ONE OF THE GUARDIAN'S 100 BEST BOOKS OF THE 21ST CENTURY
The New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice • The engrossing true-crime classic from one of Australia’s most acclaimed writers, that follows a man and his broken life, a community wracked by tragedy, and the long and torturous road to closure •"This House of Grief, in its restraint and control, bears comparison with In Cold Blood."—Kate Atkinson, author of Big Sky and Shrines of Gaiety
On the evening of Father’s Day, 2005, separated husband Robert Farquharson was driving his three young sons back to their mom’s house when the car veered off the road and plunged into a dam. Farquharson survived the crash, but his boys drowned. Was this a tragic accident, or an act of revenge? The court case that followed became a national obsession—a macabre parade of witnesses, family members, and the defendant himself, each forced to relive the unthinkable for an audience of millions.
In This House of Grief, celebrated writer Helen Garner tells the definitive and deeply absorbing story of it all, from crash to final verdict. Through a panoply of perspectives, including her own as a member of the public, Garner captures the exacting procedure and brutal spectacle of Australia’s criminal justice system. The result is a richly textured portrait—of a man and his broken life, of a community wracked by tragedy, and of the long and torturous road to closure.
Considered a literary institution in Australia, Helen Garner’s incisive nonfiction evokes the keen eye of the New Journalists. Brisk, candid, and never dismissive of its flawed subjects, This House of Grief is a masterwork of literary journalism.
A W&N Essential with an introduction by Rachel Cooke
Whichever form she's inhabiting, Garner is great company: perceptive, unsparing of others yet also self-questioning. Her books contain details that radiate long after you finish reading them. -- Max Liu ― FINANCIAL TIMES
Garner's writing is taut, compelling and unsentimental, but incredibly moving all the same. I would recommend anything by her, fiction or non fiction. -- Harriet Tyce ― DAILY MAIL
A true-crime classic and literary masterpiece, which examines just what we are capable of and how fiercely we hide it from ourselves. ― Anne Enright
