The Stormwater Drains in Canberra — Paul Johan Karlsen

NAMED TO KIRKUS REVIEWS' BEST BOOKS OF 2016

'Kurt s story will resonate with gay men around the world ... 'The Stormwater Drains in Canberra' may serve as a study guide for a new generation of young gay men' -- Lambda Literary Review

Consumed by pubescent desires, Kurt Larsen, a resourceful Norwegian boy, wants to speed up his sexual coming of age. Taking matters in his own hands, Kurt secretly opens a mailbox at the local post office and, posing as an adult, begins to take out personal ads in porn magazines. From there, little goes according to his master plan. 'The Stormwater Drains in Canberra' is a story of friendship and loneliness, of striking the right balance between privacy and secrecy, and above all, of learning how to love. In this international coming-of-age story, the narrator, a modern-day Peer Gynt, looks back on the events that unfolded from the time he was fourteen until he turned twenty-one.