Review: Lola in the Mirror, Trent Dalton, HarperCollins Publishers (Australia) Pty Ltd
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. The girl doesn’t have a name, that would be too dangerous. Trent Dalton’s Lola in the Mirror was first published in 2023 and received the 2024 Abia Book Literary Fiction Book of the Year. This book contains themes of violence, domestic violence, drug and alcohol abuse, and self-harm.
To put it simply, the protagonist is dealt a terrible hand. She dreams to be a world renowned artist but is forced to run drugs and run from flying bullets. Looking into a cracked mirror the girl finds Lola.
“That mirror of yours might be the most trustworthy thing in your life.”
As Christians, we have a faith in something that is often invisible. That is of course the nature of faith. In this book, the protagonist has faith in Lola, who guides her not by giving her the answers but by being there for her and showing what can be.
The Uniting Church is set apart by its passion for service and social justice. This book perfectly highlights that the inspiration for giving doesn’t need to be reality, fiction has the power to make real change. The author deliberately links every occurrence to real life locations in Brisbane to show how real and prevalent the issues truly are. Additionally, the story is based on true stories that Dalton heard while reporting on homelessness for the Courier Mail Newspaper. It can be shocking while reading the book to remember that these things are really happening, you just need to open your eyes and see.
“For a start, I ain’t homeless, I’m just houseless. Those two things are about as different as resting your head on a silk pillowcase and resting your head on a brick.”
This book is not subtle and can be seen as a romanticisation of houselessness. The protagonist believes that her art is good because of trauma, and Dalton doesn’t leave a whole lot of grey area between good and evil. Both of these messages could be seen as harmful and a simplification of very complicated human experiences.
What stood out the most about this book as a whole was the creative formatting and inclusion of drawings. The protagonist is an artist and is constantly depicting her life in drawings which are presented in the book with a description as if the work is in an art gallery.
“It’s amazing how beneficial it can be looking at your life through the lens of a seventy-year-old Englishman who talks like he’s got a fountain pen wedged up his jacksie.”
This is immensely successful in communicating how she is feeling in those moments, in the purest of forms that is art.
“He has made everything beautiful in its time. Ecclesiastes 3:11 (NIV)
Art is a gift from God that allows us to communicate our deepest fears, joys, anxieties, and dreams. A lot of the subject matter is ugly, but the hidden beauty in these moments truly sets this book apart.
Susy Cornford
