Boy Swallows Universe
By Trent Dalton
464 pages
Megan’s Thoughts-
Quick summary
A rollicking, magical ride of a story, a thrilling coming-of-age novel worth your time.
What’s it about?
A coming-of-age story set in a 1980s working class area of Australia, narrated by Eli Bell, a lovable 12-year old boy who, over 7 years, is thrown into the grim world of the heroin trade and forced to make a gripping, premature journey into near-adulthood. Eli’s father is a depressed, unreliable alcoholic, his mother is an imprisoned drug addict and his stepfather is a small-time, career drug dealer. His best friends are his older brother Gus, a brilliant selective mute, (“August is one year older than me but August is one year older than everybody. August is one year older than the universe), and their elderly babysitter, Arthur “Slim” Halliday, a convicted murderer and legendary prison escape artist (who advises Eli to “[d]o your time before it does you”). A confused Eli faces a series of traumatic disappointments, confronts some really bad heroin importers and crazed gang members, avenges wrongs done against his family and falls in love, all the while leaving his heart open to the world.
What did it make me think about?
How trauma shows itself in the lives of children. What makes a good man and woman. How our messy family and friends can redeem themselves and, if we’re lucky and wise enough, the unlikely relationships we just might let ourselves enjoy.
Should I read it?
Boy Swallows Universe is a rollicking, magical ride of a novel, filled with lovable characters, a sage and observant narrator, funny dialogue, beautiful prose, plot-rich storytelling and an ending worthy of Hollywood. (Yes, I understand it’s been made into a movie.)
Quote.
“I’m a good man,’ Slim says. ‘But I’m a bad man too. And that’s like all men, kid. We all got a bit o’ good and a bit o’ bad in us. The tricky part is learnin’ how to be good all the time and bad none of the time. Some of us get that right. Most of us don’t.”
Related Books.
Oliver Twist
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
Megan’s Thoughts-
Quick summary
A rollicking, magical ride of a story, a thrilling coming-of-age novel worth your time.
What’s it about?
A coming-of-age story set in a 1980s working class area of Australia, narrated by Eli Bell, a lovable 12-year old boy who, over 7 years, is thrown into the grim world of the heroin trade and forced to make a gripping, premature journey into near-adulthood. Eli’s father is a depressed, unreliable alcoholic, his mother is an imprisoned drug addict and his stepfather is a small-time, career drug dealer. His best friends are his older brother Gus, a brilliant selective mute, (“August is one year older than me but August is one year older than everybody. August is one year older than the universe), and their elderly babysitter, Arthur “Slim” Halliday, a convicted murderer and legendary prison escape artist (who advises Eli to “[d]o your time before it does you”). A confused Eli faces a series of traumatic disappointments, confronts some really bad heroin importers and crazed gang members, avenges wrongs done against his family and falls in love, all the while leaving his heart open to the world.
What did it make me think about?
How trauma shows itself in the lives of children. What makes a good man and woman. How our messy family and friends can redeem themselves and, if we’re lucky and wise enough, the unlikely relationships we just might let ourselves enjoy.
Should I read it?
Boy Swallows Universe is a rollicking, magical ride of a novel, filled with lovable characters, a sage and observant narrator, funny dialogue, beautiful prose, plot-rich storytelling and an ending worthy of Hollywood. (Yes, I understand it’s been made into a movie.)
Quote.
“I’m a good man,’ Slim says. ‘But I’m a bad man too. And that’s like all men, kid. We all got a bit o’ good and a bit o’ bad in us. The tricky part is learnin’ how to be good all the time and bad none of the time. Some of us get that right. Most of us don’t.”
Related Books.
Oliver Twist
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
