Boy swallows universe / Trent Dalton
This story was written from the point of view of a 12 year old boy but it is far from a children’s book. There is humour, mainly of the black kind and a writing style that is engaging and fast paced in this story of society’s misfits and their families who don’t know any other way to live.
Eli Bell and his brother August (who is mute by choice) are the children of drug dealers in the violent, depressed Brisbane suburb of Darra. Eli’s best friend and babysitter is Slim, a convicted murderer famous for escaping from Queensland’s Boggo Road gaol. Eli (fortunately, as it later turns out) becomes a penpal to Alex, the gaoled head of the Queensland chapter of the Rebels gangster motorcycle gang. Eli thoughtfully keeps Alex and his gaol house friends up to date with the events on their favourite TV show, Days of Our Lives.
The youngsters live in a world of corrupt cops and politicians, where pillars of society can also be disgruntled drug lords, rewarding disloyalty with decapitation and dismemberment.
Yes, you could be thinking this book is a bit grim and not to your taste. But read on.
Eli is obsessed with finding the “good” in people. He loves his messed up family and desperately wants to get them out of Darra and into a better suburb and a better life, even if he has to become a drug dealer to do it! But can people who do bad things still be good?
Dalton has a real ear for dialogue and his writing is descriptive and lyrical, at times almost philosophical. There is a strong use of symbolism, a smidge of magic and a hint of a warm, almost psychic bond between the boys to break up the realism of the horror. There is also a lot of humour. The chapter headings are three pithy words on ink blots, reminiscent of the sensational headlines found in some newspapers: BOY BUSTS OUT; BOY KILLS BULL; BOY STIRS MONSTER etc
Between the themes of violence, corruption and dysfunction, there flows warmth and compassion, love and friendship. It is a Boys’ Own adventure, a ripping yarn that requires a suspension of disbelief at times but engrossing all the same. A suspenseful story about the suburbs, it could be any Australian city with drugs, domestic violence and gangsters ruining lives. Our newspapers tell us that many people live lives like this every day, including children. TRUTH MEETS FICTION? BOY CAPTURES AUDIENCE!
Read this book.
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