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Gravity Let Me Go
Trent Dalton, Australia's #1 bestselling author, returns with the astonishing Gravity Let Me Go - a story you won't ever forget.
How will you ever know how the story ends, if you let the story go?
Noah Cork has just published the scoop of a a white-hot true-crime book about the cold-blooded killer who slipped an unfolding murder mystery into his mailbox. But if this is his moment of triumph, then why is the tin roof being ripped from the walls of his reality? Why are skeletons standing upright in his closet? Why do people want to run him over in the street? And why does his wife keep writing a cryptic message across the bathroom mirror? As a severe storm heads towards Brisbane, Noah is hurtling headfirst into a swirling storm of secrets. He must now cling for dear life to the only story that ever really mattered. He must hold on to the truth. He must hold on to the story. He must hold on to love.
Dark, gritty, hilarious and unexpected, Gravity Let Me Go is Trent Dalton's deeply personal exploration of marriage and ambition, truth-telling and truth-omitting, self-deception and self-preservation. It's a novel about the stories we want to tell the world and those we shouldn't, and how the stories we keep locked away are so often the stories that come to define us.
It's the story of a murder.
It's the story of a marriage.
It's the story of a lifetime.
'Gravity Let Me Go draws readers deep into a raw and chaotic world that is both unsettling and compelling ... His signature mix of grit, heart and unexpected turns keeps the narrative gripping, with twists readers won't see coming. Ultimately, fans of Dalton's previous novels will find Gravity Let Me Go impossible to put down.' Books+Publishing
'I could pick Dalton's writing from a mile away. It's revealed in the kindness of the detail, the musical references ... the pace of the writing, and the desire for each word to mean more in company than on its own. Trent Dalton's storytelling is vivid, rapid, and soaring.' Readings
How will you ever know how the story ends, if you let the story go?
Noah Cork has just published the scoop of a a white-hot true-crime book about the cold-blooded killer who slipped an unfolding murder mystery into his mailbox. But if this is his moment of triumph, then why is the tin roof being ripped from the walls of his reality? Why are skeletons standing upright in his closet? Why do people want to run him over in the street? And why does his wife keep writing a cryptic message across the bathroom mirror? As a severe storm heads towards Brisbane, Noah is hurtling headfirst into a swirling storm of secrets. He must now cling for dear life to the only story that ever really mattered. He must hold on to the truth. He must hold on to the story. He must hold on to love.
Dark, gritty, hilarious and unexpected, Gravity Let Me Go is Trent Dalton's deeply personal exploration of marriage and ambition, truth-telling and truth-omitting, self-deception and self-preservation. It's a novel about the stories we want to tell the world and those we shouldn't, and how the stories we keep locked away are so often the stories that come to define us.
It's the story of a murder.
It's the story of a marriage.
It's the story of a lifetime.
'Gravity Let Me Go draws readers deep into a raw and chaotic world that is both unsettling and compelling ... His signature mix of grit, heart and unexpected turns keeps the narrative gripping, with twists readers won't see coming. Ultimately, fans of Dalton's previous novels will find Gravity Let Me Go impossible to put down.' Books+Publishing
'I could pick Dalton's writing from a mile away. It's revealed in the kindness of the detail, the musical references ... the pace of the writing, and the desire for each word to mean more in company than on its own. Trent Dalton's storytelling is vivid, rapid, and soaring.' Readings
416 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 1, 2025
892 people are currently reading
3410 people want to read
About the author
Trent Dalton
12 books3,002 followersTrent Dalton writes for the award-winning The Weekend Australian Magazine. A former assistant editor of The Courier-Mail, he has won a Walkley, been a four-time winner of the national News Awards Feature Journalist of the Year Award, and was named Queensland Journalist of the Year at the 2011 Clarion Awards for excellence in Queensland media. His writing includes several short and feature-length film screenplays. His latest feature film screenplay, Home, is a love story inspired by his non-fiction collection Detours: Stories from the Street (2011), the culmination of three months immersed in Brisbane's homeless community, the proceeds of which went back to the 20 people featured within its pages. His journalism has twice been nominated for a United Nations of Australia Media Peace Award, and his debut novel Boy Swallows Universe was published in 2018.
He was nominated for a 2010 AFI Best Short Fiction screenplay award for his latest film, Glenn Owen Dodds, starring David Wenham. The film won the prestigious International Prix Canal award at the world's largest short film festival, The Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival in France. Dalton's debut feature film screenplay, In the Silence, is currently in production.
Trent also hosted the ABC Conversations show while Richard Fidler was on a Churchill Fellowship.
He was nominated for a 2010 AFI Best Short Fiction screenplay award for his latest film, Glenn Owen Dodds, starring David Wenham. The film won the prestigious International Prix Canal award at the world's largest short film festival, The Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival in France. Dalton's debut feature film screenplay, In the Silence, is currently in production.
Trent also hosted the ABC Conversations show while Richard Fidler was on a Churchill Fellowship.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 86 reviews
October 12, 2025
Gravity Let Me Go — ★★★★¼ (4.25 Stars)
There’s a fevered brilliance pulsing through Gravity Let Me Go — a novel so alive it often feels like it’s trying to outrun its own heartbeat. I’ll admit, I found it frustratingly maniacal at times — a book that refuses to sit still, that darts from thought to thought with such velocity you half expect it to self-destruct mid-sentence. And yet, as the final page lands and the noise recedes, what lingers isn’t exhaustion but awe. Because somehow, miraculously, this chaos coheres into something transcendent.
This is Dalton through and through: the bruised lyricism, the tenderness beneath the rough edges, the unfiltered emotional voltage. Few authors write with this much pulse — it’s as if every line is wired directly to a live nerve. The novel hums with working-class ache and human wreckage; guilt, grief, love, and the gravitational pull of memory form the true architecture beneath its wild surface. There are moments so raw they feel overheard, and others that veer toward indulgence — but all of it feels lived, not merely written.
Dalton’s prose, as always, is a contradiction in motion — lush yet jagged, spiritual yet grimy. His characters orbit despair and yearning in equal measure. One paragraph will read like a prayer; the next, like a punch in the throat. But that’s the thrill of it: the constant oscillation between poetry and panic, between falling and flying.
Yes, I wanted him to slow down sometimes — to breathe, to let the reader catch up. But then he’ll deliver a line so diamond-cut it stops everything cold. That’s the alchemy here: even through the mania, the novel stays human. There’s no artifice in its mess, only feeling — heavy, ungovernable, and deeply Dalton.
By the time it ends, you realise Gravity Let Me Go isn’t trying to be tidy or polished. It’s trying to feel — to reach into the static of life and pull out a signal. And it succeeds. It’s flawed, yes, but gloriously so — a novel that vibrates with life and loss in equal measure. The tension felt in my wrists as I read, weren’t frustration after all, perhaps they were more akin to foreshadowing, foreshadowing that I was reading one of Australia’s premier authors.
Dalton’s gift remains what it always was: finding grace in the bruises.
There’s a fevered brilliance pulsing through Gravity Let Me Go — a novel so alive it often feels like it’s trying to outrun its own heartbeat. I’ll admit, I found it frustratingly maniacal at times — a book that refuses to sit still, that darts from thought to thought with such velocity you half expect it to self-destruct mid-sentence. And yet, as the final page lands and the noise recedes, what lingers isn’t exhaustion but awe. Because somehow, miraculously, this chaos coheres into something transcendent.
This is Dalton through and through: the bruised lyricism, the tenderness beneath the rough edges, the unfiltered emotional voltage. Few authors write with this much pulse — it’s as if every line is wired directly to a live nerve. The novel hums with working-class ache and human wreckage; guilt, grief, love, and the gravitational pull of memory form the true architecture beneath its wild surface. There are moments so raw they feel overheard, and others that veer toward indulgence — but all of it feels lived, not merely written.
Dalton’s prose, as always, is a contradiction in motion — lush yet jagged, spiritual yet grimy. His characters orbit despair and yearning in equal measure. One paragraph will read like a prayer; the next, like a punch in the throat. But that’s the thrill of it: the constant oscillation between poetry and panic, between falling and flying.
Yes, I wanted him to slow down sometimes — to breathe, to let the reader catch up. But then he’ll deliver a line so diamond-cut it stops everything cold. That’s the alchemy here: even through the mania, the novel stays human. There’s no artifice in its mess, only feeling — heavy, ungovernable, and deeply Dalton.
By the time it ends, you realise Gravity Let Me Go isn’t trying to be tidy or polished. It’s trying to feel — to reach into the static of life and pull out a signal. And it succeeds. It’s flawed, yes, but gloriously so — a novel that vibrates with life and loss in equal measure. The tension felt in my wrists as I read, weren’t frustration after all, perhaps they were more akin to foreshadowing, foreshadowing that I was reading one of Australia’s premier authors.
Dalton’s gift remains what it always was: finding grace in the bruises.
July 31, 2025
I was burnt by Cloud Street by Tim Winton decades ago, having to study it for English Literature, and mostly stayed away from Australian "slice of life" books. So I went and got a job in a bookstore, selling books for 17 years and not purposefully avoiding Australian writers, but not overly seeking them out either. I did branch out and read Holly Ringland, Anita Heiss, Shelley Burr and Bryce Courtaney but not really venturing out much more than that.
GLMG came along and I thought I would give it a go.....and devoured it 2 days. I was 5 pages from finishing it, my bus stop was coming up and I was considering missing it just to finish this book.
It has been the highlight of my reading journey this year and so I just wanted to thank you so much for sending it through to me.
I am not saying that I will now go back and read the rest of Tim Winton's work, but I might have to broaden my reading horizon just a little more now.
If there is anyway you can let Trent Dalton know that some random bookseller was absolutely floored by Gravity Let Me Go, I would be forever in your debt.
GLMG came along and I thought I would give it a go.....and devoured it 2 days. I was 5 pages from finishing it, my bus stop was coming up and I was considering missing it just to finish this book.
It has been the highlight of my reading journey this year and so I just wanted to thank you so much for sending it through to me.
I am not saying that I will now go back and read the rest of Tim Winton's work, but I might have to broaden my reading horizon just a little more now.
If there is anyway you can let Trent Dalton know that some random bookseller was absolutely floored by Gravity Let Me Go, I would be forever in your debt.
September 25, 2025
This book won't be anything like Lola. If you are expecting that, you won't like it.
Go in with an open mind.
I don't think I understand what Trent is trying to do with this book - but I don't think it deserves a bad review because I am stupid.
Very well written.
Just ... weird.
(Would have only given 3 stars, but I can't because it's Trent Dalton. My fingers won't allow me)
Go in with an open mind.
I don't think I understand what Trent is trying to do with this book - but I don't think it deserves a bad review because I am stupid.
Very well written.
Just ... weird.
(Would have only given 3 stars, but I can't because it's Trent Dalton. My fingers won't allow me)
October 3, 2025
SO special! Full of crowbars, love, vulnerability and story! It is the story of Noah; suburban father, husband, journalist and now best selling author as he comes to terms with the success of his book..it does feel like we’ve been allowed to visit oz and glimpse the life of Trent Dalton (maybe) which definitely adds to the magic. Couldn’t have loved it more
October 6, 2025
Trent Dalton can do no wrong and I won’t hear any negative reviews about any of his work.
Another beautifully written story set in Australian suburbia, with descriptions so vivid that I feel like I’m actually living in Jubilee and have grown up alongside the residents of Gecko Street.
Clementine Cork has to be one of my favourite characters ever written. I am obsessed with her and wish I was as whip smart as she is.
How does this man have me laughing my arse off in one chapter, weeping in the next, and then sitting on the edge of my seat for the remainder of the book? His storytelling is unparalleled.
Boy Swallows Universe will always have my heart as it was the first Dalton book I’d ever read and I was absolutely flawed by his writing. He did it to me again in Lola in the Mirror, and he’s done it now in Gravity Let Me Go.
I’ve been counting down the months for this book to be released only to absolutely devour it in days. I wish I could savour his stories, but I am physically unable to put the book down.
Another very long wait ahead for the next one 😅
Another beautifully written story set in Australian suburbia, with descriptions so vivid that I feel like I’m actually living in Jubilee and have grown up alongside the residents of Gecko Street.
Clementine Cork has to be one of my favourite characters ever written. I am obsessed with her and wish I was as whip smart as she is.
How does this man have me laughing my arse off in one chapter, weeping in the next, and then sitting on the edge of my seat for the remainder of the book? His storytelling is unparalleled.
Boy Swallows Universe will always have my heart as it was the first Dalton book I’d ever read and I was absolutely flawed by his writing. He did it to me again in Lola in the Mirror, and he’s done it now in Gravity Let Me Go.
I’ve been counting down the months for this book to be released only to absolutely devour it in days. I wish I could savour his stories, but I am physically unable to put the book down.
Another very long wait ahead for the next one 😅
October 4, 2025
Gawd I hated it. I love Trent’s books but this one feels so egotistical and cringey. I’m so sorry. I tried so hard but this one is just, so over done. Devastated.
August 4, 2025
I was so excited to read Trent Dalton’s new book — I absolutely loved Lola in the Mirror, so I had high hopes for this one.
This story is dark, gritty, and unexpected — classic Trent in some ways, but also a deeper dive into the complexities of love, marriage, family and personal reckoning. At times, it’s sharp and funny, and his signature expressive, flowing style is still very much there.
But I’m still sitting with how I feel about it. It’s a bold book — emotionally intense and not always easy to read. The characters are raw and real, but I didn’t connect with them the way I hoped to.
If you’re a fan of Trent's poetic voice and don’t mind a challenging read, you will appreciate what he’s doing here. But it might not be for everyone.
This story is dark, gritty, and unexpected — classic Trent in some ways, but also a deeper dive into the complexities of love, marriage, family and personal reckoning. At times, it’s sharp and funny, and his signature expressive, flowing style is still very much there.
But I’m still sitting with how I feel about it. It’s a bold book — emotionally intense and not always easy to read. The characters are raw and real, but I didn’t connect with them the way I hoped to.
If you’re a fan of Trent's poetic voice and don’t mind a challenging read, you will appreciate what he’s doing here. But it might not be for everyone.
October 6, 2025
Trent Daltons books are like a bougainvilliea, the type that is taking over your carport. The one you need to prune. At first it seems rambling, with tendrils sprouting every which way, and you wonder if it is worth it, should you even continue? But, by the end, it’s become something shining, a welcome patch of sunlight and colour. Its something you will tell your mates about, and something you can pass on to others and take a small piece with you wherever you go. TLDR, well worth it all in the end.
August 30, 2025
Hm, tricky. I know TD is a great writer and a great guy, but I did not care for this main character for most of the book, nor did I overly care for the story line. I kept at it and the last quarter went super crimey in a similar way to how Boy Swallows Universe did. That got me more interested and I stayed up way too late reading because of that, which is a good thing. So it ended up being alright but I really didn’t love it, sorry!
All the Brisbane stuff was fun though 😎
All the Brisbane stuff was fun though 😎
October 10, 2025
(4.5* - got quite insane)
Every Trent Dalton book has gripped me with the tightest, most overwhelming and obsessive hold and this book was no different. The motifs and magical realism elements are just whacky enough to tie together in surprising and genius ways. I can picture the story so vividly although the suspense genuinely spooked me and now I can’t sleep
Every Trent Dalton book has gripped me with the tightest, most overwhelming and obsessive hold and this book was no different. The motifs and magical realism elements are just whacky enough to tie together in surprising and genius ways. I can picture the story so vividly although the suspense genuinely spooked me and now I can’t sleep
October 11, 2025
Trent Dalton’s best. Which is no mean feat given the quality of his previous work. He absolutely bared his soul into this one. It was a privilege to attend the launch at the Powerhouse in New Farm Brisbane
October 9, 2025
Wow I thought Lola in the mirror was good but this was amazing!!
October 8, 2025
Bro talked about his balls so much the first 200 pages I stared to think the anonymous source was his balls 🤔
October 9, 2025
As suspected, this was a typical intelligent and witty thriller. I loved how suspenseful the last 1/4 was diving into the crime narrative, very similar to boy swallows universe. However, this book took you on a wilder ride than that and explored many themes, some realistic and some with hints of magical realism.
I always love how Trent portrays women and children in his books to be clever, strong, wild and independent, and this novel certainly has some of those!!
Sometimes with Trent’s books I feel utterly bored with the paragraphs of saturated analysis and description of SE QLD and Aussie themes, to the point where I feel like I almost dissociate from what’s trying to be painted in my mind (from someone living here). And I have to pin his books down a lil bit because of that (sorry!!).
I always love how Trent portrays women and children in his books to be clever, strong, wild and independent, and this novel certainly has some of those!!
Sometimes with Trent’s books I feel utterly bored with the paragraphs of saturated analysis and description of SE QLD and Aussie themes, to the point where I feel like I almost dissociate from what’s trying to be painted in my mind (from someone living here). And I have to pin his books down a lil bit because of that (sorry!!).
October 12, 2025
Imagine receiving a letter from a serial killer with the salutation, “Hello lemon drop”. Nightmares! As with all Dalton books this begins with many seemingly disparate threads that eventually come together (although this felt more forced than with other stories).
October 12, 2025
Another 5 star read by Dalton. Such great descriptive writing - his imagery is amazing, and felt like you were seeing a lot of Trent in Noah’s character. Great twist that I didn’t see coming.
October 10, 2025
He’s done it again. Part true crime, part love story, part magical realism. Trent Dalton’s writing is so engaging, every sentence has purpose. It was gripping and deep and I inhaled it!
October 5, 2025
Anothor gritty, honest and unique story by Trent Dalton. I went into this blind, purely choosing the book because I'm a fan of Dalton. I was not expecting a mystery/thriller but I was pleasantly surprised.
The character development and relationships were layered and raw.
Noah Cork wasn't the most likeable character, however flawed characters make an interesting story. I nearly shaved off a star for Dalton's pronunciation of the word "gasp" in the audiobook, though we're all flawed in some way.
As with Dalton's other books, it did take me a while to get into the story but once I was there, I was hooked. A stellar book!
The character development and relationships were layered and raw.
Noah Cork wasn't the most likeable character, however flawed characters make an interesting story. I nearly shaved off a star for Dalton's pronunciation of the word "gasp" in the audiobook, though we're all flawed in some way.
As with Dalton's other books, it did take me a while to get into the story but once I was there, I was hooked. A stellar book!
October 6, 2025
I’m not actually sure what I just read, but I enjoyed every minute of this book and devoured it in almost one sitting. This was a rollicking good yarn filled with Trent Dalton’s familiar wit, nuggets of nostalgia and an underlying thread of magical realism. Like Noah Cork I too wanted to know how the story ended and stayed up far too long after my bedtime to find out whodunnit, although this was much more than a crime novel. I loved the quirky characters, empathised with Noah’s distraction and work-focus, chuckled at his spot-on description of life with teenage girls and felt the love weaving this tale together. This one had it all for me.
October 8, 2025
I’m a big TD fan. So while I didn’t care for all aspects of the story I just thought relax and enjoy the writing. Full of humorous parallels and observations of TD’s fellow Australians and the Aussie ways. Also was it just me or was he shining a wee light on how communities and media keep the memories of the missing/murdered alive depending on collective judgments about a person they don’t actually know. As mentioned by the killer in his observations of his research.
October 17, 2025
A departure from his teen protagonists that mostly sticks the landing. There’s some reliance on his tropes—Brisbane and its crime scene, the fervent storms in the final act, a magical realism motif representative of the protagonist’s journey—but it’s always incredibly readable and engaging. I just think that in juxtaposition to his bildungsromans that he crafts so well, this was somewhat more loosely constructed than his prior works.
October 11, 2025
Trent, how do you do it?
Gravity Let Me Go was completely unputdownable! Trent Dalton has this way, with his magical storytelling, of drawing readers into the world he creates from page one and not letting them leave until the last page (and beyond).
I was captivated. Enthralled. Sucked in. Obsessed. There is just something so special about his writing... All the stars!
Gravity Let Me Go was completely unputdownable! Trent Dalton has this way, with his magical storytelling, of drawing readers into the world he creates from page one and not letting them leave until the last page (and beyond).
I was captivated. Enthralled. Sucked in. Obsessed. There is just something so special about his writing... All the stars!
August 24, 2025
4.5 stars
Another great novel from this author. Thanks to publisher for ARC.
Another great novel from this author. Thanks to publisher for ARC.
October 8, 2025
You really never know where the story will take you in a Trent Dalton book and I love that experience every time.
October 8, 2025
Trent has done it again!!! Easily one of my favourite of his books (although let’s be honest I love them all) I can’t wait to read this one again!! Amazing! Brilliant! Beautiful!
October 13, 2025
4.5 🌟 rounded up
did-not-finish
October 14, 2025DNF no rating.
I really wanted to like this book, I persevered to about 1/3 way through, even though I had no idea what was going on.
I really wanted to like this book, I persevered to about 1/3 way through, even though I had no idea what was going on.
October 15, 2025
This book GRIPPED ME as per usual with Trent Dalton’s books - had me on the edge of my seat - well written, whimsical and a bit creepy - loved it !!!!
September 10, 2025
3.5
this Trent Dalton book was very Trent Dalton.
noah cork needed to put a cork in it. he was very insufferable (albiet intentional) but still there were some points in which i contemplated giving up. Plot was interesting and engaging and the overall execution was good - I do enjoy trent's books because they are just. so. brisbane.
this Trent Dalton book was very Trent Dalton.
noah cork needed to put a cork in it. he was very insufferable (albiet intentional) but still there were some points in which i contemplated giving up. Plot was interesting and engaging and the overall execution was good - I do enjoy trent's books because they are just. so. brisbane.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 86 reviews