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3.91 AVERAGE
3.91 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Rounding up from 4.5 stars!
I adore Trent Daltons style of writing, the contradiction of whimsy & raw emotion that weaves through his stories.
I did had to push myself at times through what felt like overly flowery prose but I can see this (Like Boy Swallows Universe) being a book I want to come back and read again!
I adore Trent Daltons style of writing, the contradiction of whimsy & raw emotion that weaves through his stories.
I did had to push myself at times through what felt like overly flowery prose but I can see this (Like Boy Swallows Universe) being a book I want to come back and read again!
This was a beautifully written book with wonderful descriptions of everything, especially the places and events. What kept it from being a 5 star read for me was the harder to read portions that were just too much. The way this is written is truly a work of art but that also makes it hard to digest at times.
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Trent has a really beautiful and haunting way of writing from a child's perspective of abuse and trauma. I really enjoyed the book, and was surprised that a walk through the outback would keep me engaged for so many pages (tbh it sold me more on what I thought of as a barren and terrifying place. Still not planning a visit anytime soon tho). The storyline, setting, and characters felt very unique to this book and I haven't read anything quite like it before. 4/5 because whilst I really liked it I wouldn't say it was perfect - one thing in particular is the book frequently switches to other people's perspectives but it wasn't explored as much as I would've liked, and some characters were left out completely. Also some other parts dragged on a lot and it could switch from brutal to cheesy quite quickly.
Trent Dalton’s Boy Swallows Universe (2018) was one of the most enjoyable and unique books I’ve read in the last few years, and I’d been waiting keenly for the summer school holidays to begin so I could dive into Dalton’s second novel, All Our Shimmering Skies (2020).
The story is set in the 1940s in Darwin in Australia’s Northern Territory. The protagonist is young Molly Hook, a grave digger’s daughter, who is facing a serious dilemma. Her gold mining grandfather was allegedly the subject of a curse bestowed on him by Aboriginal elder, Longcoat Bob, which has wrought havoc for Molly and her family for years. This is compounded when Molly’s mother dies, leaving her to her hopeless, alcoholic father and abusive, greedy, grave robbing uncle. Molly can feel the pressure building, feel her heart turning to stone. A mysterious gift causes Molly to believe that the key to her survival is to save herself by finding Longcoat Bob and asking him to reverse the curse. Escaping her father and uncle proves almost overwhelming until the fateful bombing of Darwin by the Japanese gives her an opportunity which she grabs with both hands. Molly embarks on a journey into the heart of the Northern Territory with her uncle’s sometimes girlfriend, actress Greta, and a Japanese fighter pilot, Yukio Miki, who falls from the sky into their path.
I so wanted to love this novel, and don't get me wrong, I did like it quite a lot, but it had some imperfections that caused me to hold back my very deepest affection. It is a unique tale, merging together a swag of genres – family drama, comedy, historical fiction, bildungsroman, adventure, quest narrative, fable, magical realism, Japanese mythology, Dreamtime – and while this mostly works, sometimes I felt it all became a little overcrowded. The first third of the novel dragged for me as I found myself wanting to just start the journey that was so obviously ahead. While the novel is also structurally interesting, I found it was a little too fragmented at times. The plot requires you to abandon all expectations of realism and embrace the magical whimsy and fantastical nature of the story as it continues to build in pace and magnitude. Once I did this, I found myself enjoying the book much more. There are some elements of the plot that I struggled to understand whether Dalton was using them as homage or whether they were just cliché. The love story was a little this way, as was some of the parts that felt a lot like a female Indiana Jones meets Crocodile Dundee. There are diversions as well that fell flat and may have had a considered purpose, but I couldn’t see it – the rescue of the baby and the discovery of a mysterious alternate commune/end of life sect left me confused and waiting for an appropriate thread that would tie these more closely to the overarching narrative, but this never came. Maybe I missed something?
The voice of Molly Hook is well conceived and authentic, capturing Dalton’s relentless optimism and messages about the importance of resilience. Like Boy Swallows Universe’s protagonist Eli Bell, Molly is trapped by flawed adults who at times represent the worst in humanity through addiction, rage and inter-generational trauma. Molly is a little more naive than Eli though, and considering her awful experiences, one wonders why. She is a very empathetic character though – we ache for her sorrows and share in her hopes. This is particularly strong at the beginning and end of the novel. While diverse and interesting, some of the other characters felt a little like caricatures. Both Greta and Sam (Molly’s friend) lacked real depth, with both feeling like characters Dalton had outlined well, but did not colour in fully. Greta is presented as a 1940s screen siren and like a big sister to Molly, but the darkness of her past is not used to the effect it could have been. Similarly, Sam is likened to the gun slinging heroes from the Westerns Molly loves so much, but I found myself wanting to learn more about his Aboriginality. Characters like Yukio and Longcoat Bob are very much “othered”, which I found interesting in a book that simultaneously explores ideas around race, class, gender and representation.
Despite the minor issues I had, it is undeniable that Dalton’s writing is beyond beautiful (much like the exquisite cover art). His use of imagery gloriously brings to life the Australian top end and you could feel every inch of it in your pores as you soaked in his love of the landscape. The use of metaphor, symbolism and personification is also used to great effect in bringing all elements of the story to life. You cannot help but admire Dalton for his one of a kind imagination in celebrating so many aspects of Australia. As Boy Swallows Universe seemed to be a love letter to Australian suburbia, All Our Shimmering Skies is a love letter to the rural outback.
The story is set in the 1940s in Darwin in Australia’s Northern Territory. The protagonist is young Molly Hook, a grave digger’s daughter, who is facing a serious dilemma. Her gold mining grandfather was allegedly the subject of a curse bestowed on him by Aboriginal elder, Longcoat Bob, which has wrought havoc for Molly and her family for years. This is compounded when Molly’s mother dies, leaving her to her hopeless, alcoholic father and abusive, greedy, grave robbing uncle. Molly can feel the pressure building, feel her heart turning to stone. A mysterious gift causes Molly to believe that the key to her survival is to save herself by finding Longcoat Bob and asking him to reverse the curse. Escaping her father and uncle proves almost overwhelming until the fateful bombing of Darwin by the Japanese gives her an opportunity which she grabs with both hands. Molly embarks on a journey into the heart of the Northern Territory with her uncle’s sometimes girlfriend, actress Greta, and a Japanese fighter pilot, Yukio Miki, who falls from the sky into their path.
I so wanted to love this novel, and don't get me wrong, I did like it quite a lot, but it had some imperfections that caused me to hold back my very deepest affection. It is a unique tale, merging together a swag of genres – family drama, comedy, historical fiction, bildungsroman, adventure, quest narrative, fable, magical realism, Japanese mythology, Dreamtime – and while this mostly works, sometimes I felt it all became a little overcrowded. The first third of the novel dragged for me as I found myself wanting to just start the journey that was so obviously ahead. While the novel is also structurally interesting, I found it was a little too fragmented at times. The plot requires you to abandon all expectations of realism and embrace the magical whimsy and fantastical nature of the story as it continues to build in pace and magnitude. Once I did this, I found myself enjoying the book much more. There are some elements of the plot that I struggled to understand whether Dalton was using them as homage or whether they were just cliché. The love story was a little this way, as was some of the parts that felt a lot like a female Indiana Jones meets Crocodile Dundee. There are diversions as well that fell flat and may have had a considered purpose, but I couldn’t see it – the rescue of the baby and the discovery of a mysterious alternate commune/end of life sect left me confused and waiting for an appropriate thread that would tie these more closely to the overarching narrative, but this never came. Maybe I missed something?
The voice of Molly Hook is well conceived and authentic, capturing Dalton’s relentless optimism and messages about the importance of resilience. Like Boy Swallows Universe’s protagonist Eli Bell, Molly is trapped by flawed adults who at times represent the worst in humanity through addiction, rage and inter-generational trauma. Molly is a little more naive than Eli though, and considering her awful experiences, one wonders why. She is a very empathetic character though – we ache for her sorrows and share in her hopes. This is particularly strong at the beginning and end of the novel. While diverse and interesting, some of the other characters felt a little like caricatures. Both Greta and Sam (Molly’s friend) lacked real depth, with both feeling like characters Dalton had outlined well, but did not colour in fully. Greta is presented as a 1940s screen siren and like a big sister to Molly, but the darkness of her past is not used to the effect it could have been. Similarly, Sam is likened to the gun slinging heroes from the Westerns Molly loves so much, but I found myself wanting to learn more about his Aboriginality. Characters like Yukio and Longcoat Bob are very much “othered”, which I found interesting in a book that simultaneously explores ideas around race, class, gender and representation.
Despite the minor issues I had, it is undeniable that Dalton’s writing is beyond beautiful (much like the exquisite cover art). His use of imagery gloriously brings to life the Australian top end and you could feel every inch of it in your pores as you soaked in his love of the landscape. The use of metaphor, symbolism and personification is also used to great effect in bringing all elements of the story to life. You cannot help but admire Dalton for his one of a kind imagination in celebrating so many aspects of Australia. As Boy Swallows Universe seemed to be a love letter to Australian suburbia, All Our Shimmering Skies is a love letter to the rural outback.
Honestly could not get on board with this book. Loved BSU but this one just did not hit any of the marks for me. A little dull and meandering. Had to force myself through every page.