Joe Cinque's Consolation
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4.4 • 188 Ratings
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- $8.99
Publisher Description
NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE
A true story of death, grief and the law from the 2019 winner of the Australia Council Award for Lifetime Achievement in Literature.
In October 1997 a clever young law student at ANU made a bizarre plan to murder her devoted boyfriend after a dinner party at their house. Some of the dinner guests-most of them university students-had heard rumours of the plan. Nobody warned Joe Cinque. He died one Sunday, in his own bed, of a massive dose of rohypnol and heroin. His girlfriend and her best friend were charged with murder.
Helen Garner followed the trials in the ACT Supreme Court. Compassionate but unflinching, this is a book about how and why Joe Cinque died. It probes the gap between ethics and the law; examines the helplessness of the courts in the face of what we think of as 'evil'; and explores conscience, culpability, and the battered ideal of duty of care.
It is a masterwork from one of Australia's greatest writers.
Winner of the Ned Kelly Award for Best True Crime 2005
Winner of the ABIA Book of the Year 2004
PRAISE FOR JOE CINQUE'S CONSOLATION
"Garner's book is a writer's profound response to a tragedy and to questions about human responsibility over time as well as at precise moments" The Age
"This is a work of great passion and of countervailing humanity - a book of witness..." Australian Book Review
Customer Reviews
Thought provoking
Helen Garner, with razor sharp intellect and keen observation, offers a thoughtful insight into the tragic death of Joe Cinque at the hands of his lover Anu Singh. I struggle to put into words just how powerful this book is. Garner is able to depict the family’s grief, probing deeply into the psyche of those involved. I often had to stop reading in order to try and process the emotions. This is my second Garner non fiction book and I’m keen to read more.
Interesting and riveting
I really enjoyed this book. It kept me riveted and interested.
A great book
Compelling! Read it in 2 days. Can't wait to see the film.