Reviewed by Rod McLary
Although the title would suggest that the character Rat Daniels is the focus of this coming-of-age novel, that is not the case. The main protagonist is Jimmy Quinn who narrates this thoroughly enthralling novel. But Rat – whose real name is Damien Daniels – is at the centre of the narrative – the person around whom the other characters revolve.
The narrative is bookended by the events which follow a destructive and deathly fire on a local farm. The subsequent police investigation challenges the memories and consciences of those involved – and the narrative explores how loyalty can skew what can or should be recalled after a traumatic event.
Some years before the fire, Rat and Jimmy meet by chance when they are both about seven; Jimmy is lonely and as he says and all I really remember is the loneliness, and the lumpy feeling that I was somehow doing everything wrong. And then I met Rat [10]. Rat was alert and smart and people always underestimated him [16]. Rat and Jimmy lived in Edens Ridge on the outskirts of Adelaide in the Adelaide Hills and together they roamed all over the hills – but like his namesake Rat was ‘Roving, Ravenous’ [19].
While the boys enjoyed a freedom largely unknown to inner-city children, Rat had a difficult home life. His father had abandoned Rat and his mother and she now lived with Wayne in a house characterised by yelling and violence – and underneath it all lay Rat’s hatred of Davey Callaghan. Davey is one of those men mothers warn their children against – ‘never be alone with him’; ‘never get in a car with Davey’. The reason for Rat’s hatred is never made explicit but as the narrative continues there are occasional allusions to what may have happened between him and Davey, and a reasonable assumption can be made by an astute reader.
Davey is part of the Callaghan family who own much of the land around Edens Ridge including the farm which figures significantly later in the narrative. Two sons of the family, Kieron and Darryl, have a lucrative monopoly on the production and sale of marijuana in the local district. As Rat and Jimmy grow into their teenage years, some of Rat’s actions bring him into conflict with the brothers with dire consequences. On the other hand, Jimmy finds in himself a talent for basketball and with hard work and good coaching may have a future in the United States college basketball. Jimmy’s involvement in his sport and the inclusion of girls in their lives change the dynamics of Rat’s and Jimmy’s friendship but Rat continues to be at the centre of the circle.
Then the fire occurs and everything changes. Loyalties within the circle are tested especially when each person has a different opinion who the responsible person may be. This is teased out further as Jimmy and his friends discuss what may have happened that night and where each of them stands on the guilt or otherwise of Rat.
Rat Daniels is a fine coming-of-age story and traverses ten years of Jimmy Quinn’s life and the impact of his meeting Rat at age seven. The novel captures well the language with all its nuances of children and teenagers and their struggles to find their places in the adult world – and how childhood dreams often turn out to be just that.
But it is also a story of friendship – the deep friendship which can exist between those who meet at a young age and share much of their experiences as they grow up together. There is an interesting subtext running through the narrative – Jimmy’s love for Rat. There are a number of references to how much Jimmy loves him and, in a telling vignette, Jimmy says [Rat] looked like a dancer, poised, but completely natural at the same time. … He looked beautiful [311].
Rat Daniels is a very evocative and fine debut novel by Alex Sawyer. A pleasure to read.
Alex Sawyer has won postgraduate awards for writing on youth trauma and resilience; and in 2023 was a winner of the Richell Prize for Emerging Writers.
Rat Daniels
[2026]
by Alex Sawyer
Hachette
ISBN: 978 0 7336 5359 9
$34.99; 388pp