โHypnotizes you with wonder, and then hammers you with heartbreak. . . . Eliโs remarkably poetic voice and his astonishingly open heart take the day. They enable him to carve out the best of whatโs possible from the worst of what is, which is the miracle that makes this novel marvelous.โ โWashington Post
"The best book I read this decade." โSharon Van Etten inย Rolling Stone
A story of brotherhood, true love, family, and the most unlikely of friendships,ย Boy Swallows Universeย is the tale of an adolescent boy on the cusp of discovering the man he will be.
Eli Bellโs life is complicated. His father is lost, his mother is in jail, and his stepdad is a heroin dealer. The most steadfast adult in Eliโs life is Slimโa notorious felon and national record-holder for successful prison escapesโwho watches over Eli and August, his silent genius of an older brother.
Exiled far from the rest of the world in Darra, aย neglected suburb populated by Polish and Vietnamese refugees, this twelve-year-old boy with an old soul and an adult mind is just trying to follow his heart, learn what it takes to be a good man, and train for a glamorous career in journalism. Life, however, insists on throwing obstacles in Eliโs pathโmost notably Tytus Broz, Brisbaneโs legendary drug dealer.
But the real trouble lies ahead. Eli is about to fall in love, face off against truly bad guys, and fight to save his mother from a certain doomโall before starting high school.
Powerful and kinetic, Trent Daltonโs debut is sure to be one of the most heartbreaking, joyous and exhilarating novels you will experience.
Trent Dalton is a two-time Walkley Award-winning journalist and the international bestselling author of Boy Swallows Universe, All Our Shimmering Skies, and Lola in the Mirror. His books have sold over 1.3 million copies in Australia alone. He lives in Brisbane, Australia, with his wife and two daughters.