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catiandrah 's review for:
Boy Swallows Universe
by Trent Dalton
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Plot: Set in Brisbane, Australia in 1985, Boy Swallows Universe follows Eli as he navigates life as best he can. With a father in prison, a mother addicted to drugs (with his stepfather being her dealer), and a mute brother, things are hard enough as is; but when he comes into contact with Tytus Broz, a violent drug dealer, he struggles to stay on the right path. And things only go downhill from there...
Genre: Coming of age, friendship, family, love, brotherhood.
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Thoughts While Reading:
Thoughts at 57%:
1. I live on the Gold Coast in Australia, and therefore I know many of the landmarks and locations mentioned in Boy Swallows Universe. It's so weird to be reading (or in this specific case, listening) to a book, and be really familiar with the places described. It makes is a tonne more realistic, that's for sure.
2. I'm torn about how I feel about this book. It's so depressing so far, and I guess I can relate with the main character a bit too much. Not that our childhoods were at all similar, I don't know. Maybe it's from working in child protection for way too long. Either way, I'm struggling with this book. It was a huge relief when the magic realism aspects became more pronounced (like with the phone), because it allowed me to disassociate from the story a bit more. It also made it read as more of a fictional story, which helped. But still, this is a hard read for me. This book had been on my radar for a while, and I have continually chosen not to read it, because I think I could tell that it wasn't for me. But then someone recommended it... Sigh. And here I am. People seem to love it, so maybe the ending makes it.
3. Don't get me wrong, Boy Swallows Universe is not a bad book. It can be downright lyrical at times, and it is definitely effective at painting a picture for the reader. I understand the decisions that Eli makes, and why, and I empathise with him. Objectively, this is a good book. Subjectively, I just don't like it
Plot: Set in Brisbane, Australia in 1985, Boy Swallows Universe follows Eli as he navigates life as best he can. With a father in prison, a mother addicted to drugs (with his stepfather being her dealer), and a mute brother, things are hard enough as is; but when he comes into contact with Tytus Broz, a violent drug dealer, he struggles to stay on the right path. And things only go downhill from there...
Genre: Coming of age, friendship, family, love, brotherhood.
----------
Thoughts While Reading:
Thoughts at 57%:
1. I live on the Gold Coast in Australia, and therefore I know many of the landmarks and locations mentioned in Boy Swallows Universe. It's so weird to be reading (or in this specific case, listening) to a book, and be really familiar with the places described. It makes is a tonne more realistic, that's for sure.
2. I'm torn about how I feel about this book. It's so depressing so far, and I guess I can relate with the main character a bit too much. Not that our childhoods were at all similar, I don't know. Maybe it's from working in child protection for way too long. Either way, I'm struggling with this book. It was a huge relief when the magic realism aspects became more pronounced (like with the phone), because it allowed me to disassociate from the story a bit more. It also made it read as more of a fictional story, which helped. But still, this is a hard read for me. This book had been on my radar for a while, and I have continually chosen not to read it, because I think I could tell that it wasn't for me. But then someone recommended it... Sigh. And here I am. People seem to love it, so maybe the ending makes it.
3. Don't get me wrong, Boy Swallows Universe is not a bad book. It can be downright lyrical at times, and it is definitely effective at painting a picture for the reader. I understand the decisions that Eli makes, and why, and I empathise with him. Objectively, this is a good book. Subjectively, I just don't like it