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3.73 AVERAGE
3.73 AVERAGE
3.5 stars for lyrical passages, great characterisation, and some really funny dialogue. Not a solid four star as the author is not always in full control of the plot and the novel is over-populated. This makes the middle part a little flabby and difficult to follow. The ending is sudden and not totally successful. It’s an Australian Chinatown.
The literary equivalent of watching paint dry. No incentive to finish.
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Joe Cashin is a Detective Sergeant from the Major Crime Squad who has been transferred to the small country station in his childhood home town, while he recovers from physical and emotional injuries sustained in an investigation. He lives, with his two poodles, in the only remaining section of the house his grandfather built and then partially destroyed (because he wanted to), and there's something of that streak of building and destroying in his entire family to this day.
When a wealthy, elderly local landholder is found brutally bashed in his home, Joe finds himself dragged reluctantly into the investigation which the local police conveniently decide has to be the work of local Aboriginals boys. There's outright antagonism between the whites and the Aborigines within the town and nobody in the white community seems all that surprised or upset when Aboriginal boys are killed as the police attempt to arrest them on suspicion of the bashing. But the local police seem to have only scratched the surface and Joe and his mates from the larger, Melbourne based crime squad are dragged into the investigation because of the political connections of one of the Aboriginal boys and the bashed man.
This main investigation weaves its way through the lives of Joe; a swaggie who helps to push Joe into decisions about his grandfather's house; and local solicitors and politicians, all of whom are involved in the sorts of secrets that can sometimes remain buried for so long in a small country town.
This is not a book for readers who don't like confrontational writing. The language is strong and pitched perfectly for the characters, their personalities, backgrounds and locations. The characters are starkly drawn and spotlighted so that all their imperfections and virtues are in very clear focus. The landscape contributes to both setting the location of the action and the mood of the characters and events. The mystery is nicely laid out with a final solution which is progressively revealed throughout the story in a way that is fair to the reader. The final outcomes, however, contain a unpredictable twist that prevents the reader from becoming complacent. Peter Temple has a way of writing the Australian story which is stunning in its clarity of vision and its honest, forthright summation of everything that Australia is, or was.
When a wealthy, elderly local landholder is found brutally bashed in his home, Joe finds himself dragged reluctantly into the investigation which the local police conveniently decide has to be the work of local Aboriginals boys. There's outright antagonism between the whites and the Aborigines within the town and nobody in the white community seems all that surprised or upset when Aboriginal boys are killed as the police attempt to arrest them on suspicion of the bashing. But the local police seem to have only scratched the surface and Joe and his mates from the larger, Melbourne based crime squad are dragged into the investigation because of the political connections of one of the Aboriginal boys and the bashed man.
This main investigation weaves its way through the lives of Joe; a swaggie who helps to push Joe into decisions about his grandfather's house; and local solicitors and politicians, all of whom are involved in the sorts of secrets that can sometimes remain buried for so long in a small country town.
This is not a book for readers who don't like confrontational writing. The language is strong and pitched perfectly for the characters, their personalities, backgrounds and locations. The characters are starkly drawn and spotlighted so that all their imperfections and virtues are in very clear focus. The landscape contributes to both setting the location of the action and the mood of the characters and events. The mystery is nicely laid out with a final solution which is progressively revealed throughout the story in a way that is fair to the reader. The final outcomes, however, contain a unpredictable twist that prevents the reader from becoming complacent. Peter Temple has a way of writing the Australian story which is stunning in its clarity of vision and its honest, forthright summation of everything that Australia is, or was.
This book was as good as everyone says. I especially liked that the characters were more compelling than the crime; and the tiny phrases that conjured an image in so few words. "liquorice black poodles". (although I did think that was an unlikely choice of breed for such a man, not ameliorated because the author had one. The only other jarring moment was when he said they 'defecated' whereas his language was much more vernacular'.)
A morality tale for the ages.
A morality tale for the ages.
A quick glance at the rating of other readers for The Broken Shore shows it's a polarising book. For as many of the reads who loved it, there are readers who hated it. I can understand how some readers could dislike this book but I sit on the side of the affirmative. I think this is a great read.
The issue of policing and racism is not uncommon. Last month a similar situation occurred where police fired upon aboriginal teenagers who they felt were endangering the lives of others. This is always an explosive situation and questions about racism are always bought into the mix. It is an emotive subject which gets hijacked by those trying to score political points. We need to take away the agendas from all sides and review the situation based on the facts. (now steps down from the milk crate)
I was expecting the issue of racism to be the main theme in this book so I was blind-sided when the true crime was revealed. I've decided not to discuss this any further in the review as I will need to put a spoiler alert on. Read the book yourself and you decide what you think of it.
For all the darkness in this book it is surprising that the humour survives. Peter Temple has a great understanding of laconic humour. Who else could have used the line: "Clotting power of a lobster"?
The issue of policing and racism is not uncommon. Last month a similar situation occurred where police fired upon aboriginal teenagers who they felt were endangering the lives of others. This is always an explosive situation and questions about racism are always bought into the mix. It is an emotive subject which gets hijacked by those trying to score political points. We need to take away the agendas from all sides and review the situation based on the facts. (now steps down from the milk crate)
I was expecting the issue of racism to be the main theme in this book so I was blind-sided when the true crime was revealed. I've decided not to discuss this any further in the review as I will need to put a spoiler alert on. Read the book yourself and you decide what you think of it.
For all the darkness in this book it is surprising that the humour survives. Peter Temple has a great understanding of laconic humour. Who else could have used the line: "Clotting power of a lobster"?
Quintessentially Australian which I liked. This may not appeal to all readers. I don't often read crime novels as it's not a genre that appeals to me, but this book kept me interested from start to finish.
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is a well above average police novel that takes place in Australia, with Joe Cachin as your aging, cantankerous detective. Pretty dark overall, but also pretty good.
So glad to have stumbled upon Peter Temple's Jack Irish series on Netflix. Now I'm on to the Joe Cashin series and loving it. It's gritty and vulgar and gross in parts but the mystery is totally compelling and Joe is so dry and witty that you can't wait for his next dialogue.
Highly recommended!
Highly recommended!