Reviews with content warning for Physical abuse - Boy Swallows Universe

Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

Boy Swallows Universe by Trent Dalton

24 reviews

annchmn's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

First book I’ve been keen on for so long. I couldn’t stop reading it and the book felt less like reading words and more like living Eli’s life.

This book felt like three books crammed into one but I’m glad that it was like that. There definitely were many unresolved that were a bit unbelievable. As well as some of the superhero esque invincibility. And I didn’t love the whole

Caitlyn Bell love story ending with them kissing and finally fulfilling Eli’s obsession with her and her looks… like after going through so much in the book it ends with them kissing which irked me

. Frankly the latter third of the book felt super different than what the start was building up to, and it was fun to read, but it felt like a whole different vibe than the style of the beginning, and I would’ve preferred more of the beginning.

Apart from that, I had fun reading all the imagery and thoughts and details of Eli’s mind!!

Do your time before it does you!!

Content Warnings

water_and_shade's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Boy Swallows Universe is gritty and soft at the same time. The characters are well fleshed out, flawed but you love and root for them anyway. The descriptions of domestic violence, addiction and poverty are tenderly and empathetically delivered. I did take a while to warm to the book - I really loved the middle third - but also found the ending a bit of a let down, too dramatic and focused on plot twists which I think detracted from the overall pace and gentle build up delivered by the earlier chapters. Dalton really paints a picture with his words, creating an evocative snapshot of Brisbane (my hometown!) in the mid 80's - I could feel the piercing blue sky of QLD summers reading his descriptive passages. Loved the motifs dotted throughout. Overall, a beautiful book with characters that will stick with me.

Content Warnings

waybeyondblue's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Content Warnings

camoo3032's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

1.75

Trent Dalton doesn't shy away from showing the darker bits of Australian society that we rarely get to see. Because this perspective is rarely shown, I would consider this book worth reading. I would warn fellow readers that this makes the book continuously confronting and it is certainly not a lighthearted read.
This provides the backdrop of a story that is far-fetched with descriptive writing that is quite abstract. I am sure there are people out there that would love this book but I found it was trying to be more profound than it actually is.
I also found that the female characters weren't as fully formed or complex as the male ones which is frustrating.

Content Warnings

meganjeg's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark hopeful mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

This is one of the most beautifully written books I have ever read which makes it so interesting when the subject matter is around suburban poverty, drugs, abuse and neglect.

For better or worse, I primarily read to be entertained and uplifted and whilst this book is many things, it isn’t those two. So it did take me a few sittings over a number of months to read this book.

I would recommend spending time with Eli Bell and his dysfunctional family. It’s a coming of age story that swaps out cliches for the realities of generational trauma. Plus, a cracking crime story.

This book is grim but spectacular.

Content Warnings

booksforsarah's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I had trouble with this books pacing. At times there was intense actions scenes where I couldn’t put the book down, and then other times there was literally pages of internal monologue that had me nodding off. I think if the pace was a bit more consistent I would have enjoyed the reading experience a lot more.

I can definitely appreciate the good writing, it probably just isn’t the book for me and that’s okay.

As an Australian though, I loved it. I loved seeing references to Australian slang and brands and places ect and seeing my home country so explicitly represented

Content Warnings