This House of Grief

This House of Grief: The Story of a Murder Trial
Author Helen Garner
Country Australia
Language English
Genre True crime
Publisher Text Publishing
Publication date
 2014-08-20
Pages 288
ISBN 978-1-92207920-6

This House of Grief is a 2014 non-fiction work by Helen Garner.[1] Subtitled "The story of a murder trial", its subject matter is the murder conviction of a man accused of driving his car into a dam resulting in the deaths of his three children in rural Victoria, Australia.[2] The book has been critically lauded, with The Australian declaring it a literary "masterpiece".[3]

Background

On 4 September 2005 a car driven by Robert Farquharson left the road and crashed into a dam, resulting in the deaths of his three sons. A year prior to the incident, Farquharson's wife had left him for another man, and taken their children, who he had access to on weekends or special occasions. He was convicted of their murder on 5 October 2007.[4] Farquharson appealed the decision, and on 17 December 2009 the conviction was set aside and a new trial ordered.[5][6] The retrial commenced on 4 May 2010 before Justice Lex Lasry QC. The jury retired to consider their verdict on 19 July 2010 after hearing 11 weeks of evidence and argument. On 22 July, after three days of deliberation, the second jury again found Farquharson guilty of murder. On 15 October 2010 he was sentenced to life imprisonment with a 33-year minimum.

Writing

Epigram

The epigram to the book is "this treasury of pain, this house of power and grief", a quotation from Hungarian poet Dezső Kosztolányi's Kornél Esti. The epigram is directed to the Supreme Court of Victoria.[7]

Critical reception

Garner takes us into the courtroom and shows us a melting pot of venality. She writes with a profound understanding of human vulnerability, and of the subtle workings of love, memory and remorse.

– The Economist

The book received critical praise. In The Monthly, Ramona Koval wrote that the work was "devastating, utterly compelling".[8] In an essay in "The Conversation" website the writer was of the opinion that Garner "fails to address the broader issues of gender inequality and male violence".[9] In The Australian, Peter Craven wrote that the book was "some kind of masterpiece and Garner creates, moment by moment, with a breathtaking suspension of judgment, the whirlwind that blows across every corner of this story like a hard rain that comes with the force of a desolation, sparing nothing."[2] Craven also noted that Garner had previously written about legal cases as "an old hand at using a novelist’s technique to create a pointillist image of a trial" in The First Stone and Joe Cinque's Consolation.[2] In UK daily newspaper The Guardian Kate Clanchy wrote, "[…] the whole book feels final, elegiac – perhaps because for all the horror, it is so elegantly and calmly written; perhaps because This House of Grief completes so many arcs begun in Garner's previous works; perhaps because it is impossible to imagine it being done better".[10]

Various critics noted the similarities between This House of Grief and Truman Capote's In Cold Blood: Kate Atkinson wrote "Helen Garner is an invaluable guide into harrowing territory and offers powerful and unforgettable insights. This House of Grief, in its restraint and control, bears comparison with In Cold Blood", while Eileen Battersby, writing for the Irish Times said: "Helen Garner’s account of the trial is a non-literary variation of Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood".[11] The Atlantic gave a positive review, writing: "[Garner] doesn’t merely listen. She watches, imagines, second-guesses, empathises, agonises. Her voice—intimate yet sharp, wry yet urgent—inspires trust."[7]

Awards and nominations

References

  1. ↑ Woodhead, Cameron (29 August 2014). "Drama in the dark deeds of the human heart". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 26 September 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 Peter Craven (23 August 2014). "Robert Farquharson murder case takes Helen Garner into the abyss". The Australian. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 26 September 2014.
  3. ↑ Romei, Stephen (1 August 2015). "This House of Grief an uneasy masterpiece". The Australian. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
  4. ↑ "Farquharson found guilty of dam murder". Lateline. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 5 October 2007. Retrieved 27 September 2014.
  5. ↑ Donovan, Samantha (17 December 2009). "Farquharson to be re-tried". PM (ABC Radio). Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 27 September 2014.
  6. ↑ "R v Farquharson [2009] VSCA 307 (17 December 2009)". Australasian Legal Information Institute. Retrieved 27 September 2014.
  7. 1 2 Helen Garner (20 August 2014). This House of Grief. Text Publishing. ISBN 9781921961434. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
  8. ↑ Ramona Koval (September 2014). "'This House of Grief' by Helen Garner". The Monthly. Schwartz Publishing. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
  9. ↑ Thompson, Jay Daniel (29 October 2014). "Garner’s This House of Grief ducks some hard questions". The Conversation. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
  10. ↑ Clanchy, Kate (9 January 2016). "This House of Grief: The Story of a Murder Trial by Helen Garner". The Guardian, Review section. London. p. 7. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
  11. ↑ "This House of Grief: The Story of a Murder Trial". Amazon.com. 13 July 2017. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
  12. ↑ Australian Crime Writers - 2015 Ned Kelly Award Winners
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