This House of Grief

by Helen Garner | Nonfiction |
ISBN: 1922079200 Global Overview for this book
Registered by winglmn60wing of Spotswood, Victoria Australia on 1/10/2016
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2 journalers for this copy...
Journal Entry 1 by winglmn60wing from Spotswood, Victoria Australia on Sunday, January 10, 2016
"On the evening of September 4th 2005, Robert Farquharson, a separated husband, was driving his three sons home to their mother, Cindy, when his car left the road and plunged into a dam. The boys, aged ten, seven and two, all drowned. Was this an act of revenge or a tragic accident? In a tale reminiscent of In Cold Blood (1966), Helen Garner decided to reveal every aspect of this complicated and highly emotional case.In this utterly compelling book, Helen Garner tells the story of a man with a broken life and bears witness to an often uncomfortable truth."

This was my 'book of the year' for 2015.
Helen Garner is one of Australia's finest writers and in this work she again gripped me - even though I knew the story and its outcome through extended newspaper coverage here in Melbourne.
This book could be classified as 'True Crime' but in Garner's hands it becomes much more than that. I found myself totally engaged by her account of the trial of Robert Farquharson - and of the individuals involved in the case. At times I cringed; at others I laughed; and at other times I found myself close to tears.
An extraordinary book about 'ordinary' people.

Reviews:
'As involving, heart-rending and unsettling a read as you could possibly find...the deep unease with which one is left, and the feelings of guilt and shame one shares with Garner about taking pleasure from such private grief, are the real legacies of this remarkable book.' --The Sunday Times

'Garner's real focus is not on the verdict but on the inner world of a doomed family. If you liked Truman Capote's In Cold Blood, this is an Australian version, with a full cast of indebted, overweight chain-smoking characters from the wrong side of the tracks. Garner shines a torch into the lives of the kind of Australians we rarely read about or see on film.' -The Independent

'Compassionate and dispassionate in equal measure, Helen Garner takes us into the courtroom and shows a melting-pot of venality. She writes with a profound understanding of human vulnerability, and of the subtle workings of love, memory and remorse' --Intelligent Life Magazine

This book is reserved for the BookObsessed Best of 2015 swap.. and I hope whoever 'wins' it finds it as compelling as I did.

Journal Entry 2 by winglmn60wing at BookObsessed.com, A book trading site -- Controlled Releases on Friday, January 22, 2016

Released 8 yrs ago (1/22/2016 UTC) at BookObsessed.com, A book trading site -- Controlled Releases

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Congratulations on your win!

Hope you enjoy this one!

Journal Entry 3 by CrazyDutchwoman at Heemstede, Noord-Holland Netherlands on Wednesday, February 3, 2016
Thanks. It has been a long time since I last journalled a book here on Bookcrossing.

It looks good.

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