The book is jam-packed with such witty and profound insights into what's wrong and what's right with Australia and the world. It is almost 500 pages long but I read it in two sittings and immediately want to read it again.
In the stifling heat of 1980s Brisbane, 12-year-old Eli Bell is coming of age in a world that is anything but ordinary. His mother is a recovering heroin addict, his stepfather is a notorious drug dealer, and his mute older brother, August, communicates in mysterious air-drawn sentences. But Eli’s life isn’t just about crime and chaos—it’s also filled with wonder. He dreams of becoming a journalist, he idolises an ex-criminal who once escaped from Boggo Road Gaol, and he believes in the possibility of goodness in a world that so often falls short. What follows is a raw, exhilarating journey through love, violence, and the fragile yet unbreakable ties of family.
Trent Dalton captures 1980s Australia with uncanny precision—the fibro houses, the sunbaked bitumen, the Datsuns and Commodores rattling down cul-de-sacs, the smell of burning toast and cigarette smoke lingering in kitchens. Every street, every backyard, every slightly worn-out detail feels real. It’s a book that pulls you back into a childhood of scraped knees, BMX bikes, and milk bars, a time when the world felt both boundless and unbearably small.
But what truly makes Boy Swallows Universe extraordinary is its perspective. Seeing this world through Eli’s innocent yet perceptive eyes transforms every moment into something more poignant. There is danger, yes, but also magic. There is brutality, but also breathtaking kindness. The story teeters between hope and despair, showing us that love can exist in the most broken of places. It is a novel about resilience, about understanding that life is both beautiful and cruel, and that sometimes, the only way forward is to accept both.
A must-read for anyone who cherishes coming-of-age stories, Boy Swallows Universe is a novel that lingers long after the final page.
The book is jam-packed with such witty and profound insights into what's wrong and what's right with Australia and the world. It is almost 500 pages long but I read it in two sittings and immediately want to read it again.
