Trent Dalton is overcome. It’s not an uncommon feeling for him. “I cry at the drop of a hat,” he confesses and frankly it’s hardly surprising he’s feeling so emotional. Trent has just spent the weekend with his mother, wife and two daughters watching the Netflix TV adaptation of his bestselling novel, Boy Swallows Universe, a story based on a uniquely dark time in his own childhood.
The show’s lead character is selfless, gorgeous Eli Bell – played by Felix Cameron – who is one of life’s fixers, even when faced with the bleakest of situations, such as his mother falling in love with a heroin dealer and ending up in prison. Eli is based on Trent as a young boy; drug-addicted, dreamy Frankie, played by Phoebe Tonkin, is based on his mum; and alcoholic, book-loving Robert, played by Simon Baker, is a version of his dad.
“Watching the show was one of the deepest things I’ve ever felt,” Trent
