At first I didn't enjoy this book and stopped reading within the first 30% of the book. But recently I came back to it and I'm glad I did! I'll seek out more from this author.

I was blown away by this book, it was so far out from anything I was used to. It is set in Brisbane in 1983. Elf has a totally disfunctional family but he tries to grow up as a decent person. Life keeps throwing curveballs at him which he has to deal with. The book is by turns heartbreaking, joyous and exhilarating.

I really wish that I had got around to reading this amazing book sooner. What a powerful punch this story has, as we learn about Eli, his brother August and the trials and tribulations that his parents go through.

Wow. Really, just wow.

Crazy, sad, tragic and beautiful, Boy Swallows Universe gives an insight into suburban Australia in the 1980s and '90s.

It features tragedy, trauma, abuse, violence, drugs, prison and criminal activity. It is about upheaval, betrayal, death, destruction, families, abandonment, hope and healing, no hope, no healing, and is ultimately a love story. It is:

Gritty, gruesome, disturbing.

Hilarious, poignant, poetic.

Heartbreaking, gruelling, profound.

There is nothing else quite like it, in all the best ways.

I love it. Don't pass this gem over.

Unfortunately this book was not for me. Other readers may enjoy it more, but I could not get into it and ultimately did not finish it.

I thoroughly enjoyed this piece of escapism and my time out from a hectic world. The story grabs you from the outset and pulls you in and the storytelling really made it worth reading. Characterisation was on point and I know I will be looking out for new publications from this author or similar reads in the future. A recommended read.

Boy Swallows Universe is the second book in a month that:
1. I nearly gave up on,
2. I’m glad I didn’t.

It’s the story of Eli Bell, a 12 year old boy who lives in the Brisbane suburbs with his mum, stepdad and older brother. All sounds normal, until we find out that his mum and stepdad are ex-junkies, his stepdad sells heroin, and his brother is an elective mute following a traumatic, unnamed event.

Drug dealing aside, Eli and Gus’ mum, Frances and Stepdad Lyle, seem really nice! And their babysitter is equally lovely, despite the fact that he’s a murderer who has served his time. Despite all the crime and criminals around him, Eli just wants to grow up to be a good person, a crime journalist - after all, he has in depth knowledge!

This is a dark and sad book in parts, yet there were still events that made me laugh - there’s humour in even the darkest moments. Eli’s life is a one of trials and hardships, and reflects his indomitable spirit. He tries to see the good in everything, and I loved that about him.

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this book

if you are into magic and fae this is the book for you... alas not for me

A well written story with great character development throughout. The first book I've read set in Australia. Some of the incidents felt a little far fetched at times, but it made for an enjoyable read

The writing style of this book is brilliant! I was very invested in the characters and will be interested in any further books from this author. A great debut.

Beautifully written, quirky book. Full of wonder and joy. Just lovely. I will read more of this author

4.5 stars

I have absolutely NO idea why I waited so long to read this.

Brutal, raw, quirky, cruel, fascinating, brilliant writing. To call it a coming of age story is a slight insult but also an apt description.

Throw in an octogenarian drug lord, missing limbs, some gang wars, a highly dysfunctional family, violence in many forms and you have some idea what you are getting yourself into.

The author tackles some serious subject matter, but there is always a little humour to be found.

Eli and August’s first babysitter is the notorious Houdini of Boggo Road, or Slim to his friends. An infamous prison escapee (based on a real person) who I loved right from the start. Slim provides an anchor and a source of guidance for the two boys.

Their mother Frankie and her boyfriend, Lyle both ex-junkies also try to provide some semblance of normalcy to the boys even as they peddle heroin on the side.

This life is a pressure cooker waiting to explode and when it does it will take you through a smorgasbord of emotions.

Thank you to Netgalley, Harper Collins UK and Trent Dalton for this e-copy in return for my honest. While it took me a while to get into this story, I'm glad I persisted. At times gritty, at times magical, this coming of age story is well written. The characters are engaging and their stories will stay with me for a while to come.

“Your end is a dead blue wren.”

The opening line really captures the reader and the writing doesn’t let you go.

I experienced a sense of nostalgia while reading this semi-autobiographical work from Trent Dalton. Not that my childhood was filled with drug lords or ex-inmates(!) but the book evokes suburban Australia in the 1980s.

A tough coming-of-age novel that explores what it is to be a good person and more specifically a good man. It demonstrates that good people can do bad things, and equally it doesn’t glamorise wrong-doing.

Plenty of swearing, drugs and violence but there is also a sweetness to this, by virtue of the relationship between Gus and Eli and the stream of magical realism that runs through the novel.

I would recommend this to readers of modern literary fiction.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Trent Dalton and The Borough Press for a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Netgalley and the author for a free eARC of this book in exchange of an honest review.

At the beginning I had difficulty to get into the story but some chapters later it took me on a shocking roller coaster. This is a coming of age story of a troubled boy growing in 1980's in Brisbane, Australia. The story is told from Eli's, 12 years old boy point of view with lots of difficult topics lurking in and out of the story.

The author has amazing narration skills and beautiful writing style but during some parts of the story I noticed myself losing the focus and finding it hard to concentrate but then suddenly it will pick it up and I would find myself fully immersed in it again. Although it is easy to feel that the author definitely pored his whole heart into this story.

One of the best stories I have had the pleasure of reading in a very long time.

This is a true tale of adventure and family told with the most imagination and vision. I really felt like I was on a journey as I was reading this one and simply couldn’t put the book down.

The struggles of a young Australian boy and his relationships at home, the bonds we make during our formative years and the power of those ties as we grow older. There are tender moments throughout this book, in between some truly nail-biting episodes.

Reads like a dream. Really, highly recommend.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

I enjoyed this. Dalton laid a lot of breadcrumbs for the finale but not many were obvious, which was satisfying. The magic realism elements also helped to explore some of the darker issues, such as drug addiction and the psychological effects of prison. Dalton's experience as a crime reporter told through in the details of the novel, and the characters were engaging (though Caitlin Spies was a little MPDG).

“Don’t ask for permission to change the world...Just go ahead and change it.”

I have spent the entire 2 years since this book was published, debating whether to read it or not. One the one hand, that cover, and a contemporary Australian novel that screams potential in the premise. On the other, something, I don’t know, some barrier or forcefield stopped me from 100% buying into this book.

Then I got approved for an arc through NetGalley, and figured that maybe the Universe was telling me to read this story about that boy that swallows it. So...thanks for that Universe, and thanks also to Trent Dalton, HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction, and NetGalley for an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I’m going to put it out there, the first 30% or so of this book is a tough slog. It’s gruelling to get through that time when childhood innocence leaves us for adolescence. Eli’s choppy thoughts, ergo, the choppy writing and short sharp sentences, takes time to get used to. It’s not a reading rhythm that you can just fall into, you have to work at it.

It frustrated me early on and I actually considered DNF-ing this book. But then I went onto Goodreads, and waded through the myriad of positive, glowing, gushing, reviews to see if anyone else felt like I did. And they did. But many also suggested to keep going, because it gets better. And so now I pass that on to you dear reader of my reviews. This book gets better. It gets good. Keep at it.

As time moves forward and Eli grows, so too does the language - not by leaps and bounds mind you - he’s still an adolescent boy, albeit older and somewhat more mature by the end. But something happens in all that growth. And it was here that I finally saw the appeal of this book, I understood the hype, and the awards.

It’s gritty, it’s seedy, it’s choc full of shit that the average well-to-do person never has to think about, let alone experience. It’s a portrait to a parallel universe that could be any one of us, under different times and circumstances. But it’s also uplifting and soul-filling. My perseverance paid off, and I hope yours does too. 3.5 stars.

Boy Swallows Universe is a remarkable story of a tough, hard, complex coming of age journey, portrayed through joy, magic, love, and all the small details (it’s all about the details  ).

Trent Dalton is truly an inspirational storyteller. I really cannot sum up what he has achieved in better words then his own. “I just wanted to give the world a story. To turn all these crazy and sad and tragic and beautiful things I’ve seen into a crazy, sad, tragic and beautiful story.” “Boy Swallows Universe is me taking all my own secrets this time and turning them as respectfully as possible into a novel” Trent, you have certainly achieved what you have set out to achieve.

One of Trent’s answers (The answers to the questions of course), is that there is a fine line between magic and madness, and all should be encouraged in moderation. I cannot help but think that sums up Boy Swallows Universe, and the Brothers Bell and their world succinctly.

This is certainly a beautiful story that deserves to be read by everyone.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Borough Press for letting me review this book ahead of its UK release in May 2020.

Boy Swallows Universe is the kind of book of which I can immediately understand why it would become a bestseller, but that I struggle to give more than one star.

For full disclosure, I struggled through the first couple of chapters and stopped reading about a third into the book, because I was not able to stomach anymore.

Like many authors of literary fiction, Dalton chose a precocious and hyper observant young boy as his narrator, with an impressively tragic past for a life of only ten to thirteen years.

Eli Bell, who grows up in a Brisbane suburb with a mother and step-dad who deal heroine and is looked after by an escaped convict called Slim, is the narrator and has a brother, August, who has not spoken a word since he was six years old. Instead, he communicates with Eli via facial expressions and writing cryptic predictions into the air.

As the two boys grow up, they get entangled in the underbelly of suburban heroine trading and all that that entails: the blackmail, the violence, the withdrawal.

Throughout all this, Eli finds spiritual guidance in Slim, the ex-convict who seems to act as his baby sitter. It is the scenes with Slim an August that are the most enjoyable and evocative. As Eli grows into his life and confidence here, you can also feel the language becoming less evasive.

But bizarrely, Boy Swallows Universe manages to be brutal, bleak and boring at the same time. Scenes dwell on drug deals and violent encounters that don’t manage to evoke strong emotions other than annoyance at the thinly veiled objectification of all female characters.

I can tell that a lot of narrative layers and foreshadowing has been built into the beginning of the book, that I am think might make for a satisfying pay-off for those who can stick with the story, but it is not my cup of tea.