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A review by purplegrape
Boy Swallows Universe by Trent Dalton
adventurous
dark
funny
hopeful
informative
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I wrote so much. Like 6 stream of consciousness paragraphs then the fucking app reloaded and I lost everything. Fucking fantastic. Before I was speechless because the end of the novel left me without words. Now I'm speechless because I'm pissed as fuck. There's no saying if I'll reread this review (or this book for that matter) but hopefully my future self will find my current suffering amusing.
I love August and that journalist who worked for the competition and told the police to withdraw from the illegal brothels. You know who I don't love? Teddy. Backstabbing bitchass. Also Eli's mom is so fucking annoying how many fucking chances do you fucking need Jesus Christ. And everyone treats her like she's an angel who can do no wrong. All because what, she has a nice smile? Give me a break. She's pathetic for being parented by her preteen children. They've done more for her than she's ever done for them and that's a fucking fact. To keep things somewhat positive, I really liked the relationship between the two brothers as well as with Lyle and Slim.
I can't say I expected anything that happened. To start, I somehow had it in my mind that this novel was about a gay boy coming to terms with his identity (don't ask, I don't know okay, maybe it was the rainbow balloons on the cover?). Not to spoil the book or anything but he does not at any point come out of the closet sorry to disappoint. Though talking about what actually happened, the story was slow to start but really picked up after the spaghetti Bolognese scene. I was shook from that point onwards and I don't think I ever fully recovered.
I cannot call myself a contemporary fiction reader. Historical fiction is my bread and butter, so it was a pleasant surprise that I enjoyed this so much (though maybe Australia as portrayed in this novel feels so much like another would that it passed for the past or at the very least an alternate universe). Finishing this made me interested in picking up more contemporary literature since I need more data points before forming an opinion, though it's safe to say my view of contemporary lit is certainly higher having read this.
I don't know what better word to describe this novel other than addictive. It was a breeze to fly through, especially after Eli "loses his luck" so to speak. It answered enough questions to satisfy my curiosity while leaving enough unanswered to keep me questioning. Who, if anyone, answered the red phone? Why did Lyle have the red phone? Who the fuck thought it was a good idea to let Eli end up with Caitlyn? I feel like she's at least seven years older than him not that I remember exactly. But he hero worships her because she's pretty or something and I'm never going to get over that insane power imbalance (not to mention she "felt" something when she met him? When she had a job and he was in fucking middle school? I think the fuck not).
Anyways, this isn't everyone's cup of tea. Hell, I don't even know if it's my cup of tea, but it was enjoyable while it lasted and that just count for something. There are books like the Count of Monte Cristo that I want to reread immediately upon finishing. And then there are books like this where I genuinely don't know if I ever want to pick it up again. It's not a bad story by any stretch of the imagination, but I really don't know if I can sit through it a second time 😠I feel like I'm being too dramatic. I guess it just doesn't feel like the kind of story that will sit with me/that I'd want to revisit (hence capping it at 4 stars).
I don't regret reading it. I'm pleasantly surprised by the content (honestly every chapter was a surprise). There were more characters than I expected, but they were all fairly three dimensional which was impressive. I need to wait for Meenakshi to finish it so we can discuss. I haven't heard anyone talk about it on booktube but maybe I'll look up a video or two. I might even watch the show (I'm really curious how it'll be adapted and it'd be nice to see the scenery in Australia).
I love August and that journalist who worked for the competition and told the police to withdraw from the illegal brothels. You know who I don't love? Teddy. Backstabbing bitchass. Also Eli's mom is so fucking annoying how many fucking chances do you fucking need Jesus Christ. And everyone treats her like she's an angel who can do no wrong. All because what, she has a nice smile? Give me a break. She's pathetic for being parented by her preteen children. They've done more for her than she's ever done for them and that's a fucking fact. To keep things somewhat positive, I really liked the relationship between the two brothers as well as with Lyle and Slim.
I can't say I expected anything that happened. To start, I somehow had it in my mind that this novel was about a gay boy coming to terms with his identity (don't ask, I don't know okay, maybe it was the rainbow balloons on the cover?). Not to spoil the book or anything but he does not at any point come out of the closet sorry to disappoint. Though talking about what actually happened, the story was slow to start but really picked up after the spaghetti Bolognese scene. I was shook from that point onwards and I don't think I ever fully recovered.
I cannot call myself a contemporary fiction reader. Historical fiction is my bread and butter, so it was a pleasant surprise that I enjoyed this so much (though maybe Australia as portrayed in this novel feels so much like another would that it passed for the past or at the very least an alternate universe). Finishing this made me interested in picking up more contemporary literature since I need more data points before forming an opinion, though it's safe to say my view of contemporary lit is certainly higher having read this.
I don't know what better word to describe this novel other than addictive. It was a breeze to fly through, especially after Eli "loses his luck" so to speak. It answered enough questions to satisfy my curiosity while leaving enough unanswered to keep me questioning. Who, if anyone, answered the red phone? Why did Lyle have the red phone? Who the fuck thought it was a good idea to let Eli end up with Caitlyn? I feel like she's at least seven years older than him not that I remember exactly. But he hero worships her because she's pretty or something and I'm never going to get over that insane power imbalance (not to mention she "felt" something when she met him? When she had a job and he was in fucking middle school? I think the fuck not).
Anyways, this isn't everyone's cup of tea. Hell, I don't even know if it's my cup of tea, but it was enjoyable while it lasted and that just count for something. There are books like the Count of Monte Cristo that I want to reread immediately upon finishing. And then there are books like this where I genuinely don't know if I ever want to pick it up again. It's not a bad story by any stretch of the imagination, but I really don't know if I can sit through it a second time 😠I feel like I'm being too dramatic. I guess it just doesn't feel like the kind of story that will sit with me/that I'd want to revisit (hence capping it at 4 stars).
I don't regret reading it. I'm pleasantly surprised by the content (honestly every chapter was a surprise). There were more characters than I expected, but they were all fairly three dimensional which was impressive. I need to wait for Meenakshi to finish it so we can discuss. I haven't heard anyone talk about it on booktube but maybe I'll look up a video or two. I might even watch the show (I'm really curious how it'll be adapted and it'd be nice to see the scenery in Australia).