Mystery Questions of the Week - 4-06-2009

We would be surprised if more than a few veteran bubbleheads read Joe Dunthorne's first novel, Submarine, much less give it a careful reading.

This first novel by a young Welsh poet is the sharpest, funniest, rudest account of a periodically troubled teenager's coming-of-age since The Catcher in the Rye... This brilliant novel is laugh-out-loud enjoyable - The Independent

Why would submarine purists skip Dunthorne's book, then? Well, it has almost nothing to do with real submarines except, perhaps, the poetic license taken here [my color emphasis]:

Struggling to buoy his parents’ wedded bliss, deep-six his own virginity, and sound the depths of heartache, happiness, and the business of being human, what’s a lad to do? Poised precariously on the cusp of innocence and experience, yesterday’s daydreams and tomorrow’s decisions, Oliver Tate aims to damn the torpedoes and take the plunge. Barnes&Noble

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Mystery Questions of the Week

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1 - What indirect connection, mentioned inside the book, could account for the title Submarine?

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2 - Once you have the answer to the first question, an indirectly related one (to the answer, not the book) should confront you clever sleuths: What did the early development share with an element, much in the news lately, Polonium?

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BONUS QUESTION (from current events)

3 - What is another development, of which law enforcement officials say they have already had unconfirmed reports, that would entirely alleviate the following conditions?

They don't have bathrooms. The beds are two mattresses draped over the fuel tanks, and the pilot can barely see through very small windows in mini-cabin. The noise and heat must be something infernal.

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ANSWERS to Questions 1- and 2- will be given Friday. The answer to the Bonus Question (3- ) can be found here, now.

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Admittedly, Vigilis has yet not read Submarine (Mystery Question answers are otherwise available), but the reviews promise it is a very entertaining novel, and its author is certainly gifted enough to make good on that promise.

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If our well-versed shipmate, Chapomatic, reads it first we can be fairly sure he will share his experience.

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Submarines are always silent and strange.