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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.
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.
438 pages, Paperback
Published October 1, 2025
1097 people are currently reading
3739 people want to read
About the author
Trent Dalton
12 books3,027 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 162 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.
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)
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.
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 8, 2025
Bro talked about his balls so much the first 200 pages I stared to think the anonymous source was his balls 🤔
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.
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
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.
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 22, 2025
Updated review 20/10/2025:
Gravity Let Me Go by Trent Dalton has been my most anticipated release of the year for sure.
As it’s been well established, I’d pretty much read a menu if Trent wrote it 😂🫶
Noah Cork was struggling as a journalist before the scoop of a lifetime landed in his letterbox. The police have shut him out, but nothing is going to stop Noah from telling the truth about Tamsin Fellows gruesome murder, or the trail of clues left for Noah to follow.
Noah is so enraptured by his new book that he’s neglecting the biggest story of all - what is happening in his own home, and why his wife Rita has suddenly stopped speaking.
As Noah attempts to unravel the complexities of his wife, understand his kids and deal with his own potentially slipping sanity, he has to come face to face with the darkest aspects of himself and brace for the coming storm (literally and figuratively).
Yet again, this is another brilliant book by Trent Dalton.
Reading Gravity Let Me Go feels like you’re caught in a storm.
It builds and builds, picking up pace and whizzing around you, before suddenly picking up speed. But then there’s a moment where it’s calm and you think maybe it’s done, but no, you’re in the eye of the storm and it comes back with full force.
At times I didn’t know where it was going to go and if Noah was going realise what he was missing. It really explores how easy it is to get caught up in something and neglect everything else.
As always the magical realism is brilliant and keeps you sitting on the edge of what is real or not.
Clem and Noah’s relationship and interactions are one of the standout parts, I adored every time they were on the page together.
There are times where you want to grab Noah and shake him and explain what is happening, but he needs to work through it and come to the understanding himself.
The story is full of heart and soul, feels raw and deeply personal.
Definitely one I want to reread to uncover even more!
Gravity Let Me Go ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
________________________________________________
Original review 19/10/2025:
IT IS SO GOOD. So good. SO GOOD.
I need a few days to collect my thoughts after that ending.
Gravity Let Me Go by Trent Dalton has been my most anticipated release of the year for sure.
As it’s been well established, I’d pretty much read a menu if Trent wrote it 😂🫶
Noah Cork was struggling as a journalist before the scoop of a lifetime landed in his letterbox. The police have shut him out, but nothing is going to stop Noah from telling the truth about Tamsin Fellows gruesome murder, or the trail of clues left for Noah to follow.
Noah is so enraptured by his new book that he’s neglecting the biggest story of all - what is happening in his own home, and why his wife Rita has suddenly stopped speaking.
As Noah attempts to unravel the complexities of his wife, understand his kids and deal with his own potentially slipping sanity, he has to come face to face with the darkest aspects of himself and brace for the coming storm (literally and figuratively).
Yet again, this is another brilliant book by Trent Dalton.
Reading Gravity Let Me Go feels like you’re caught in a storm.
It builds and builds, picking up pace and whizzing around you, before suddenly picking up speed. But then there’s a moment where it’s calm and you think maybe it’s done, but no, you’re in the eye of the storm and it comes back with full force.
At times I didn’t know where it was going to go and if Noah was going realise what he was missing. It really explores how easy it is to get caught up in something and neglect everything else.
As always the magical realism is brilliant and keeps you sitting on the edge of what is real or not.
Clem and Noah’s relationship and interactions are one of the standout parts, I adored every time they were on the page together.
There are times where you want to grab Noah and shake him and explain what is happening, but he needs to work through it and come to the understanding himself.
The story is full of heart and soul, feels raw and deeply personal.
Definitely one I want to reread to uncover even more!
Gravity Let Me Go ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
________________________________________________
Original review 19/10/2025:
IT IS SO GOOD. So good. SO GOOD.
I need a few days to collect my thoughts after that ending.
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 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 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.
October 23, 2025
Another phenomenal book from Trent Dalton. I’ll admit it, it was a little slow in the first few chapters, but then when I was almost convinced that Daltons unique writing style was gone and he was changing things up, I was about to give up. But I pushed through and thank goodness I did. Because his beautiful writing style is as brilliant as ever. I absolutely devoured it. I could spend my life reading nothing but TD books. I hope he’s got many more in the pipeline because I’ve finished them all! And loved every single one. Including GLMG!!
October 9, 2025
Wow I thought Lola in the mirror was good but this was amazing!!
October 18, 2025
Finished this in a day as I could not put it down. In typical Trent Dalton fashion, it's a little dark, humorous and gritty. Absolutely on par with BSU, in my opinion.
Noah Cork is a journalist. When a true crime scoop lands in his letterbox, he pictures success (and a second bathroom!) but he is then haunted by the subject of his new hit book.
My favourite part of Trent's books are always the musings, almost poetically weaved throughout - on family & marriage in particular for this one.
Noah Cork is a journalist. When a true crime scoop lands in his letterbox, he pictures success (and a second bathroom!) but he is then haunted by the subject of his new hit book.
My favourite part of Trent's books are always the musings, almost poetically weaved throughout - on family & marriage in particular for this one.
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 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 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 18, 2025
A literary, character-driven, atmospheric murder mystery, unlike anything I have read.
‘It is the story of a murder.
It is the story of a marriage.
It is the story of a lifetime.’
This was an incredible audiobook, made even better as it was narrated by Trent Dalton!
‘It is the story of a murder.
It is the story of a marriage.
It is the story of a lifetime.’
This was an incredible audiobook, made even better as it was narrated by Trent Dalton!
October 20, 2025
I binged this in a day (thanks to the flu) and it was as amazing as all of his previous books.Once again Trent Dalton paints such a detailed picture of ordinary suburban life you feel like you are there in the hot, humid and stormy suburbs of Brisbane. The protagonist Noah wasn't likeable but somehow you are dragged along with his mindset, his obsession.My heart was racing by the end of it. I can't write anything else without spoilers, definitely read it!
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 27, 2025
Anything Trent Dalton touches is gold. This book is so captivating you won’t want to put this book down. My favourite author!
October 21, 2025
I just bloody love Dalton and everything that he writes.
Gravity Let Me Go is an incredible Aussie classic, creating a new genre blend of crime fiction and what feels like Dalton’s own rendition of the absurdity of the old Aussie tv show, Round The Twist.
The way that the author interweaves meaningful narrative drawn from life’s experiences with crass humour and a certain Australian magic always has me hanging off every page.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Gravity Let Me Go is an incredible Aussie classic, creating a new genre blend of crime fiction and what feels like Dalton’s own rendition of the absurdity of the old Aussie tv show, Round The Twist.
The way that the author interweaves meaningful narrative drawn from life’s experiences with crass humour and a certain Australian magic always has me hanging off every page.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
October 16, 2025
It took me a little while to get into this one (could’ve been because of family staying with me!) but by the end I didn’t want to finish. I cared so deeply about the MC and his family, his neighbours, and every single character that appeared along the way. They were also so vivid and real I felt like I knew them.
Trent Dalton is THE Australian writer of a generation. Hope he never stops.
Trent Dalton is THE Australian writer of a generation. Hope he never stops.
October 26, 2025
5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Vibes: Raw Emotion, Suburban Magic, Brisbane Grit
- - -
Trent Dalton is a magician. End of review.
(Just kidding… but seriously, he is magic.)
Trent’s way with words is nothing short of spellbinding. As he perfectly puts it, when you find a good story ‘you get the hots for it’ and I have the hots for Gravity Let Me Go.
Despite the online buzz, I managed to avoid all spoilers and blurbs and went into this one completely blind and what a ride it turned out to be.
After loving Trent’s previous novels, I was surprised and delighted to find this one taking an entirely different turn. The familiar suburban Brisbane backstreets make a return, but this time they’re wrapped around a murder mystery and a sprinkle of the unexpected (even internet chat threads which I am seeing pop up in more and more books).
The writing is gritty and lyrical all at once with vivid descriptions, deeply human characters and that signature Trent Dalton rhythm that somehow feels both chaotic and heartbreakingly beautiful. He has this rare gift of turning background characters into key players, weaving them seamlessly into the fabric of the story until you can’t imagine it without them.
There’s also a touch of magical realism which usually isn’t my thing but Trent makes it work so effortlessly. He uses it to amplify emotion rather than distract from it. I mean, who else could make crowbars feel like a symbol of love and completely pull it off?!
Gravity Let Me Go is my favourite Trent Dalton novel so far. It’s bold, tender and wildly original. If you’ve never read his work before I definitely recommend starting with this one.
Vibes: Raw Emotion, Suburban Magic, Brisbane Grit
- - -
Trent Dalton is a magician. End of review.
(Just kidding… but seriously, he is magic.)
Trent’s way with words is nothing short of spellbinding. As he perfectly puts it, when you find a good story ‘you get the hots for it’ and I have the hots for Gravity Let Me Go.
Despite the online buzz, I managed to avoid all spoilers and blurbs and went into this one completely blind and what a ride it turned out to be.
After loving Trent’s previous novels, I was surprised and delighted to find this one taking an entirely different turn. The familiar suburban Brisbane backstreets make a return, but this time they’re wrapped around a murder mystery and a sprinkle of the unexpected (even internet chat threads which I am seeing pop up in more and more books).
The writing is gritty and lyrical all at once with vivid descriptions, deeply human characters and that signature Trent Dalton rhythm that somehow feels both chaotic and heartbreakingly beautiful. He has this rare gift of turning background characters into key players, weaving them seamlessly into the fabric of the story until you can’t imagine it without them.
There’s also a touch of magical realism which usually isn’t my thing but Trent makes it work so effortlessly. He uses it to amplify emotion rather than distract from it. I mean, who else could make crowbars feel like a symbol of love and completely pull it off?!
Gravity Let Me Go is my favourite Trent Dalton novel so far. It’s bold, tender and wildly original. If you’ve never read his work before I definitely recommend starting with this one.
October 29, 2025
So good to have a new Trent Dalton novel to enjoy! Noah is a journalist, living with his wife and daughters in the Brisbane suburb of Jubilee and when the book opens he is about to launch his first book, an unsolved true crime story about a local woman, Tamsin, who disappeared and was later found to be murdered. The idea for the book came when Noah received an anonymous note in his letter box, beginning a quest for truth that has continued beyond the publishing of his book. His obsession with Tamsin has affected his marriage and the local police want nothing to do with him. And yet while the killer is still out there, Noah can't stop investigating, even when things get really dangerous. Noah is a likable yet flawed character, with a tendency to self-depreciating humour. This is one of those books that you never want to finish and yet you can't stop reading. Well written and fast paced, highly recommended.
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.
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