Joe Wolfe-Mazeres

The Drift Joe Wolfe-Mazeres

All of this happened a long time ago when the world was a very different place. Of course, none of us knew that at the time. Jules Facks, the narrator of The Drift, is nineteen years old, somewhat world-wise and yet somewhat naïve. He has arrived at Milloway College fresh off a year-long adventure that he calls his "Drift." Jules's Drift was an aimless drive that took him back and forth across North America and led him to outlandish and profound encounters with a colorful set of characters. At Milloway, Jules expects to settle down and find stability. College, though, is a drift unto itself. At Milloway, Jules reconnects with his ambitious younger brother Philo and makes fast friends with Wes (a film student), Spike (a musician), Richard/Eugene (who looks like a nerd until you really look at him), and Zü (an enigmatic would-be author). Jules navigates a maze of odd sexual encounters, awkward social interactions, and bouts of crippling self-doubt. He visits seedy bars, an exotic cavern, and even - occasionally - the classroom. The Drift is, at its heart, a coming-of-age story, but it is also a story of the struggle between destiny and determination, about momentum and inertia, and about pent-up energy waiting to be released.