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librarykath's review
Couldn't read it, the violence was too triggering (particularly domestic violence).
archytas's review
4.75
Chloe Hooper writes the hell out of this book. The book feels cool, elegant just as it describes a hot and traumatised island. Her journalistic background shows in the meticulous reportage of events, and yet this story - which I knew well - had me on the edge of my seat like a courtroom drama. Even though I KNEW WHAT HAPPENED. Somehow, Hooper takes you into her world as she sees it unfolding, so you, like her strain with the tension of it. Which is itself odd, because the book is quite detached in tone. Hooper excels at ambiguity, exploring the nooks and crannies of differing perspectives on the same thing. She is, in many ways, very sympathetic to Christopher Hurley, who caused the death of Cameron Doomadgee after arresting him for public drunkenness. Hooper is fascinated by Hurley's friendship with
Murrandoo Yanner. But as the book winds on, and the protective walls of the police and system close around Hurley, leaving Doomadgee and his family out, Hooper's detached façade starts to crack. When she, in a courthouse, is reduced to tears it is a powerful moment, made more so by the understated style, in which Hooper is rarely the lead character.
Hooper's approach to self is one of the things to admire. She resists becoming the story, however, instead focusing her lens on the residents of Palm Island, the judicial and police cast. She is present enough, however, to remind you that she is a white middle-class urban narrator, with an outsiders, not insiders, perspective. That what you are reading are views of people, places and events.
All of this makes it easier to relate the violence and alcohol of Palm Island in a way that resists easy judgement, and doesn't push the reader to moralise. Hooper understands what she can, takes us with her on a learning journey about the impact of Stolen Generations, is ok with leaving things unanswered and people as unknowns.
I didn't always agree with this perspective. Hooper ascribes a kind of nobility to police motivation that I do not, and I would have liked her to explore more the culture of entitlement that has been studied around Australian police forces. The passion with which the police union mobilise to defend Hurley could have used more background to the Queensland Police Force, and its historic relationships with government.
But this book succeeds largely because it never pretends to be all things to all people. It is so detailed, and yet you can't imagine anyone pontificating about "I know all about that because I read the book" afterwards. Groping a little closer towards understanding is perhaps all the Hooper shoots for, and she achieves as much through modelling respectful ignorance as through enlightened reportage.
Murrandoo Yanner. But as the book winds on, and the protective walls of the police and system close around Hurley, leaving Doomadgee and his family out, Hooper's detached façade starts to crack. When she, in a courthouse, is reduced to tears it is a powerful moment, made more so by the understated style, in which Hooper is rarely the lead character.
Hooper's approach to self is one of the things to admire. She resists becoming the story, however, instead focusing her lens on the residents of Palm Island, the judicial and police cast. She is present enough, however, to remind you that she is a white middle-class urban narrator, with an outsiders, not insiders, perspective. That what you are reading are views of people, places and events.
All of this makes it easier to relate the violence and alcohol of Palm Island in a way that resists easy judgement, and doesn't push the reader to moralise. Hooper understands what she can, takes us with her on a learning journey about the impact of Stolen Generations, is ok with leaving things unanswered and people as unknowns.
I didn't always agree with this perspective. Hooper ascribes a kind of nobility to police motivation that I do not, and I would have liked her to explore more the culture of entitlement that has been studied around Australian police forces. The passion with which the police union mobilise to defend Hurley could have used more background to the Queensland Police Force, and its historic relationships with government.
But this book succeeds largely because it never pretends to be all things to all people. It is so detailed, and yet you can't imagine anyone pontificating about "I know all about that because I read the book" afterwards. Groping a little closer towards understanding is perhaps all the Hooper shoots for, and she achieves as much through modelling respectful ignorance as through enlightened reportage.
sharon4d046's review
5.0
An important book. Specifically it examines the death in custody of Cameron Doomadgee but its implications are much broader in terms of Australian history and race relations. Compelling and rich in its attempt to understand tragic events.