Reviews tagging 'Torture'

Boy Swallows Universe by Trent Dalton

19 reviews

fish_girl's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.25

Boy Swallows Universe is the type of book to draw you, make you love it, then want to rip your own eyes out and peel your skin off with irritation and then love it all over again.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore

Moderate: Torture and Violence

adriennegg's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Violence, Murder, and Abandonment

Minor: Addiction, Drug use, Physical abuse, Torture, and Car accident

rhiannonhoward's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

erebus53's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

I picked up this book because the name was familiar and I saw that it had been adapted for Netflix (but my eyes are bad and I didn't feel up to watching TV). I went in having no idea what it was about and wow.. what a trip.

This tells a story set in suburban Queensland, Australia in the 70s-90s (a time that coincides with my own formative years). One of the main themes is focusing on detail and the way the author depicts this childhood brings back a huge number of sense-memories for me. Stubbies shorts, Burger Rings packets, sticky vinyl car seats, heat haze on bitumen roads, eating pineapple rings from Golden Circle cans...  spelling words upside down on calculators, rats-tail haircuts, Ninja Turtles Tshirts and school bags with band names written all over them, and even the brand of cheap plastic pens and the names of the supermarkets, had my brain buzzing with resonance.... less so with the gangs and criminals, thankfully.

Apparently, according to the notes at the back, this book is semi-autobiographical. The language used is no holds barred and rich with Australian profanity. If I had a buck for every time a child swears and then is told off by a swearing adult I'd have enough to buy pizza tonight. I guess given that parts of this book are more than 40 years ago this is almost "historical fiction" which is hammered home by the complete lack of cellphones, specific cameras and torches, and the telephones are for.. yknow, calling people? Not to mention that people still rely on actual Newspapers. Old school.

As a story about growing up with unable parents and in traumatic circumstances, there are parts of the story that are delivered unreliably. The main point of view is from a traumatised boy and his older brother who is mute. There are dreams, visions and prophecies that I am always a sucker for. The story is told poetically with key lines that repeat. The action is tense and at times unhinged, telling of connection, redemption, mental illness, morality and garden variety pain.

I really enjoyed this book. It was the sort of story that I wanted to put down at times, and just sit with and think over. Lots of weird stuff happened, and the unpredictability and predictability walked hand in hand down a content warning list as long as my arm.  Parts of it were utterly grotesque and parts of it were trippy, and all up it was satisfying.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Cancer, Infidelity, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Dementia, Suicide attempt, and Gaslighting

Minor: Racism and Fire/Fire injury

kayleejanes's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring sad tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

kiwichill's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny lighthearted reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

A tragic but funny book about growing up in a chaotic household where there is alcohol and drug addiction and domestic violence.  Parents are friends with ex criminals.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Torture, Medical content, Car accident, Cultural appropriation, and Gaslighting

aliengirlreads's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

5.0

the greatest book i have ever read 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcoholism, Bullying, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent

Minor: Child abuse, Mental illness, Terminal illness, Forced institutionalization, and Police brutality

baikiebookie's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious sad medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Drug use, Torture, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Addiction

Minor: Child abuse

water_and_shade's review against another edition

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. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Mental illness, Torture, and Stalking

waybeyondblue's review against another edition

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcoholism, Panic attacks/disorders, Terminal illness, Stalking, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Vomit