48 Shades of Brown – The Review
             How we choose to look at life often influences how we live life. This is evident from the outset in Nick Earls' 48 Shades of Brown. This book deals with, in a variety of contexts, the issues of sexuality and identity within a completely modern setting within an old Queenslander in the suburbs of Brisbane. The character of Dan, the main protagonist in this book, is depicted as looking for an identity and trying to deal with his constantly changing worldviews. Earls, through his book, tries to break typical stereotypes that are often portrayed in young adult novels, and he succeeds with his undoubtedly 'loser' character of Dan.
             The main character of this novel is that of Daniel Bancroft, or Dan/Banger, as he is more affectionately known. This novel deals with the coming of age of this young Year 12 student as he struggles to come to grips with his new found reality where sex romps in the room next door are just as frequent as masturbation jokes at a male only school. Yet, as Dan is to find out, life with the two uni chicks, Jacq and Naomi, may be just what Dan needs to break out of the 'loser' circle.
             I have to look independent here, Dan states in the opening chapter of the book, and although this may be his intention, he is very far from it. When Dan first arrives at Jacq, his 22yr old aunts' place, he brings with him no real-life skills. His move from the beige castle to the old seedy Queenslander takes him further from the made-easy life that his mother, Madge, had for him and more towards the harsh reality that Jacq so desperately wants him to see. He does not know how to do the laundry or cook, in fact, he can't do anything but sweep the basement floor. His mother, Madge, has babied him all his life and Dan realizes this and begins to question what she has done for him. This becomes ever more present throughout the novel, not all the advice she has g
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