of the Ridge. Ziplock bags and wadded-up foil balls – there’s money to be made, and Rat has a plan that needs money. For the two friends, allegiances will be stretched and intentions questioned. Some days, Jimmy’s not sure if he even likes Rat anymore.
Then a devastating fire on the Callaghan farm forces Jimmy to wrestle with his conscience and his memories. People are dead. The police are investigating. Jimmy will have to decide how far his loyalty will go, and just who his friend really is.
Rat Daniels is a luminous and deeply evocative debut novel from the 2023 Richell Prize winner, Alex Sawyer.
(5/5)
Rat Daniels by Alex Sawyer is like an homage to childhood. Everyone had that one friend that they were thick as thieves with, that maybe, in retrospect, wasn’t the kind of friend that they should’ve had. What would have been seen as cheeky or rebellious behaviour as kids would look like reasons for the police to be involved, with the clarity of adulthood. This is Rat.
With Alex Sawyer being a fellow Aussie, it was easy to put myself in the scenes, as he perfectly described growing up in Australia. From the scenery to the descriptions of friends’ parents, I could easily relate to my own memories of growing up. This book actually made me remember people and situations that I had forgotten about.
This was an engaging, easy read, and I found myself thinking about it, even when I wasn’t reading. If this is Alex Sawyer’s first book, I can’t wait to read what he comes up with next.
(2/5)
A story about a friendship that starts with an accidental encounter. Not a lighthearted read, and it took some concentration to follow some of the characters.
(5/5)
I loved this book! read the first ten chapters on the day I received it. The description of how the boys met and the areas where they spent many happy hours adventuring was beautiful. There seemed to be an underlying sadness to this friendship but also a fierce protectiveness to one another, which carries all the way through the book. A coming-of-age story of two boys from different backgrounds and upbringings but with a genuine love for each other. This book has drama, adventure, nostalgia, sex, and love.
(4/5)
This is the story of childhood friends, Rat and Jimmy, who grow up in South Australia on the outskirts of suburbia, where there is room to roam and test the limits, a place where you find your feet the hard way. It is a coming-of-age story that is a testament to the bonds formed in childhood. Alex Sawyer explores relationship dynamics with nuance and compassion, with an honest and direct Australian voice willing to touch upon old and new perspectives of masculinity, the realities of growing up in a close-knit community, and the value of showing up even when you’re confused as hell about who you even are.
I recommend this debut novel to anyone who likes stories about childhood friends, growing up through adolescence into adulthood, in an Australian setting, written with a turn of phrase that just tells it like it is.
If you like Tim Winton and Robbie Arnott, you will enjoy Alex Sawyer.