All Our Shimmering Skies, by Trent Dalton

All Our Shimmering Skies, by Trent DaltonHm. Unusual but perhaps not surprising. I’ve now had four goes at getting stuck into Trent Dalton’s latest book, All Our Shimmering Skies.

I’ve been unable to continue each time.

That’s not because of any literary failings – quite the opposite. Dalton writes gloriously, creating crystal clear portraits of the characters and their relationships with each other.

The trouble is, I can’t deal with the content emotionally. I’m sure it’s all down to my current fragile state of mind, but I just break down crying. I just can’t deal with the emotional trauma.

The closest I can remember to this happening before is when I read Lord of the Flies as a teenager. I had to stop several times because it was just too emotionally wrenching.

I’m sure I’ll come back to All Our Shimmering Skies when my own life is a little less complicated.

Powerful stuff, books.

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