Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Boy Swallows Universe by Trent Dalton

56 reviews

adriennegg's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abandonment, Alcoholism, Murder, and Violence

Minor: Physical abuse, Car accident, Drug use, Addiction, and Torture

mishsquishhhh's review

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

Loved it. Following the upbringing of a boy in a typical Queensland (Aussie) lower socioeconomic area. I found it really relatable, dark, emotional, and raw but hard to put down by the end.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence, Addiction, Physical abuse, Drug use, Child abuse, and Alcoholism

rhiannonhoward's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexism, Alcohol, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Grief, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Torture, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, and Violence

niltic's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious sad tense 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? No

5.0

WOW! Rollercoaster read about a young boy coming of age in a family/community where drugs, crime and mental illness are prevalent. Once I started, I could not read this book fast enough. The story is surprising, raw, funny, and dream-like, with very vivid, lovable characters. Central mystery veers uncertainly into magical realism at times, but it doesn't matter because this plot's only there to give the story something to hang off. Felt very at-home with the Australiana of it all too.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence

Moderate: Drug abuse and Domestic abuse

Minor: Mental illness and Grief

The most complicated feelings are around family in this book--highs and lows! Biggest concern areas would be

parental neglect/abandonment, death of parents/carers and domestic violence

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barabarayorkie's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring sad tense 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

4.75

Such a heartfelt and touching story. Eli and Gus pull at your heartstrings from the first page. Such an incredible book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Gore, and Violence

kate59421's review

adventurous emotional hopeful 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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence, Alcoholism, and Addiction

cjfooks's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense 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? No

4.25

I absolutely love books that romanticise the mundane parts about life, in a way that changes your perspective on your life, and forces you to appreciate the little things. 

Although the main character in this book has, very very far from a simple, mundane life, Trent Dalton perfectly encompasses this feeling. 

I think the only way to describe its genre, is a fictional (well…’based-on’) biography written like a thriller-poem. 

The main character’s personality, and the way he thinks about things, is so uniquely beautiful in a way that I don’t think I’ll experience again. 

There’s so much tradegy in Boy Swallows Universe, but also so much of every other emotion, and a constant reminder of how strong the human spirit is. 

It can be very very brutal in parts, and feels extremely real and too close to home, yet there are parts that feel dissociative too. 

These dissociations when at the start and towards the middle of the book, feel ornamental, and not necessarily a plot point), but as the story comes to a close, most of them circle back. And I absolutely love when a book unexpectedly and cleverly does this. 

My only fault for it would be that, although little plots are always happening one after the other (similar to a biography) , there are parts of the book where you lose sense of an overall plot and wonder where it’s taking you.

I would definitely recommend this and read it again, although I’ll stress that it’s equally a comforting book, and a hard read, sometimes strangely at the same time. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Death, Abandonment, and Death of parent

Moderate: Drug use, Grief, Kidnapping, and Violence

erebus53's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective sad 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

4.75

I picked up this book because the name was familiar and I saw that it had been adapted for Netflix (but my eyes are bad and I didn't feel up to watching TV). I went in having no idea what it was about and wow.. what a trip.

This tells a story set in suburban Queensland, Australia in the 70s-90s (a time that coincides with my own formative years). One of the main themes is focusing on detail and the way the author depicts this childhood brings back a huge number of sense-memories for me. Stubbies shorts, Burger Rings packets, sticky vinyl car seats, heat haze on bitumen roads, eating pineapple rings from Golden Circle cans...  spelling words upside down on calculators, rats-tail haircuts, Ninja Turtles Tshirts and school bags with band names written all over them, and even the brand of cheap plastic pens and the names of the supermarkets, had my brain buzzing with resonance.... less so with the gangs and criminals, thankfully.

Apparently, according to the notes at the back, this book is semi-autobiographical. The language used is no holds barred and rich with Australian profanity. If I had a buck for every time a child swears and then is told off by a swearing adult I'd have enough to buy pizza tonight. I guess given that parts of this book are more than 40 years ago this is almost "historical fiction" which is hammered home by the complete lack of cellphones, specific cameras and torches, and the telephones are for.. yknow, calling people? Not to mention that people still rely on actual Newspapers. Old school.

As a story about growing up with unable parents and in traumatic circumstances, there are parts of the story that are delivered unreliably. The main point of view is from a traumatised boy and his older brother who is mute. There are dreams, visions and prophecies that I am always a sucker for. The story is told poetically with key lines that repeat. The action is tense and at times unhinged, telling of connection, redemption, mental illness, morality and garden variety pain.

I really enjoyed this book. It was the sort of story that I wanted to put down at times, and just sit with and think over. Lots of weird stuff happened, and the unpredictability and predictability walked hand in hand down a content warning list as long as my arm.  Parts of it were utterly grotesque and parts of it were trippy, and all up it was satisfying.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Toxic friendship, Child abuse, Classism, Alcohol, Car accident, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Abandonment, Body horror, Bullying, Panic attacks/disorders, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Grief, Gun violence, Misogyny, Sexism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Torture, Toxic relationship, Blood, Confinement, Murder, Physical abuse, Death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Vomit, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, and Violence

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Cancer, Dementia, Rape, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, and Infidelity

Minor: Fire/Fire injury and Racism

kayleejanes's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Cancer, Drug use, Alcoholism, Cursing, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Violence, Car accident, Vomit, Forced institutionalization, Abandonment, Confinement, Death, Grief, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Murder, Bullying, and Torture

kiwichill's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny lighthearted reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

A tragic but funny book about growing up in a chaotic household where there is alcohol and drug addiction and domestic violence.  Parents are friends with ex criminals.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Torture, Blood, Cursing, Drug use, Bullying, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Toxic friendship, Addiction, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Death, Gun violence, Trafficking, Drug abuse, and Excrement

Moderate: Chronic illness, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Medical content, Car accident, Child abuse, Cultural appropriation, Torture, and Misogyny