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4.25 AVERAGE
4.25 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
obviously a great boo,, took me too long to finish but def recommend! eli bell made me want to become a journalist 100 times over
Brisbane, 1983, and Eli Bell is trying to work out what makes a good man. Along with his brother August, and best friend Slim, he's trying to muddle his way through life as best he can. A spanner is thrown in the works when his step dad becomes involved with notorious drug dealer Titus Broz though, and Eli's life is forever changed.
Despite getting some brilliant reviews this book wasn't really on my radar until a friend at work mentioned enjoying it. He highly recommend so I decided to give it a try, and I'm very glad I did.
There was such a familiarity about this book. I could really picture Brisbane in the early 80s, and Eli and his family's lives were so raw and believable it was as if you were there.
Eli is a brilliant protagonist. He's a loveable character, and at times it was easy to forget he was so young. He faces more than his fair share of hardships and heartaches throughout the book, and has such a resilient spirit you can't fail to love him. On top of that, his relationship with August was one of the best parts of the book, and a joy to read about.
I don't know much about life in the outer suburbs of Brisbane in the early 80s, and especially not about the drug trade or gang wars, but this book paints a very believable picture. I liked how Dalton blurred the lines, portraying Lyle as a man just doing the best he can to support his family, rather than an out and out criminal. Compare that with Titus Broz, who was a villain through and through (although not in the public eye). It was an interesting take.
Without a doubt, what made this book for me was the audible narration. Stig Wemyss was absolutely perfect. He has that lazy, broad aussie drawl that is just perfect for the characters, and really brings them to life. He sounded exactly as I would have imagined the characters to sound, and it just made the book an even more immersive experience.
A truly enjoyable read, I'll definitely be checking out Trent Dalton's newest book.
Despite getting some brilliant reviews this book wasn't really on my radar until a friend at work mentioned enjoying it. He highly recommend so I decided to give it a try, and I'm very glad I did.
There was such a familiarity about this book. I could really picture Brisbane in the early 80s, and Eli and his family's lives were so raw and believable it was as if you were there.
Eli is a brilliant protagonist. He's a loveable character, and at times it was easy to forget he was so young. He faces more than his fair share of hardships and heartaches throughout the book, and has such a resilient spirit you can't fail to love him. On top of that, his relationship with August was one of the best parts of the book, and a joy to read about.
I don't know much about life in the outer suburbs of Brisbane in the early 80s, and especially not about the drug trade or gang wars, but this book paints a very believable picture. I liked how Dalton blurred the lines, portraying Lyle as a man just doing the best he can to support his family, rather than an out and out criminal. Compare that with Titus Broz, who was a villain through and through (although not in the public eye). It was an interesting take.
Without a doubt, what made this book for me was the audible narration. Stig Wemyss was absolutely perfect. He has that lazy, broad aussie drawl that is just perfect for the characters, and really brings them to life. He sounded exactly as I would have imagined the characters to sound, and it just made the book an even more immersive experience.
A truly enjoyable read, I'll definitely be checking out Trent Dalton's newest book.
dark
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This is one of the most beautifully written books I have ever read which makes it so interesting when the subject matter is around suburban poverty, drugs, abuse and neglect.
For better or worse, I primarily read to be entertained and uplifted and whilst this book is many things, it isn’t those two. So it did take me a few sittings over a number of months to read this book.
I would recommend spending time with Eli Bell and his dysfunctional family. It’s a coming of age story that swaps out cliches for the realities of generational trauma. Plus, a cracking crime story.
This book is grim but spectacular.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Violence, Murder, Alcohol
Minor: Child abuse, Suicidal thoughts
BRILLIANT!!! The story of this book is perfect: the main character is so human that he instantly reflects the readers part of themselves; the rest of the characters are well-constructed and all of them (even the most incidental ones) have a purpose for the plot. Every episode in the story has a reason, there are no paragraphs or even words without a purpose or just to fill pages. This makes the story round and deep. Definitely the best novel I’ve read in the last 10 years.
Not a style of writing I enjoyed. It wasn't until the last 50 pages that it actually became something that wasn't laborious to read, and didn't put me to sleep.
This took a while to get into but there is a turning point in the story that then had me hooked. A real page turner by the end. A different insight to a crime world that is quite shocking but intriguing from the characters Trent Dalton has created to tell the story.
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Boy Swallows Universe is on the weird side of normal. Some bits smell Neil Gaiman, some smell like James Patterson (not in a bad way though, JP is just who comes to mind when I think “normal”). I enjoyed it
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
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:
Yes