Gravity Let Me Go

Noah Cork has spent his life as a crime journalist. Then one day he found a message in his letterbox which led him to discovering a murder in his neighbourhood. Although the killer was still unknown, Noah wrote a true crime book about how the body was discovered. The book is a best seller but he did not anticipate the aftermath when the book was published.

Set in a Brisbane suburb, Gravity Let Me Go by Trent Dalton is an account of the chaos that occurs in Noah's life after the publication of the book. For the six months spent writing his book Noah had neglected his family and now fears that his marriage is disintegrating. But although he vows that he will no longer investigate the subject of his book, Noah still has to follow up loose ends and new clues.

This book is a complex study of relationships and misunderstandings as well as the resolution of crimes committed in a supposedly quiet suburban neighbourhood. Writing his book has disturbed memories of Noah's past as well as the need to come to terms with what is really important in his life.

Gravity Let Me Go - ABC

Free Falling: love, murder and mayhem in the suburbs - Indaily Queensland 

Lola in the Mirror

A teenage girl and her mother spend their lives moving from one part of Australia to another to escape the past. At each location they change their names. The girl often asks her mother who she really is but her mother says that she will reveal the girl's identity when she turns eighteen. However the mother drowns in the river trying to save another mother's baby and the girl is left to discover her true identity on her own.

The young girl is an artist and regularly sketches images of the challenges she faces as she seeks to discover her true identity. She does have friends among many of the houseless (not homeless) who live in Brisbane and also frequents a welfare agency where some support is available. However there is constant danger, especially from Flo and her cohorts who sell drugs and exert violence on those in debt to her. The young girl seeks solace and advice from the image that sometimes appears in a broken mirror as she attempts to sort out her life.

In Lola in the Mirror Trent Dalton has created a story that is often dark and violent but is also a story of love and compassion and the fight for survival and contains moments of humour. Life is not easy for the young artist, however she is determined to fight the obstacles placed in front of her and discover her own path in life.

At the beginning of each chapter Paul Heppell has created one of the girl's sketches complimenting the theme of the chapter. A premise running through the book is that one day the girl's artwork will appear in the art gallery in New York when she becomes a famous artist.

Trent Dalton has written a compelling study of life in parts of Australia not seen or understood by most people. However throughout the novel there is a belief that eventually the girl should be able to determine her own future. This confronting story with a thread of hope is definitely one of the best books that I have read this year.

All Our Shimmering Skies

Darwin 1942 and the Japanese bomb the town. 

Molly Hook lives with her father and uncle and works in the family business as a gravedigger. She is badly treated by the men who are responsible for her well-being and has already unsuccessfully attempted to run away from home. Consequently when the bombs start to fall Molly takes her chance and heads into the bush to locate Longcoat Bob, the man she believes placed a curse on her family many years previously. On the journey Molly joins forces with Greta, an actress who had a realtionship with Molly's uncle, and Yukio, a Japanese pilot whose plane lands in the bush.

Twelve year old Molly lost her mother some years earlier but has been left with the belief that she can communicate with the sky and at times even receives a present from the sky. The first present is a gold mining pan that had belonged to her grandfather and scratched on to the pan are directions to locate the place where her grandfather once found gold. To most people the directions are obscure but Molly, who like her grandfather and mother loves to read poetry and plays, is able to decipher the clues as she and her friends go on their voyage of discovery.

The descriptions of the Australian landscape are paramount to the story, especially when seen through the eyes of the Japanese pilot. Some of the descriptions read like poetry, particularly when the wetlands with the wide variety of plants and wildlife are described. The trio encounter danger but they also learn resiliance as they discover more about themselves and things in life that are important. The desriptions of the bombing of Darwin vividly portray the horror of that event in Australian history.

The cover of the book captures the magical qualities of this beautifully written Australian story that I thoroughly enjoyed reading.

Boy Swallows Universe

Boy Swallows Universe is the first novel by journalist, Trent Dalton.

The novel recounts the experiences of Eli Bell and his family encountered during Eli's teenage years. Eli and his brother Gus live with their mother and her friend, Lyle, both recovering drug addicts. His 'baby sitter' and best friend is Slim who has spent many years in Boggo Road Gaol and is renowned for his many attempts to escape prison. Slim encourages Eli to write to Alex, a prisoner who rarely receives correspondence while serving his term. Gus has stopped talking and communicates by writing in air since their father drove a car into a dam almost drowning his two sons. All in all not the best start in life for two young boys.

Although much of the plot revolves around drug dealing and its drastic affects on family life, this novel is largely involved with relationships, particularly the relationship between Eli and Gus as they strive to survive as well as find a place for themselves in an extremely challenging world. There is danger in the book but there is also hope and the boys often receive often support from unlikely sources.

In some ways this book reminded me of some of the books of Tim Winton as well as Macus Zuzak's recent novel, Bridge of Clay. They are all very Australian and deal with families facing challenging situations. Another excellent Australian novel.