Boy Swallows Universe

Trent Dalton

- 4.3 • 746 Ratings

- $41.99

- $41.99

'The best Australian novel I have read in more than a decade' Sydney Morning Herald

'Astonishing, captivating ... a wild, beautiful, heart-exploding ride' Elizabeth Gilbert

The bestselling novel that has taken Australia, and the world, by storm.

Brisbane, 1985: A lost father, a mute brother, a junkie mum, a heroin dealer for a stepfather and a notorious crim for a babysitter. It's not as if Eli Bell's life isn't complicated enough already. He's just trying to follow his heart and understand what it means to be a good man, but fate keeps throwing obstacles in his way - not the least of which is Tytus Broz, legendary Brisbane drug dealer.

But now Eli's life is going to get a whole lot more serious: he's about to meet the father he doesn't remember, break into Boggo Road Gaol on Christmas Day to rescue his mum, come face to face with the criminals who tore his world apart, and fall in love with the girl of his dreams.

A story of brotherhood, true love and the most unlikely of friendships, Boy Swallows Universe will be the most heartbreaking, joyous and exhilarating novel you will read all year.

Awards:

2019 ABIA Book of the Year Award, Winner

2019 Indie Book Award, Winner

2019 UTS Glenda Adams Award for New Writing, NSW Premier's Literary Awards, Winner

2019 People's Choice Award, NSW Premier's Literary Awards, Winner

MUD Literary Prize 2019, Winner

2019 ABIA Matt Richell Award for New Writer of the Year, Winner

2019 ABIA Literary Fiction Book of the Year, Winner

2019 ABIA Audiobook of the Year, Winner

2019 Miles Franklin Literary Award, Longlisted

2019 Colin Roderick Award, shortlist

Reviews:

'Boy Swallows Universe is a wonderful surprise: sharp as a drawer full of knives in terms of subject matter; unrepentantly joyous in its child's-eye view of the world; the best literary debut in a month of Sundays.' The Australian

'Boy Swallows Universe hypnotizes you with wonder, and then hammers you with heartbreak.' Washington Post

'This thrilling novel' New York Times Book Review

'Marvelously plot-rich ... filled with beautifully lyric prose ...At one point Eli wonders if he is good. The answer is ""yes,"" every bit as good as this exceptional novel.' Booklist

'Dalton's splashy, stellar debut makes the typical coming-of-age novel look bland by comparison ... This is an outstanding debut.' Publisher's Weekly (starred review)

'Extraordinary and beautiful storytelling' Guardian

APPLE BOOKS REVIEW

Immerse yourself in the suburban grit of Boy Swallows Universe, a sprawling coming-of-age tale already hailed as a modern-day classic. Set in Brisbane in the 1980s, it tells the story of Eli Bell, a wide-eyed 12-year-old dealing with his wayward family and the many shifty characters in their orbit. Based on the author’s tumultuous childhood, Boy Swallows Universe is both brutal and searingly tender. Dalton handles the lives of crooks, addicts and criminals, so often reduced to cruel stereotypes, with real nuance and complexity. Celebrated narrator Stig Wemyss provides a vibrant and theatrical reading well suited to the story’s scintillating lyrical prose and fitful dips into magical realism.

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