Review: Lola in the Mirror

Title: Lola in the Mirror

Author: Trent Dalton

Publisher: 4th October 2023 by HarperCollins Publishers Australia, Fourth Estate

Pages: 448 pages

Genre: fiction, contemporary

Rating: 5 cups

Synopsis:

Bighearted, gritty, magical and moving, Lola in the Mirror is the irresistible new novel from international bestselling author of Boy Swallows Universe and All Our Shimmering Skies , Trent Dalton.

'Mirror, mirror, on the grass, what's my future? What's my past?' A girl and her mother are on the lam. They've been running for sixteen years, from police and the monster they left in the kitchen with the knife in his throat. They've found themselves a home inside an orange 1987 Toyota HiAce van with four flat tyres parked in a scrapyard by the edge of the Brisbane River – just two of the 100,000 Australians sleeping rough every night. The girl has no name because names are dangerous when you're on the run. But the girl has a dream. Visions in black ink and living colour. A vision of a life as a groundbreaking artist of international acclaim. A life outside the grip of the Brisbane underworld drug queen 'Lady' Flora Box. A life of love with the boy in the brown suit who's waiting for her in the middle of the bridge that stretches across a flooding and deadly river. A life far beyond the bullet that has her name on it. And now that the storm clouds are rising, there's only one person who can help make her dreams come true. That person's name is Lola and she carries all the answers. But to find Lola, the girl with no name must first do one of the hardest things we can sometimes ever do. She must look in the mirror. 

A big, moving, blackly funny, violent, heartbreaking and beautiful novel of love, fate, life and death and all the things we see when we look in the mirror. All of the past, all of the present, and all of our possible futures. 'Mirror, mirror, please don't lie. Tell me who you are. Tell me who am I.'

My Thoughts

‘Do I want to walk through this life of mine? Or do I want to cartwheel through it?’

Trent Dalton take a bow (or do a cartwheel!)

You became Australian writing royalty after one book! I did not read that book (Boy Swallows Universe) but understood there would be immense pressure to maintain a certain level of success second time round. Book two, All Our Shimmering Skies blew my mind. It was immense .... it was a breathtaking odyssey. 

Could it be possible Trent would go ‘three for three’?

Yes indeed! 

There really are not enough adjectives to describe the phenomenon that is Trent Dalton’s writing. It’s raw, it’s dark, it’s harrowing … then it is magical, it is mesmerising, it is unique and full of hope. In one word, it is utterly brilliant. 

‘And I know who I’m talking to now. It’s the thing that brought us here. It’s the thing that give me this life. It’s the things that made us run from the monster. It’s cruelty. It’s life itself. It’s living. It’s turning. It’s art. And it will not stop.’

At face value this is the story of a young girl who is ‘houseless’ (not homeless) living in Brisbane. Who is this girl? What happened in her past? What is her name? What of her future and her dreams? But dig a little deeper and at the heart of Trent’s novels are what it is to be human. Yes, there will be darkness - terrible, horrible things happen - violence, addiction, self-harm. However, Trent holds onto the belief that most human beings have heart, they do care and will rise above to do what is right and just. 

‘In my experience, humans are mostly good and decent. In my experience, strangers will more often that not choose compassion over fear, protections over caution’.

Trent Dalton is an amazing writer. Suspend all you know, all you understand of what writing should look like and immerse yourself in how writing can be. From Aussie humour and slang, to the horrifying, confronting and harrowing details of things such as the criminal underworld. This book is atmospheric in its detail with the Brisbane River a character within itself. The illustrations by @pheppell throughout the book are an integral addition to the story. Those sketches with accompanying descriptions at the beginning of each chapter are amazing. They bring so much to what is already an incredible tale. It is heartfelt, it is rich, it is heartbreaking and it is … simply stunning. 

‘You ever lived through a single moment in your life that gave meaning to every single tiny moment you lived through before it?’

If you are a fan of Trent’s you won’t be disappointed. If you have never had the privilege to read any of Trent’s work, waste no more time. Put aside what you think you know about writing and what you think you know about Trent’s writing. Take this fantastical journey that is Lola in the Mirror and embark on a life changing journey. Full of melodrama and magical realism I promise it will be memorable - you will smile,  you will laugh, you will shed a tear and allow the poetic prose of Trent Dalton sweep you away. 

‘You are magic,’ Lola says. ‘You’ve always been magic. You’ve never needed a mirror to see who you are.’

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.