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4.25 AVERAGE
4.25 AVERAGE
Speechless. A book that made me reconsider my entire favorites shelf
An extraordinary book: Trent Dalton grew up in circumstances much like those in which his protagonist Eli grows up. There is violence, a great deal of bad language, drug dealing and murder. Yet somehow amid all this, Eli retains his decency and humanity, and grows up to become a journalist with Brisbane's Courier-Mail newspaper, as did the author. It is also a story about steadfast love between brothers, which somehow helps to protect them from the trauma which they experience.
I could hardly bear to put it down - a gripping and enthralling read.
(The birdwatcher in me has to comment that the image used on the cover of a Splendid Fairy-wren - and there is a small but significant part played by a Wren in the book - should have been a Superb Fairy-wren. Splendids don't appear as far east as Brisbane, though they are found in inland Queensland.)
I could hardly bear to put it down - a gripping and enthralling read.
(The birdwatcher in me has to comment that the image used on the cover of a Splendid Fairy-wren - and there is a small but significant part played by a Wren in the book - should have been a Superb Fairy-wren. Splendids don't appear as far east as Brisbane, though they are found in inland Queensland.)
You end is a dead blue wren
Boy Swallows Universe is the story of 12 year old Eli, who lives in south-east Queensland with his wilfully mute brother August, gets babysat by a convicted murderer and has recently discovered that his mum and stepdad sell heroin. Eli is the best. I was so in love with Eli by the end of this book.
I loved this way more than I thought I was going to. “Gritty Australian literature about poor kids and smack-dealing stepdad” kinda puts a particular type of book in mind, which is what I was expecting: Emotional, full of anger and sadness, deep or at least thinks it is, critically acclaimed but probably pretty slow and maybe a little boring, etc. This is NOT that book.
This is so well written and well told. It’s almost surrealist, in a way, and often humorous. And, what made me happy reading it is, it is so full of love. The stepdad, the mum, the two boys, the babysitter, the dad: they all love and care for one another so much, despite their flaws. No angry-stepdad-shitty-mum cliches here.
Fascinatingly, this book is also inspired by and loosely based on the authors real life and childhood, including being friends with convicted murderer Slim Halliday (real person, real name).
Boy Swallows Universe is the story of 12 year old Eli, who lives in south-east Queensland with his wilfully mute brother August, gets babysat by a convicted murderer and has recently discovered that his mum and stepdad sell heroin. Eli is the best. I was so in love with Eli by the end of this book.
I loved this way more than I thought I was going to. “Gritty Australian literature about poor kids and smack-dealing stepdad” kinda puts a particular type of book in mind, which is what I was expecting: Emotional, full of anger and sadness, deep or at least thinks it is, critically acclaimed but probably pretty slow and maybe a little boring, etc. This is NOT that book.
This is so well written and well told. It’s almost surrealist, in a way, and often humorous. And, what made me happy reading it is, it is so full of love. The stepdad, the mum, the two boys, the babysitter, the dad: they all love and care for one another so much, despite their flaws. No angry-stepdad-shitty-mum cliches here.
Fascinatingly, this book is also inspired by and loosely based on the authors real life and childhood, including being friends with convicted murderer Slim Halliday (real person, real name).
Highly commended and rated. I thought it started with a bang and in those first few chapters, there was something special about the prose that I think is lost later on. At times it plays with a bit of surrealism but I don't see that ever being fully realised for the purpose of the novel. Not a bad debut by any means, however.
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
What a wild ride this entire book is! An amazing mix of fact and fantasy all rolled up into a story that had me totally enthralled and so absorbed in and connected to all of the characters. Growing up in Brisbane I loved relating to the suburban descriptions and reading about the places that I am so familiar with. Trent Dalton has morphed himself into Eli Bell in so many ways and I think what a fantastic way of telling and understanding one's own life story.
'Do your time.. before it does you', 'Your end is a dead blue wren' - these words are going to stay with me. Loved this one and totally recommend. My only criticism would be that aspects of the book that were clearly fictional didn't necessarily fit for me within the overall book. I loved the entire book but the ending for me was a bit more of a thriller that I perhaps hadn't expected nor anticipated. Perhaps that's a good thing. Mind you, the last few chapters were absolute page turners for me though.
'Do your time.. before it does you', 'Your end is a dead blue wren' - these words are going to stay with me. Loved this one and totally recommend. My only criticism would be that aspects of the book that were clearly fictional didn't necessarily fit for me within the overall book. I loved the entire book but the ending for me was a bit more of a thriller that I perhaps hadn't expected nor anticipated. Perhaps that's a good thing. Mind you, the last few chapters were absolute page turners for me though.
adventurous
dark
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
"Maybe we'd all be much more effective communicators if we all shut up more.”
Where do I even start with this book? At the place where it ripped out my heart and stomped on it? Or where it mended everything I've ever felt?
Either way, there's no wrong answer.
I was sceptical at first because the pitch for this book seems a bit wack: a boy with a criminal babysitter finds himself in the middle of the drug importing underworld in Australia. However, this blew away all my expectations and I can safely say that I will never ever ever ever read a book like this ever again.
I swear you have to drop everything and read this right now because it is sooooooo good.
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated