Welcome to The Spinoff Books Confessional, in which we get to know the reading habits of Aotearoa writers, and guests. This week: Australian author of Gravity Let Me Go, Trent Dalton.
The book I wish I’d written
The Lord of the Rings. Because it was my dad’s favourite book. What kid wouldn’t want to be responsible for writing his dad’s favourite book. My beautiful old man died before he got to read my novel Boy Swallows Universe. I like to think it would have been his second-favourite book.
Everyone should read
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck because the final two pages of the book feature an act of humanity so profound that you become convinced that every single person on this planet deserves your compassion, your kindness, your understanding and your support.
The book I want to be buried with
Elizabeth the Elephant – a picture book my wife, Fiona Franzmann, wrote when she was eight years old. It’s beautiful and full of hope and love, not unlike the book’s author.
The first book I remember reading by myself
Storm Boy by Colin Thiele. The book reminded me of myself. Just replace the pelican with a Steeden rugby league football and that was me. The author lived 30 minutes from my house in Bracken Ridge, on the outskirts of Brisbane. I remember thinking, “Wow, if a guy in Dayboro can write about the worlds he knows about, then maybe a kid from Bracken Ridge might be allowed to write about the worlds he knows!”
From left to right: the book Dalton thinks we all need to read; the book he first remembers reading by himself; and the book that made him cry.
Utopia or dystopia
Utopia. But I’d do that great thing that I love in science fiction where the utopia soon reveals itself to be a dystopia.
Fiction or nonfiction
I’ve spent 20 years as a journalist writing hard facts in nonfiction journalism in search of some truth that I might discover about myself and where I came from. I’ve spent six years now writing novels and I’ve learned far more truths about myself in fiction than I ever did in journalism.
It’s a crime against language to …
Simply liken the protagonist’s physical appearance to a well-known movie star. I see this in thriller books sometimes and it’s an immediate buzzkill. “Sarah always thought Detective Hill had a striking resemblance to Harrison Ford … in his Peter Weir years … just prior to Working Girl …”
The book that made me cry
Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks. She never over-cooks her emotion. She bakes it just right and it warms every piece of my heart.
The book that made me laugh
Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut. Not only was the man wise beyond compare, he was funny as all heck. One minute you’re reading the most profound insight into relationships and society, the next you’re howling over a sketch of a butthole.
The book character I identify with most
Noah Cork. He’s the lead character in my latest novel, Gravity Let Me Go. He’s everything about myself that I hate the most and he’s everything I’m most proud of.
Encounter with an author
I was once at a book signing table at the Perth Writers Festival. I’d been signing books for an hour when I looked up and saw Markus Zusak standing in front of me with a copy of Boy Swallows Universe. He had waited patiently in line for an hour to get his copy signed. I was never more honoured by a gesture. That man is the sweetest writer in the world.
From left to right: Trent Dalton’s latest novel which includes the character he identifies with most; the book that made him laugh; and the book he’s reading right now.
Best thing about reading
You read a passage and you feel an emotion – sadness, joy, grief, love – and thousands of other people, strangers often, read that same passage and feel exactly that same emotion. Suddenly all those thousands of people are deeply connected by something beautiful: words.
Best place to read
Reading The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton in a Queenstown cottage after a ski and a supreme pizza with a glass of New Zealand white wine by a fire and then you gently fall to sleep and have a dream about The Luminaries.
What I’m reading right now
Poor Fellow, My Country by Xavier Herbert. I just picked up a hardback copy from a Brisbane antique bookshop, Archives Bookshop. I’m slightly intimidated by the weight of it, both physical and philosophical. A friend just told me that the late, great Barry Humphries once called that book, “Poor Fellow, My Reader”.
Gravity Let Me Go by Trent Dalton (HarperCollins, $38) is available to purchase at Unity Books. Trent Dalton is appearing live in a one-off event in Auckland on October 15; and Trent Dalton’s Love Stories is playing at The Civic from October 15–19.