Lee and Victoria weren’t the only ones to love All Our Shimmering Skies by Trent Dalton… Here is what the QBD crew thought:
Trent Dalton has a knack for making you fall in love.
It could be any number of things that pulls you in – his lyrical, evocative prose; the vibrant, magical vision of our country laid out on the pages of his novels; the broken, brilliant, incredibly real characters that feel like family; even the sunshine-infused, palpable energy that radiates from the man himself. It’ll sneak up on you, too; a subtle, devastating metaphor, a quirky turn of phrase, a gorgeous description of person or place, and suddenly – your heart is gone.
Readers all across Australia experienced this heart-stealing firsthand with Dalton’s debut novel, Boy Swallows Universe – the charming, whimsical-yet-deadly-serious coming-of-age tale that saw protagonist Eli Bell navigate drug-dealing tyrants, the grief of loss, jail-breaks (both attempted and successful), and the painful wonder of first love. Boy Swallows Universe was both a commercial and critical success, winning all of the awards and going on to sell 500,000 copies (and counting). Most of us would assume that’s a hard act to follow, but with the sparkling, gorgeous All Our Shimmering Skies, Dalton has made it look pretty damn easy.
Come, lose your heart once again, this time to the indomitable, motherless Molly Hook – gravedigger’s daughter, age 12. As Japanese bombs rain on 1942 Darwin, Molly looks to the sky for guidance. In her bag, she carries a stone heart and a map that leads to Longcoat Bob, the deep country sorcerer that put a curse on her family. “Run, Molly, run,” says the daytime sky, and Molly does. She runs from the graverobber, hot on her heels, and towards the man she hopes will lift her curse. Along the way, she collects the unlikeliest of travel companions: quick-witted and sharp-tongued actress Greta, and fallen Japanese fighter pilot Yukio. Together the trio embark on an odyssey across the wild, dangerous and beautiful Northern Territory deep country; a journey fraught with danger and full of surprises, and one that will lead them towards love and light.
All Our Shimmering Skies is a graceful, magical, big-hearted novel – the kind of book that, after you close the final pages, you squeeze to your chest in both agony and gratitude. It’s a story about running away, and running toward; about loss, hope, and love; about the gifts the sky gives us, and the light that brings us out of the darkness.
So, get ready to fall in love – with Australia’s natural beauty, with Molly, Greta, and Yukio, and with All Our Shimmering Skies.
