Scan barcode
A review by emilyrainsford
Lola in the Mirror by Trent Dalton
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
5.0
This is the book I've been waiting for since the first half of Boy Swallows Universe.
I've always *adored* Dalton's writing but I've had a rocky relationship with his *books*. After all, good writing and a good novel aren't the same thing. But THIS one *slaps hood of book* ... this is the one, folks. This one, I'm glad to say, is both.
I know that literally the rest of the Australian continent disagrees with me on this, but for me BSU was messy - erratic in pacing, message and genre. It was a novel that couldn't quite decide what it was, or what it was trying to say. And yet I could sense the kernel of so much magic there.
Then came AOSS which was honestly just pure dire trauma and depressing AF, missing that gritty hopeful spark and cheeky black humour that put the magic into BSU.
The author cites the writing of his non fiction work Love Stories as the big research project for Lola and clearly it was the catalyst needed to bring the magic back and allow it to flourish. Lola contains all the elements the avid reader would expect from a Dalton novel - the gritty and raw grassroots view of life, the magical realism, the drug dealers and the art, the tortured artist, the precocious dreamer of a young person who talks like those "teens" on Dawson's Creek, the scenes that belong in a thriller plonked alongside an instalove story and a magical household object - but this time it manages (somehow) to form a whole that feels cohesive.
I think 100 years from now, E P Buckle will tell the university English Lit class that this was the piece that marked a clear maturation in the artist's move from stunning writer to skilled novelist.
The thing about Dalton's books is that they combine a raw view of the truth of life with some truly outlandish elements, and yet somehow this only serves to enhance the sense that you've somehow just touched the heart and the truth of life itself.
Speculation, but somehow I don't think Dalton would subscribe to the concept of the "death of the artist". His hand is clear in all his work - reading his writing feels a little like someone you've just met ripped open their chest, smiled at you, and was like: hey check it out, that my heart. You walk away from it feeling like you've just had one of those 3am conversations with a stranger that are somehow truer and more open and vulnerable than the ones you have with people you've known 20 years.
So the book itself - well it's about a young 17 yo houseless girl who doesn't even know her own name and is trying to find the answers on who she actually is. It's about... well it's about the same thing Dalton's books are always about. It's about how life is kind of like one of those magic eye pictures - up close it just looks like piles of random and confusing shit. But step back and squint juuuuust right and suddenly it's all briefly beautiful, and the piles of confusing shit are an integral part of making that whole picture.
Although this is as dark and raw and confronting and heartbreaking as the previous two, somehow the thread of hope shines much brighter throughout this one, in my opinion.
And let's talk about the illustrations! When I first heard there were illustrations in this, I thought "oh that's a nice touch", I'm a big advocate for illustrations in adult novels. But what I didn't realise is that the illustrations are so integral to the story that I honestly think Paul Heppell's name should be on the cover. To me the illustrations were part of the very fabric of the reading experience and it wouldn't have been the same without them. Their sketchy style absolutely nails the vibe and huge credit is due to the artist for such an intimate and astute realisation of the text.
The wee author cameo was *chef's kiss*. Never seen that done before but I loved it.
I admit I approached this book with a little trepidation, due to my own triggers as much as my feelings about AOSS and to a lesser extent BSU, but I can hand on heart say that I thoroughly loved this novel. It takes all the very highs and very lows of the human experience and makes a magic eye picture out of them, and if you know how to squint just right, it might just be a picture of the meaning of life. Colourful indeed.
I've always *adored* Dalton's writing but I've had a rocky relationship with his *books*. After all, good writing and a good novel aren't the same thing. But THIS one *slaps hood of book* ... this is the one, folks. This one, I'm glad to say, is both.
I know that literally the rest of the Australian continent disagrees with me on this, but for me BSU was messy - erratic in pacing, message and genre. It was a novel that couldn't quite decide what it was, or what it was trying to say. And yet I could sense the kernel of so much magic there.
Then came AOSS which was honestly just pure dire trauma and depressing AF, missing that gritty hopeful spark and cheeky black humour that put the magic into BSU.
The author cites the writing of his non fiction work Love Stories as the big research project for Lola and clearly it was the catalyst needed to bring the magic back and allow it to flourish. Lola contains all the elements the avid reader would expect from a Dalton novel - the gritty and raw grassroots view of life, the magical realism, the drug dealers and the art, the tortured artist, the precocious dreamer of a young person who talks like those "teens" on Dawson's Creek, the scenes that belong in a thriller plonked alongside an instalove story and a magical household object - but this time it manages (somehow) to form a whole that feels cohesive.
I think 100 years from now, E P Buckle will tell the university English Lit class that this was the piece that marked a clear maturation in the artist's move from stunning writer to skilled novelist.
The thing about Dalton's books is that they combine a raw view of the truth of life with some truly outlandish elements, and yet somehow this only serves to enhance the sense that you've somehow just touched the heart and the truth of life itself.
Speculation, but somehow I don't think Dalton would subscribe to the concept of the "death of the artist". His hand is clear in all his work - reading his writing feels a little like someone you've just met ripped open their chest, smiled at you, and was like: hey check it out, that my heart. You walk away from it feeling like you've just had one of those 3am conversations with a stranger that are somehow truer and more open and vulnerable than the ones you have with people you've known 20 years.
So the book itself - well it's about a young 17 yo houseless girl who doesn't even know her own name and is trying to find the answers on who she actually is. It's about... well it's about the same thing Dalton's books are always about. It's about how life is kind of like one of those magic eye pictures - up close it just looks like piles of random and confusing shit. But step back and squint juuuuust right and suddenly it's all briefly beautiful, and the piles of confusing shit are an integral part of making that whole picture.
Although this is as dark and raw and confronting and heartbreaking as the previous two, somehow the thread of hope shines much brighter throughout this one, in my opinion.
And let's talk about the illustrations! When I first heard there were illustrations in this, I thought "oh that's a nice touch", I'm a big advocate for illustrations in adult novels. But what I didn't realise is that the illustrations are so integral to the story that I honestly think Paul Heppell's name should be on the cover. To me the illustrations were part of the very fabric of the reading experience and it wouldn't have been the same without them. Their sketchy style absolutely nails the vibe and huge credit is due to the artist for such an intimate and astute realisation of the text.
The wee author cameo was *chef's kiss*. Never seen that done before but I loved it.
I admit I approached this book with a little trepidation, due to my own triggers as much as my feelings about AOSS and to a lesser extent BSU, but I can hand on heart say that I thoroughly loved this novel. It takes all the very highs and very lows of the human experience and makes a magic eye picture out of them, and if you know how to squint just right, it might just be a picture of the meaning of life. Colourful indeed.