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hickey_mt 's review for:
The Tall Man: Death and Life on Palm Island
by Chloe Hooper
In this exploration of the events behind the death of Cameron Mulrunji Doomadgee on Palm Island (and the subsequent trial of Sgt Christopher Hurley for the death), Chloe Hooper reveals a clear personal bias. It's not a deliberate disclosure per se, but her personal revelations are clear enough for a critical reader to appreciate that this account is not an academic or objective one.
Hooper delivers some really interesting insights into the cultural history of Queensland aborigines and also provides some compelling behind the scenes accounts of the legal team representing the family of Doomadgee in the coronial inquest.
Reading this book I couldn't help but appreciate that the social problems white man has created (whether intentionally or inadvertently) are serious and generationally entrenched.
It's easy from the relative comfort of a suburban capital city to judge the police as described in this book, the aborigines, and the racist survey responses from Townsville drawn out in anticipation of the trial, but the reality of life in the places described is one that I don't live - and hope I never need to.
If you're looking for a story to be told by a clearly left-leaning liberal with a healthy dose of aboriginal history told through nifty use of literary metaphor, you'll probably enjoy this book (as I did). However, if you're interested in a critical analysis of the circumstances of life on Palm Island, the events of Mulrunji's death and the legal issues inherent in Hurley's pre-trial and trial, then you're likely to be left disappointed (as I was here).
To clarify - Hooper's work is highly commendable, for what it is... I suppose I'd like to read a book that's a little more academic and a little less literature to satisfy my need for critical reason over emotive narration
Hooper delivers some really interesting insights into the cultural history of Queensland aborigines and also provides some compelling behind the scenes accounts of the legal team representing the family of Doomadgee in the coronial inquest.
Reading this book I couldn't help but appreciate that the social problems white man has created (whether intentionally or inadvertently) are serious and generationally entrenched.
It's easy from the relative comfort of a suburban capital city to judge the police as described in this book, the aborigines, and the racist survey responses from Townsville drawn out in anticipation of the trial, but the reality of life in the places described is one that I don't live - and hope I never need to.
If you're looking for a story to be told by a clearly left-leaning liberal with a healthy dose of aboriginal history told through nifty use of literary metaphor, you'll probably enjoy this book (as I did). However, if you're interested in a critical analysis of the circumstances of life on Palm Island, the events of Mulrunji's death and the legal issues inherent in Hurley's pre-trial and trial, then you're likely to be left disappointed (as I was here).
To clarify - Hooper's work is highly commendable, for what it is... I suppose I'd like to read a book that's a little more academic and a little less literature to satisfy my need for critical reason over emotive narration