''Boy Swallows Universe'' is the debut novel by Australian writer Trent Dalton. It was originally published by Fourth Estate in Australia in 2018. The novel won a number of awards and was performed as a play by the

Queensland Theatre Queensland Theatre, formerly the Queensland Theatre Company and Royal Queensland Theatre Company, is a professional theatre company based in Brisbane, Australia. It regularly performs in its own Bille Brown Theatre and the Queensland Performin ...

in 2021.

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

adapted it into a television series under the same name – ''Boy Swallows Universe''.

Synopsis

This semi-autobiographical coming-of-age novel is set in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

, Queensland, in 1983. Eli Bell is a traumatised teenager with an absent father, a mute brother, an imprisoned mother, and a

heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a morphinan opioid substance synthesized from the Opium, dried latex of the Papaver somniferum, opium poppy; it is mainly used as a recreational drug for its eupho ...

dealer for a stepfather.

Characters

* Eli Bell – a narrator and main protagonist * August Bell – Eli's older brother * Frankie Bell – Eli and August's mother * Lyle – Frankie's boyfriend * Robert Bell - Eli's and August's Father * Caitlyn Spies – a journalist and Eli's boyhood crush * Tytus Broz – the "Lord of Limbs" * Iwan Krol – Tytus's henchman

Publication history

After its original publication in 2018 in Australia by publisher Fourth Estate the novel was later republished as follows: *

HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is a British–American publishing company that is considered to be one of the "Big Five (publishers), Big Five" English-language publishers, along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group USA, Hachette, Macmi ...

, US, 2019 * Fourth Estate, Australia, 2019, 2023 * The Borough Press, UK, 2019, 2020 The novel was also translated into Spanish, Swedish, French, Dutch, Finnish, Turkish, Portuguese, Chinese, Czech, and Lithuanian in 2019; Italian, Polish, and Russian in 2020; and German, Korean, Japanese and Hebrew in 2021. It became the fastest-selling debut novel in Australian history, selling more than a million copies worldwide.

Critical reception

John Collee John Gerald Collee (born 1955) is a Scottish/Australian doctor, novelist and screenwriter whose films have three times been nominated for Oscars. '' Master and Commander'' was nominated for Best Film 2003, ''Happy Feet'' won Best Animation in 2 ...

in ''

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...

'' compared the writer to

Tim Winton Timothy John Winton (born 4 August 1960) is an Australian writer. He has written novels, children's books, non-fiction books, and short stories. In 1997, he was named a Living Treasure by the National Trust of Australia, and has won the ...

and

Robert Drewe Robert Duncan Drewe (born 9 January 1943) is an Australian novelist, non-fiction and short story writer. Biography Robert Drewe was born on 9 January 1943 in Melbourne, Victoria. At the age of six, he moved with his family to Perth. He grew up ...

, stating – "Dalton is a writer in the same league. His dialogue is every bit as funny and accurate as Winton's, his prose just as evocative, and he's better at wrapping up the ending. The last 100 pages of ''Boy Swallows Universe'' propel you like an express train to a conclusion that is profound and complex and unashamedly commercial. There are shades of

Raymond Chandler Raymond Thornton Chandler (July 23, 1888 – March 26, 1959) was an American-British novelist and screenwriter. In 1932, at the age of forty-four, Chandler became a detective fiction writer after losing his job as an oil company executive durin ...

in the final confrontation with the town's bleached and wealthy benefactor whose cement bunker conceals a chilling secret. And even a nod to

John Buchan John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir (; 26 August 1875 – 11 February 1940) was a Scottish novelist, historian, British Army officer, and Unionist politician who served as Governor General of Canada, the 15th since Canadian Confederation. As a ...

." Sunil Dasgupta writing in the ''

Washington Independent Review of Books The Washington Independent Review of Books is a volunteer organization that operates a website for book reviews. It was founded by a group of writers in the Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly ...

'' noted – "This is Dalton's debut novel, and he is a compelling storyteller with an exceptional voice. He depicts a heroin-addled Australia that we are not familiar with in the United States, a perch from where Australia looks like all gorgeous beaches and even more gorgeous beach bums." It was widely discussed by other reviewers below, many of whom also found it compelling. * Michael Cart in ''

Booklist ''Booklist'' is a publication of the American Library Association that provides critical reviews of books and audiovisual materials for all ages. ''Booklist''s primary audience consists of libraries, educators, and booksellers. The magazine is ...

'': "Teens who enjoy literary fiction will be enchanted by this remarkably readable and memorable novel." * Ellen Morton in ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'': "''Boy Swallows Universe'' hypnotizes you with wonder, and then hammers you with heartbreak." * Amelia Lester in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'': "One can't help quibbling that the story seems designed with an eye to its own presumed dramatic adaptation. (Dalton's résumé includes a few screenplays.) The violence is occasionally too much. Toward the end, a plot point involving severed limbs is downright fanciful. Such florid unpleasantries feel all the more gratuitous because the most compelling aspects of ''Boy Swallows Universe'' come from real life."

Awards

Adaptations

A 2021 stage adaptation became the best-selling show in

's history. The book was adapted for a 7-episode TV mini-series produced by Brouhaha Entertainment's Andrew Mason and Troy Lum, which premiered on

on 11 January 2024. The adaptation was written by

, with episodes directed by

Bharat Nalluri Bharat Nalluri (born 1965) is a British–Indian film and television director. Personal life Nalluri was born in India. He moved to England at a young age with his family and grew up in Newcastle upon Tyne, where he attended the Royal Grammar ...

Jocelyn Moorhouse Jocelyn Denise Moorhouse (born 1960 or 1961) is an Australian screenwriter and film director. She is best known for directing films '' Proof'', '' How to Make an American Quilt'', '' A Thousand Acres'' and '' The Dressmaker''. Moorhouse has al ...

, and

Kim Mordaunt Kim Mordaunt is a well known Australian director, cinematographer and actor who comes from a documentary background. He graduated from UTS (University of Technology, Sydney) and got a diploma in acting from LAMDA (London Academy of Music and Dra ...

. It featured Lee Tiger Halley and Felix Cameron in the lead roles.

References

External link

Boy Swallows Universe
at

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boy Swallows Universe 2018 Australian novels 2018 debut novels Novels set in Brisbane Australian young adult novels