In the book, ‘Boy Swallows Universe’, the author (Trent Dalton) uses a wide range of vocabulary

to illustrate the main character, Eli Bell’s life. Eli Bell has had his fair share of adventures. He has a lost
father, a mute brother, a junkie mom, a drug dealer as a stepfather, and an infamous criminal as a
babysitter. And as if his life wasn’t complicated and dangerous enough, the universe throws in another
character, the mythical and notorious Brisbane drug dealer, Tytus Broz. How do you decide what books
you read? Do you just look at the cover, the title, or do you read the comments or the back of the book?
Well, I read the synopsis (the back cover), and instantly, I was mesmerized by the contents and the
adventures the book contained inside. I just love a story where the main character’s life is messed up,
and watch as he/she progresses through the book to solve every problem. The setting of the story
actually goes back about 40 years, in Queensland, Australia.

Let me tell you about a part that I was very shocked and surprised by the story. You see, Eli Bell’s
stepfather, Lyle, is a drug dealer in Brisbane, a city in Australia. And when he started making side deals
with one of Tytus Broz’s suppliers, Bich Dang, Tytus found out. Tytus Broz knows everything in the city
related to drug deals, and wants a part of every deal in the city ,. Wwhich is why when he found out that
two of his minions were was making money without him, he rounded up his pack of goons and marched
right to Lyle’s house, where Eli, his brother August, and his mom lives.

When Tytus arrived at Eli’s house, he immediately ordered his goons to tow away sneaky Lyle.
But, fast as a snake, Lyle scribbled something in the air, using August’s sign language to indicate
something to him. I later found out what it actually was, but I’ll leave that for you to find out when you
read the book. Instantly, Tytus commanded August to tell him what Lyle just wrote, which, as you know,
is not possible, because August is mute. Tytus threatened to cut of Eli’s forefinger if August still refuses
to speak, and, to everyone’s dismay, August, for the firstfisttime in 6 years, spoke! “Your end Is a dead
blue wren (a wren is a bird found in Australia).” That statement made no sense, which enraged Tytus,
lead to a severed finger, in a pool of blood, sitting on the dining table. With seeing his finger on the
table, Eli blacked out, into the oblivion. Eli later escaped the hospital he was sent to, and left on his
journey to find his long-lost father’s house.

In my opinion, ‘Boy Swallows Universe is definitely a book worth reading. However, I would not
recommend it to young readers, as some of the words and content are inappropriate and scary. I think
the most interesting thing about this novel is that the author uses a lot of foreshadowing, allowing the
reader to think about what would happen next, before revealing the answer to them, that’s why the
book is really appealing to me. I have spent many evenings thinking in my brain, why would he/she say
that, what does that mean , etc. Trent Dalton also used a lot of other literature devices, such as
metaphors, hyperbole . tThis is definitely a book that will teach you a lot of useful philosophy quotes. It is
most definitely, as the comments say, one of the best Australian novels I’ve read.