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A review by tricky
The Arsonist: A Mind on Fire by Chloe Hooper
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
5.0
In 2009 two fires were lit deliberately in the LaTrobe Valley, Victoria, the devastation of that single act resulted in the loss of lives and property. Hooper looks at how the police investigated the crime of arson; the impact fire has on the community and the workings of the mind of an arsonist.
Hooper’s book is compelling reading as you are deftly navigated through the police commencing their work to understand where the fire commenced, its path and the outcomes. The stories of those who did and did not survive are heartbreaking. Too often we see numbers on a news headline, 173 dead, over 3,500 structures destroyed, and 450,000 ha burnt. They are big numbers, but Hooper brings in the real damage through the words of the people who were there. It is through their descriptions of the intensity of the heat, lack of visibility, walls of flames, and the speed of what they were facing. Hooper looks at the Australian experience with bushfires and how it is an ongoing legacy of fight to save property or flee to safety. Then Hooper takes an in-depth look at the arsonist responsible for the fires. Following the police investigation, the trial and the aftermath.
This is an incredible piece of writing, it is empathic to all and a masterful piece.
Hooper’s book is compelling reading as you are deftly navigated through the police commencing their work to understand where the fire commenced, its path and the outcomes. The stories of those who did and did not survive are heartbreaking. Too often we see numbers on a news headline, 173 dead, over 3,500 structures destroyed, and 450,000 ha burnt. They are big numbers, but Hooper brings in the real damage through the words of the people who were there. It is through their descriptions of the intensity of the heat, lack of visibility, walls of flames, and the speed of what they were facing. Hooper looks at the Australian experience with bushfires and how it is an ongoing legacy of fight to save property or flee to safety. Then Hooper takes an in-depth look at the arsonist responsible for the fires. Following the police investigation, the trial and the aftermath.
This is an incredible piece of writing, it is empathic to all and a masterful piece.