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A review by lovestodancw_81
The Arsonist: A Mind on Fire by Chloe Hooper
3.0
This book detailed the 2009 Australian bush fires that burned 1,100,000 acres, killed 173 people, and a number of animals. It was painful to read about the devastating suffering that people and animals underwent on the last day of their lives.
The culprit, Brendan Sokaluk, turned out to be a person who was later found to be on the autistic scale. Although readers never got a real explanation from Sokaluk, his diagnosis explains a lot about his previous questionable behavior, prior to the bush fires as well as at the police station. I'm on the fence about whether Hooper was going too far to defend his actions or not.
The writing style was sometimes clunky. For example, in a two page span, the author introduced at least one new person in every paragraph and it was very difficult to go back and forth between about 8 different people and remember who they were during reading.
This book was somewhat disappointing because the crime was senseless and Sokaluk didn't provide a reason for his actions. I love a good true crime story and I would recommend a story such as [b:American Fire: Love, Arson, and Life in a Vanishing Land|32191677|American Fire Love, Arson, and Life in a Vanishing Land|Monica Hesse|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1498056365l/32191677._SY75_.jpg|52832564] or [b:The Library Book|39507318|The Library Book|Susan Orlean|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1599591284l/39507318._SY75_.jpg|61126110] , which were much better written.
The culprit, Brendan Sokaluk, turned out to be a person who was later found to be on the autistic scale. Although readers never got a real explanation from Sokaluk, his diagnosis explains a lot about his previous questionable behavior, prior to the bush fires as well as at the police station. I'm on the fence about whether Hooper was going too far to defend his actions or not.
The writing style was sometimes clunky. For example, in a two page span, the author introduced at least one new person in every paragraph and it was very difficult to go back and forth between about 8 different people and remember who they were during reading.
This book was somewhat disappointing because the crime was senseless and Sokaluk didn't provide a reason for his actions. I love a good true crime story and I would recommend a story such as [b:American Fire: Love, Arson, and Life in a Vanishing Land|32191677|American Fire Love, Arson, and Life in a Vanishing Land|Monica Hesse|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1498056365l/32191677._SY75_.jpg|52832564] or [b:The Library Book|39507318|The Library Book|Susan Orlean|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1599591284l/39507318._SY75_.jpg|61126110] , which were much better written.