Boy Swallows Universe

By Trent Dalton,

Book cover of Boy Swallows Universe

Book description

'The most extraordinary writer - a rare talent' Nikki Gemmell

An utterly wonderful novel of love, crime, magic, fate and coming of age from one of Australia's most exciting new writers.

Brisbane, 1983: A lost father, a mute brother, a mum in jail, a heroin dealer for a stepfather and…

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

3 authors picked Boy Swallows Universe as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

What a fantastic and poignant tale, beautifully written with loveable Australian protagonists. Eli is a precocious boy, growing up in hot and humid Queensland during the 1980s with his mute brother, Gus. The nostalgia was pretty strong with Boy Swallows Universe, being of a similar vintage to the author. The fact that Eli also followed his dreams to become a young journalist made the book a real page-turner for me. Thoroughly enjoyable.

Here’s another tantalizing underdog story, this time about a 12-year-old boy coming of age under impossible circumstances, and he does it with such innocence and goodness and almost poetic thoughtfulness that you can’t help but love him.

Our young hero is Australian. His task: Save his mother from disaster, face off against a powerful and violent drug dealer, and find his way into a career in journalism, all the while relying for friendship and advice on an escaped convict.

Dalton’s novel is thrilling, heartbreaking, and heartwarming all at once.

Equal parts quirky, literary, humorous, and touching, Dalton’s debut novel won him a record four Australian Book Industry Awards in 2019, and it’s not hard to see why. Boy Swallows Universe follows the ups and downs of teen protagonist Eli’s descent into a world of drug-lords and prison barons, all while caring for his messed-up parents and mute brother and seeing the world in a uniquely beautiful way. Ex-journalist Dalton’s prose will sometimes take your breath away in this modern classic about life in the far-outer suburbs of Brisbane, Australia, where a ‘normal’ life seems simultaneously too far away and…

From Karin's list on understanding the Australian spirit.

If you love Boy Swallows Universe...

Ad

Book cover of At What Cost, Silence?

At What Cost, Silence? By Karen Lynne Klink,

Secrets, misunderstandings, and a plethora of family conflicts abound in this historical novel set along the Brazos River in antebellum Washington County, East Texas.

It is a compelling story of two neighboring plantation families and a few of the enslaved people who serve them. These two plantations are a microcosm…

Want books like Boy Swallows Universe?

Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like Boy Swallows Universe.

Browse books like Boy Swallows Universe

Book cover of Breath
Book cover of The Harp in the South
Book cover of The Yield

Share your top 3 reads of 2024!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,586

readers submitted
so far, will you?

Ad

📚 If you like Boy Swallows Universe, you might also like...

Book cover of Rooted in Sunrise

Rooted in Sunrise By Beth Dotson Brown,

Ava Winston likes her life of routine in Lexington, Kentucky. Then a tornado blows it away. Ava is safe in the basement, but when she emerges, only one corner of her home stands. Rather than crumbling under the loss, she feels a load lifted. Maybe something beyond the familiar is…

Book cover of The Wind Blows in Sleeping Grass

The Wind Blows in Sleeping Grass By Katie Powner,

Pete is content living a simple life in the remote Montana town of Sleeping Grass, driving the local garbage truck with his pot-bellied pig Pearl and wondering about what could've been. Elderly widow Wilma is busy meddling in Pete's life to try and make up for past wrongs that he…

5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in Australia, heroin and heroin addiction, and coming of age?

Australia 334 books
Coming Of Age 1,390 books