Boy Swallows Universe
Brisbane, 1983: A lost father, a mute brother, a mum in jail, a heroin dealer for a stepfather and a notorious criminal for a babysitter. It's not as if Eli's life isn't complicated enough already. He's just trying to follow his heart, learning what it takes to be a good man, but life just keeps throwing obstacles in the way – not least of which is Tytus Broz, legendary drug dealer.
But Eli's life is about to get a whole lot more serious. He's about to fall in love. And he has to break into prison on Christmas Day, to save his mum.
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.
This book sat on my virtual shelf for a few weeks before I started to read it. I don't think I knew what to expect as I try not to read too many reviews before reading a book. Too many spoilers.
Eli Bell lives with his older brother August, his mum Frances and his mother's boyfriend Lyle, who they all love. He is the father figure. It all sounds pretty grim in suburban Brisbane. Drugs and organised crime, gangs etc. But this story really grips you, some parts there is no holding back on what happens, but then things move swiftly on and they can move on by a year or so. The book starts when Eli is 13 and finishes when he is 19. August is a year older and has been mute since he was six.
The book is a mixture of truth, fiction and fantasy, it is about Eli coming of age, it is also about how despite being brought up in a house where drugs are part of everyday life, you can overcome and succeed.
This certainly wasn't the book I was expecting.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC in exchange of an honest review.