Lola in the Mirror

By: Trent Dalton

Narrated by: Victoria Graves

Length: 13 hrs and 39 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

SHORTLISTED FOR 2023 DYMOCKS BOOK OF THE YEAR, 2024 INDIE BOOK AWARDS, 2024 AUSTRALIAN BOOK DESIGN AWARDS BEST DESIGNED COMMERCIAL FICTION COVER AND THE 2024 ABIA LITERARY FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR

LONGLISTED FOR THE 2024 BOOKPEOPLE FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR

'Unpredictable, fantastic ... It takes a charged narrative, like Dickens achieves, and as Dalton does too, to reach the heart and the brain - writing that is able to carry both stories, the individual and the political/personal ... To tell you more would spoil this complicated and surprising story. You should read it.' Sydney Morning Herald

'Mirror, mirror, on the grass, what's my future? What's my past?'

A girl and her mother have been on the run for sixteen years, from police and the monster they left in their kitchen with a knife in his throat. They've found themselves a home inside a van with four flat tyres parked in a scrapyard by the edge of the Brisbane River.

The girl has no name because names are dangerous when you're on the run. But the girl has a dream. A vision of a life as an 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 who's waiting for her on the bridge that stretches across a flooding, deadly river. A life 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 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 ever do. She must look in the mirror.

From international bestselling author Trent Dalton, Lola in the Mirror is 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 our past, all our present, and all our possible futures.

'Trent Dalton's third novel reminds me of the 1980s advertising slogan for the author's home state of Queensland: Beautiful one day, perfect the next ... Lola in the Mirror is a bold, big-hearted, hopeful, humorous, dark, reflective, truthful, superbly written novel that confirms Dalton's place in all the shimmering skies (to borrow the title of his second novel) of Australian literature. He is not a rising star but a star full stop.' The Australian

'Wonderful ... An original, heart-thumping novel ... you are right there with the protagonists, feeling and believing every word and every raindrop. It is the type of novel you read filled with pure hope and sorrow for the characters. You want to believe that everything is going to work out just fine, and that there will be dancing, and art, and delight. You won't know until the end, and by that time you, too, are running through the streets, turning the pages, and trusting that love wins.' Readings

'Dalton holds a mirror up to the darkest corners of this Australian life and reveals every bit of beauty, magic and calamity it has to offer.' Booktopia

©2023 Trent Dalton (P)2023 HarperCollins Publishers

wow wow wow

this is a masterpiece. the story alone is brilliant, i "couldnt put it down". but it is really brought alive with this performance. one of the best audio books I have heard. well done

Insightful and breathtaking

Brilliant, tragic and inspiring story. Cry at the extraordinary loss and sadness and cheer on the unrelenting hope and belief in a brighter future without pain, suffering and loss. Who am I?

Honest, true and heartbreaking.

So delicate and charming at the same time, a story which takes you on a sorrowful but uplifting place.

Poetic and gritty. Funny and poignant. Gripping good read.

One of the best performances of a book ever…the characters and Brisbane came alive. Highly recommended