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A Child's Book Of True Crime: Library Edition
Tasmanian schoolteacher Kate Byrne is having an affair with the father of her most gifted fourth grader, Lucien. Her lover's wife has just published Murder at Black Swan Point, a true-crime story about the brutal slaying of a young adulteress in a nearby town. Kate herself has become so obsessed with the murder and so convinced that the published account has it all wrong that she sets about writing her own version -- this one for children, narrated by Australian animals. Though Lucien's father brings Kate to life sexually in encounters of escalating eroticism, he cannot dull her obsession. Fixated on the crime of passion, Kate is becoming less and less aware of the present and of how her behavior may align her fate with that of the dead girl. Chloe Hooper chillingly captures this young woman's unraveling in an intense, witty, superbly crafted novel.
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First published March 5, 2002
About the author
Chloe Hooper
14 books226 followersChloe Hooper is an Australian author. Her first novel, A Child’s Book of True Crime (2002), was short-listed for the Orange Prize for Literature and was a New York Times Notable Book. In 2005, she turned to reportage and the next year won a Walkley Award for her writing on the death in custody of Cameron Doomadgee on Palm Island, an Aboriginal community off the north-east coast of Australia. The Tall Man: Death and Life on Palm Island (2008) is a non-fiction account of the 2004 Palm Island death in custody case.
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"'The unfortunate truth of true crime,' he admitted, 'is that, often, there is no ending.'"
Don’t be fooled by these cute animals on the cover. A Child's Book of True Crime is a story about a woman obsessed with a graphic murder. Sort of.
The protagonist is a grade school teacher named Kate who’s having an affair with her student Lucien’s father. Lucien’s mother recently published a book called Murder at Black Swan Point, a true crime story about the brutal slaying of an adulteress, set in a nearby town.
When Lucien starts using his crayons to draw violent images from his mother’s book, Kate worries Lucien knows too much about the disturbing murder.
Kate becomes obsessed with the Black Swan Point murder and begins drawing parallels between what happened to the slain adulteress and her affair with Lucien’s father.
She starts reimagining what happened in the Black Swan Point murder and rewrites the whole case as a children’s book with Australian animals as characters, which features in The Child's Book of True Crime and is accompanied by Lucien’s drawings.
This is a book of speculation and increasing paranoia. The ending felt rushed and difficult to believe, but I appreciate Hooper's playful approach to telling this story. I can't think of any other book I've read that does the same thing.
"'The unfortunate truth of true crime,' he admitted, 'is that, often, there is no ending.'"
Don’t be fooled by these cute animals on the cover. A Child's Book of True Crime is a story about a woman obsessed with a graphic murder. Sort of.
The protagonist is a grade school teacher named Kate who’s having an affair with her student Lucien’s father. Lucien’s mother recently published a book called Murder at Black Swan Point, a true crime story about the brutal slaying of an adulteress, set in a nearby town.
When Lucien starts using his crayons to draw violent images from his mother’s book, Kate worries Lucien knows too much about the disturbing murder.
Kate becomes obsessed with the Black Swan Point murder and begins drawing parallels between what happened to the slain adulteress and her affair with Lucien’s father.
She starts reimagining what happened in the Black Swan Point murder and rewrites the whole case as a children’s book with Australian animals as characters, which features in The Child's Book of True Crime and is accompanied by Lucien’s drawings.
This is a book of speculation and increasing paranoia. The ending felt rushed and difficult to believe, but I appreciate Hooper's playful approach to telling this story. I can't think of any other book I've read that does the same thing.
November 15, 2020
A gothic fever-dream, filled with sex, murder and paranoia - I couldn't put it down.
April 18, 2022
Kate, a teacher, is having an affair with the father of one of her students. Meanwhile, his wife, a writer, has just published a popular and controversial book about a local murder that took place in the 1980s. Kate, identifying eerie similarities between the murder story and her own situation, becomes increasingly disturbed and paranoid, existing in a state in which every detail seems loaded with significance. A Child’s Book of True Crime is strong on atmosphere – Hooper is fantastic at subtle suspense and the intricacies of thought and emotion (a scene in which Kate thinks she’s about to be assaulted seethes with tension; her observations of children are razor-sharp). Its weakness are the scenes depicting any kind of direct confrontation, which often seem to feature odd changes of direction/tone or weirdly anticlimactic moments. But the writing at the sentence level is so good and unusual and original that it’s still firmly in ‘hard to believe this is a first novel’ territory (though it’s not as good as Hooper’s second, the brilliant – and underrated – The Engagement). I’m sorry Hooper hasn’t written more fiction, and I love her style so much I’m actually tempted to read her true-crime books, even though I’m not a big fan of that genre.
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June 21, 2020
3.75 Stars - Superb concept, that has a few small lapses in judgement but a debut novel that resonates & that is striking in its prose without doubt.
January 11, 2008
You know, there were bits of writing in this that were so good, so terribly, terribly good it was such a shame this ended up being such a crap novel.
And it could have been fixed so easily. The main character was the problem - there is a lesson here - don't make the thickest person in the book your central character - particularly if you are going to make her the narrator.
I’m going to spoil this book for you now, so stop reading this if you are going to read it.
The story is about a young woman who is a school teacher and she falls in love with a man who is much more experienced than she is and they begin an increasingly dangerous affair (he is getting older and needs to prove his manhood) – all of the danger is on her behalf, of course, as really he is toying with her for sex. She’s twenty or something and feeling very grown up in this very grown up relationship.
Meanwhile, there is the wife of the man she is having the affair with who is writing a history of a murder that happened in this place (which just happens to be Port Arthur – spare us) and that involved a young woman dying after having an affair with the husband of a rather jealous wife.
You know, if this book had been written from the perspective of the wife writing the history it would have been a really interesting novel – written from the perspective of the young woman I just kept thinking, “No, please don’t make her say something dumb again – not again, please!”
Which is really a pity, as this woman can really write. I’m looking forward to her next novel, which I think will probably be much, much better. That novel might already exist – I must look.
And it could have been fixed so easily. The main character was the problem - there is a lesson here - don't make the thickest person in the book your central character - particularly if you are going to make her the narrator.
I’m going to spoil this book for you now, so stop reading this if you are going to read it.
The story is about a young woman who is a school teacher and she falls in love with a man who is much more experienced than she is and they begin an increasingly dangerous affair (he is getting older and needs to prove his manhood) – all of the danger is on her behalf, of course, as really he is toying with her for sex. She’s twenty or something and feeling very grown up in this very grown up relationship.
Meanwhile, there is the wife of the man she is having the affair with who is writing a history of a murder that happened in this place (which just happens to be Port Arthur – spare us) and that involved a young woman dying after having an affair with the husband of a rather jealous wife.
You know, if this book had been written from the perspective of the wife writing the history it would have been a really interesting novel – written from the perspective of the young woman I just kept thinking, “No, please don’t make her say something dumb again – not again, please!”
Which is really a pity, as this woman can really write. I’m looking forward to her next novel, which I think will probably be much, much better. That novel might already exist – I must look.
March 3, 2016
'Precocious' is the word that springs to mind. The protagonist of A Child's Book of True Crime, a 22-year-old ingénue who splits her time between teaching schoolchildren and sleeping with a married man, is certainly precocious.
The themes of the novel, too, are precocious -- often delightfully so. True Crime delves into the uneasy (and not-at-all-distant) past of the Australian island of Tasmania, where former jails (and scenes of horrific torture) are now fudge factories and tourist attractions. In addition, Chloe Hooper's attempts to unravel the age-old triad of a wife, a husband, and his mistress are often compelling. She paints a particularly vivid portrait of protagonist Kate's over-the-top sexuality, which frequently shifts into a queasy childishness.
But the novel's precociousness ultimately becomes wearing. Between the gimmicky conceit -- Kate imagines a children's book, featuring laughing kookaburras, about a grisly true crime case -- and the constant pseudo-philosophical musings, it's a book that strives to be cleverer than it is. It's prone, too, to first-novel-itis: the narrative too often drifting into long, descriptive passages that add little to the story; a persistent failure to draw tension out of scenes that should've been tense; finishing with more of a dot-dot-dot than a real ending. My biggest criticism of True Crime is that it simply lacks clarity; I genuinely found it hard to follow in places.
I should note that I read Chloe Hooper's later novel, The Engagement, and absolutely loved it. However, as a result, it's difficult not to read True Crime as the messy prototype for that novel. Hooper has it in her to write a truly good novel that blends Australia's cultural identity with a female protagonist's discovery of her own sexual identity. This just ain't it.
I'm glad an editor saw enough in Hooper's writing to give her a shot, but as a reader, I suggest skipping this one and reading The Engagement instead.
The themes of the novel, too, are precocious -- often delightfully so. True Crime delves into the uneasy (and not-at-all-distant) past of the Australian island of Tasmania, where former jails (and scenes of horrific torture) are now fudge factories and tourist attractions. In addition, Chloe Hooper's attempts to unravel the age-old triad of a wife, a husband, and his mistress are often compelling. She paints a particularly vivid portrait of protagonist Kate's over-the-top sexuality, which frequently shifts into a queasy childishness.
But the novel's precociousness ultimately becomes wearing. Between the gimmicky conceit -- Kate imagines a children's book, featuring laughing kookaburras, about a grisly true crime case -- and the constant pseudo-philosophical musings, it's a book that strives to be cleverer than it is. It's prone, too, to first-novel-itis: the narrative too often drifting into long, descriptive passages that add little to the story; a persistent failure to draw tension out of scenes that should've been tense; finishing with more of a dot-dot-dot than a real ending. My biggest criticism of True Crime is that it simply lacks clarity; I genuinely found it hard to follow in places.
I should note that I read Chloe Hooper's later novel, The Engagement, and absolutely loved it. However, as a result, it's difficult not to read True Crime as the messy prototype for that novel. Hooper has it in her to write a truly good novel that blends Australia's cultural identity with a female protagonist's discovery of her own sexual identity. This just ain't it.
I'm glad an editor saw enough in Hooper's writing to give her a shot, but as a reader, I suggest skipping this one and reading The Engagement instead.
April 16, 2012
This is more 2.5 stars than 3. I found this book quite difficult to get into, mostly because the characters were not particularly likeable and I struggled to find any empathy for the protaganist. It picked up towards the end and became quite a good study in obsession and paranoia but then didn't really take that anywhere. I also took issue with an Australian author continuously referring to a koala as a bear. It was my understanding that that the intention behind those parts of the book was that they were written for children, not by children. The author should have known better, or else it should have been picked up during the editing process.
December 5, 2008
This is an uneasy story of a young woman who is teaching in a secluded Tasmanian township. She is having an affair with the father of one of her students, and as the story progresses, gradually seems to become unravelled as she obsesses about an earlier crime; the murder of a young adultress, that is being written about by the wife of her lover. Kate, the main character, seems to imagine the story as told by Australian animals as a children's story. As the story continues, she becomes less and less concerned with her reputation. She seems focussed and sane only when relating to her students, who are her real concern, but one feels she is somewhat of a child herself. Confusing? Definitely. But I think that is the intention. I found myself fully involved with the story, and consequently disorientated and giddy, as the mystery was not only whodunnit, but did it happen, will it happen, and is it even real? There is a compelling sense of the sinister, as things seem brightly sunlit, yet one feels all is not well. I read this story some years ago, yet it still haunts me.
March 27, 2012
A very atmospheric novel, which left a taste of tasmania and a feeling of threat every time I put it down. I loved how the main plot intertwined with that of a previous murder, so much so that I sometimes seemed to forget whether it was written in the 1st or 3rd person. I really enjoyed how the world is seen repeatedly through adult's and children's eyes and how those visions reverse the stereotypical representations of childhood innocence. Not five stars because there was something that did not feel right, something missing and I can't quite say what. Maybe the parts with the animals seemed a bit too awkward because not developed enough in between chapters?
July 22, 2022
Not sure why I bought this book. But it was a long time ago, that’s my excuse.
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May 17, 2020I haven't read enough books set in Tasmania. Felt the shadow of Port Arthur, where the schoolchildren visit for an excursion - it's intentionally set in 1995, the year before the massacre. Kept me hooked as an audio book while exercising, and there's flashes of the beautiful prose I love in Hooper's later non-fiction. The intertwinement of themes (classroom philosophy sessions with children / ethics of writing true crime / sexual double standards) is impressive, though a little forced.
June 28, 2021
Stunning like a slap in the face. I could not stop reading. Chloe Hooper is one hell of a writer.
I don't understand how this book is rated 3 stars. It is incredible. I could immediately reread it to pick apart all of the layers. I love an unreliable narrator and she is very unreliable. The feverish paranoia, the highwire tension of the interractions...lush, appallingly lush.
Excellent. I wish I had written this
I don't understand how this book is rated 3 stars. It is incredible. I could immediately reread it to pick apart all of the layers. I love an unreliable narrator and she is very unreliable. The feverish paranoia, the highwire tension of the interractions...lush, appallingly lush.
Excellent. I wish I had written this
October 5, 2009
I think this book started out really well, it was so interesting and original. However, I think about 2/3s of the way through it gets annoying... I almost couldn't be bothered finishing it. The main character gets so confused and messy in her head, its just annoying.
October 12, 2012
This was a strange little book. Read it for literature, still trying to digest it.
November 28, 2019
I liked the cover of the book. I have the hardcover published in Australia by Knopf. Unfortunately was not enamored by the content.
March 18, 2023
Another review I read for this book said it was a practice run for The Long Engagement. I can sympathise with that viewpoint: it has the same creepy feeling you get when you start to realise your narrator is not so very reliable. There's also a similar gothic atmosphere.
I don't know that I agree with the reviewers saying the protagonist is stupid and says dumb things. Kate Byrne reveals herself to be somewhat delusional and obsessed, while also admitting a certain youth and naivety, emphasised by the interleavened 'story for children' woven into the text. It's an interesting character study, certainly.
There is no doubt Hooper is a talented prose artist, but I do get the feeling she is exploring her material in search of something bigger and better. We shall see.
I don't know that I agree with the reviewers saying the protagonist is stupid and says dumb things. Kate Byrne reveals herself to be somewhat delusional and obsessed, while also admitting a certain youth and naivety, emphasised by the interleavened 'story for children' woven into the text. It's an interesting character study, certainly.
There is no doubt Hooper is a talented prose artist, but I do get the feeling she is exploring her material in search of something bigger and better. We shall see.
November 24, 2023
I could not put this book down! I was shocked to see it only have 2.95 rating. I'm not sure what book they were reading. Chloe's writing reminds me a lot of Ottessa Moshfegh's style.
February 27, 2023
I bought it for the title and the cover. And that's all it's good for LOL
May 25, 2021
Macabre and filled with malice, this is a magnificent meditation on all manners of murder.
October 2, 2017
"Märchen eine wahren Mordes" ist eine Geschichte, die mich sehr verwirrt hat. Auf den ersten Blick ist die Handlung klar umrissen - Kate, die Ich-Erzählerin, hat eine Affäre mit einem verheirateten Mann, dessen Frau Veronica Schriftstellerin ist und ein Buch über einen Mord geschrieben hat, dessen Umstände einige Parallelen zum Leben der Protagonistin. Aus diesem Grund macht sie sich Sorgen, dass Veronica ihr nach dem Leben trachten und sie ermorden könnte, so wie es dem Opfer in dem Buch ergangen ist. Je mehr die Handlung voranschreitet, desto offensichtlicher wird für den Leser, dass die Situation nicht so einfach ist, wie es sich aus Kates Sicht darstellt. Ist sie einfach nur paranoid und verliert ihren Halt in der Realität? Oder ist sie wirklich in Gefahr? Wenn ja, wer ist darin verwickelt? Diese Fragen waren es, die das Buch für mich interessant gemacht haben, und der Autorin ist es gut gelungen, die Spannung aufrecht zu erhalten. Dies wird dadurch verstärkt, dass Kate von Beginn an klar ein unzuverlässiger Erzähler ist und keinen vollständigen Einblick in die Situation hat, sodass man versuchen muss, selbst die Hinweise und Andeutungen zusammen zu setzen, was ich interessant fand.
Trotzdem ist es mir manchmal schwer gefallen, der Geschichte zu folgen. Die Autorin kombiniert hier die Einblicke in Kates Gedanken mit der Geschichte eines Modes und Ausschnitte in das 'Kinderbuch', das Kate darüber schreibt, miteinander, was bei mir zu Verwirrungen geführt hat. Die Narrative wird schnell unübersichtlich, da Kate in ihren Gedanken hin und her springt. Als Erzählart fand ich dies realistisch, doch sobald die Protagonistin anfängt, immer mehr über den wahren Mord zu sinnieren und ihre eigene Situation damit gleichzusetzen und sich in die Rolle des Opfers zu denken, war für mich nicht immer deutlich, was wirklich passiert und was nur in ihrer Fantasie oder den Erzählungen stattgefunden hat. Das macht "Märchen eines wahren Mordes" definitiv zu einem anspruchsvollen Buch, auf das man sich voll und ganz konzentrieren muss.
Die Charaktere selbst sind nicht unbedingt sympathisch, die Hauptperson eingeschlossen, aber Hooper hat alle sehr realistisch dargestellt und schonungslos ihre Schwächen beleuchtet. Alle sind irgendwie verkorkst. Kate selbst hat einige eher negative Eigenschaften und auch ihr Handeln ist keineswegs perfekt, was sich schon daran zeigt, dass sie eine Affäre mit dem Vater eines Schülers hat. Diese Punkte spricht die Autorin ganz direkt an und der Leser bekommt einige unbequeme Details, die meiner Meinung nach nicht nötig waren, aber zum Ton der Geschichte insgesamt passen.
Insgesamt hat mir das Buch ganz gut gefallen. Dadurch, dass es so direkt und offen alle Schattenseiten der Charaktere aufdeckt und auch ihr Handeln nicht beschönigt, ist es mir nicht leicht gefallen, eine Verbindung zu ihnen aufzubauen, und die komplizierte Narrative hat mich mehr als einmal irritiert. Davon abgesehen fand ich aber die Handlung sehr interessant und ich war gespannt, mehr über den Mord und Kates Schicksal zu erfahren. Die Parallelen und auch die Reaktionen der Protagonistin auf diese waren sehr gut ausgearbeitet, weshalb die Geschichte mich trotz allem fesseln konnte. Deshalb vergebe ich 3,5/5 Sternen.
Trotzdem ist es mir manchmal schwer gefallen, der Geschichte zu folgen. Die Autorin kombiniert hier die Einblicke in Kates Gedanken mit der Geschichte eines Modes und Ausschnitte in das 'Kinderbuch', das Kate darüber schreibt, miteinander, was bei mir zu Verwirrungen geführt hat. Die Narrative wird schnell unübersichtlich, da Kate in ihren Gedanken hin und her springt. Als Erzählart fand ich dies realistisch, doch sobald die Protagonistin anfängt, immer mehr über den wahren Mord zu sinnieren und ihre eigene Situation damit gleichzusetzen und sich in die Rolle des Opfers zu denken, war für mich nicht immer deutlich, was wirklich passiert und was nur in ihrer Fantasie oder den Erzählungen stattgefunden hat. Das macht "Märchen eines wahren Mordes" definitiv zu einem anspruchsvollen Buch, auf das man sich voll und ganz konzentrieren muss.
Die Charaktere selbst sind nicht unbedingt sympathisch, die Hauptperson eingeschlossen, aber Hooper hat alle sehr realistisch dargestellt und schonungslos ihre Schwächen beleuchtet. Alle sind irgendwie verkorkst. Kate selbst hat einige eher negative Eigenschaften und auch ihr Handeln ist keineswegs perfekt, was sich schon daran zeigt, dass sie eine Affäre mit dem Vater eines Schülers hat. Diese Punkte spricht die Autorin ganz direkt an und der Leser bekommt einige unbequeme Details, die meiner Meinung nach nicht nötig waren, aber zum Ton der Geschichte insgesamt passen.
Insgesamt hat mir das Buch ganz gut gefallen. Dadurch, dass es so direkt und offen alle Schattenseiten der Charaktere aufdeckt und auch ihr Handeln nicht beschönigt, ist es mir nicht leicht gefallen, eine Verbindung zu ihnen aufzubauen, und die komplizierte Narrative hat mich mehr als einmal irritiert. Davon abgesehen fand ich aber die Handlung sehr interessant und ich war gespannt, mehr über den Mord und Kates Schicksal zu erfahren. Die Parallelen und auch die Reaktionen der Protagonistin auf diese waren sehr gut ausgearbeitet, weshalb die Geschichte mich trotz allem fesseln konnte. Deshalb vergebe ich 3,5/5 Sternen.
April 7, 2025
Review published in the New Zealand Herald, 4 January 2003
This debut novel by a young Australian has received glowing reviews overseas and was shortlisted for the Orange Prize. Compelling yet disturbing, A Child's Book of True Crime is definitely an adult read.
The plot has several overlapping strands. The central story is about a 22-year-old teacher, Kate, who has embarked on an affair with Thomas, the father of her brightest student. Alongside this is the story of Ellie, another young woman who had an affair with a married man, and was brutally murdered. Apart from the obvious parallel between the two women there is another link: Thomas' wife has written a book about the murder. Kate dwells on Ellie's death and wonders if she herself may suffer a similar fate. Thomas laughs it off, but some strange events occur – has someone got it in for Kate, or does she merely have an overactive imagination?
The most original device in the book is a bushland gang of animals who act as detectives solving the mystery of Ellie's murder. The crew, including Kitty Koala, Wally Wombat and others, provide some light relief from the occasionally turgid tale. In the classroom, Kate encourages philosophical thinking in her nine-year-olds, such as what is right and wrong, and the existence of God. Her young charges study extinct Australian animals, and the animals in turn study humans with an ironic eye.
The author has used the setting of Tasmania to great advantage. There's a wildness and freedom about the remote location but also destruction and control, with a backdrop of genocide, animal extinctions, convict history, and the stifling small town atmosphere.
Of all the characters, we get the most insight into Kate's personality, as the story is told from her point of view. A mix of worldly and ingenue, she is caught between youth and adulthood. She has leapt off into the deep end of her sexuality, and is blindly naïve about the workings of a closeknit community. As the story progresses the facts of Ellie's story blur into Kate's obsessive speculation about it, and her hold on reality appears increasingly tenuous. Hooper is a skilled writer and this shows in her ability to let us see Kate both through her own eyes and also as she appears to others.
It's a complex, unsettling novel with a clever layering of multiple issues – sex and power, the innocence and knowing of children, murder and insanity – but I didn't feel much sympathy for any of the characters. Consequently, although it's well crafted and a compulsive read, I found it hard to become fully engrossed. No doubt it will be well received though, and would probably translate well into film.
This debut novel by a young Australian has received glowing reviews overseas and was shortlisted for the Orange Prize. Compelling yet disturbing, A Child's Book of True Crime is definitely an adult read.
The plot has several overlapping strands. The central story is about a 22-year-old teacher, Kate, who has embarked on an affair with Thomas, the father of her brightest student. Alongside this is the story of Ellie, another young woman who had an affair with a married man, and was brutally murdered. Apart from the obvious parallel between the two women there is another link: Thomas' wife has written a book about the murder. Kate dwells on Ellie's death and wonders if she herself may suffer a similar fate. Thomas laughs it off, but some strange events occur – has someone got it in for Kate, or does she merely have an overactive imagination?
The most original device in the book is a bushland gang of animals who act as detectives solving the mystery of Ellie's murder. The crew, including Kitty Koala, Wally Wombat and others, provide some light relief from the occasionally turgid tale. In the classroom, Kate encourages philosophical thinking in her nine-year-olds, such as what is right and wrong, and the existence of God. Her young charges study extinct Australian animals, and the animals in turn study humans with an ironic eye.
The author has used the setting of Tasmania to great advantage. There's a wildness and freedom about the remote location but also destruction and control, with a backdrop of genocide, animal extinctions, convict history, and the stifling small town atmosphere.
Of all the characters, we get the most insight into Kate's personality, as the story is told from her point of view. A mix of worldly and ingenue, she is caught between youth and adulthood. She has leapt off into the deep end of her sexuality, and is blindly naïve about the workings of a closeknit community. As the story progresses the facts of Ellie's story blur into Kate's obsessive speculation about it, and her hold on reality appears increasingly tenuous. Hooper is a skilled writer and this shows in her ability to let us see Kate both through her own eyes and also as she appears to others.
It's a complex, unsettling novel with a clever layering of multiple issues – sex and power, the innocence and knowing of children, murder and insanity – but I didn't feel much sympathy for any of the characters. Consequently, although it's well crafted and a compulsive read, I found it hard to become fully engrossed. No doubt it will be well received though, and would probably translate well into film.
January 19, 2018
Interessante ed ambiziosa costruzione narrativa che riunisce l'esposizione "sdoppiata" dello stesso omicidio passionale: da un lato c'è la narrazione favolistica per voce di animali, dall'altro il riassunto dell'omicidio da parte di Kate, una giovane insegnante che si trova in una situazione analoga a quella della vittima dell'omicidio narrato.
L'idea di partenza è buona, così come la scrittura, anche se l'impianto narrativo risente forse un po' troppo delle lezioni di scrittura creativa (a tratti è decisamente evidente la struttura del libro). Quando Hooper si lascia andare al flusso narrativo (ad es. nell'episodio in cui le si rompono i freni dell'auto), la lettura è piacevolissima.
Tutto il libro è costruito sull'intreccio di diversi piani narrativi che creano una trama non complessa ma variopinta: la narrazione favolistica degli animali investigatori (alcune specie estinte della Tasmania); la relazione di Kate (la giovane insegnante) con Thomas (padre di Lucien, suo allievo); l'attività di insegnante ed il contributo dei bambini, in particolare Lucien; l'omicio di Eddie Liddell ripercorso da Kate in parallelo al libro che ne ha scritto Veronica (moglie di Thomas); la storia di Port Arthur e Port Puer come colonia penale.
In conclusione, un libro interessante, non banale, ma non del tutto risolto, soprattutto il finale.
L'idea di partenza è buona, così come la scrittura, anche se l'impianto narrativo risente forse un po' troppo delle lezioni di scrittura creativa (a tratti è decisamente evidente la struttura del libro). Quando Hooper si lascia andare al flusso narrativo (ad es. nell'episodio in cui le si rompono i freni dell'auto), la lettura è piacevolissima.
Tutto il libro è costruito sull'intreccio di diversi piani narrativi che creano una trama non complessa ma variopinta: la narrazione favolistica degli animali investigatori (alcune specie estinte della Tasmania); la relazione di Kate (la giovane insegnante) con Thomas (padre di Lucien, suo allievo); l'attività di insegnante ed il contributo dei bambini, in particolare Lucien; l'omicio di Eddie Liddell ripercorso da Kate in parallelo al libro che ne ha scritto Veronica (moglie di Thomas); la storia di Port Arthur e Port Puer come colonia penale.
In conclusione, un libro interessante, non banale, ma non del tutto risolto, soprattutto il finale.
November 23, 2023
Weird, creepy, witty and totally unexpected - this is my first time diving into Chloe Hooper's fiction and I cannot say that her nonfiction prepared me at all for this strange little novel. The story follows a young woman who has taken her first-ever job as a teacher at a primary school, and is having an affair with a father of one of her students. The student's mother has also just published a very successful book about a local murder, the murder of a young woman embroiled in an affair that parallels the protagonist's own situation closely. The book explores innocence, budding sexuality, violence, youth and naivety in a very bizarre but gripping story that unfolds alongside the protagonist's "children's" retelling of the local crime through the eyes of animal characters - a tiger, a koala, a wombat... The protagonist is completely unlikeable and strange, but there is a very compelling, almost gothic element to her perspective and the life that she seems to find herself in with barely any awareness. I enjoyed this for what it was, but definitely struggled with some of the stranger story elements.
April 4, 2007
Chloe Hooper's debut novel is a mixed bag that does not quite pull off what it sets out to achieve, or was possibly never clear as to what that was in the first place. The "True Crime" genre is explored but not pushed far enough. The parallel narrative from the Australian bush is truly charming and almost works to illuminate the main plot and parody the genre, but doesn't quite make it. Somehow the chracter of Kate Byrne, an elementary school teacher in Tasmania who gets entangled in a dangerous and sordid affair, is both compelling and repulsive. All in all, the characters do not feel fleshed out enough, nor does their struggle feel very readworthy. I truly enjoyed the illuminations of the school children in Kate's class and the musings of the Australian animals. A colourful and easy read that is a bit disappointing.
June 3, 2016
I want to say I didn't get this book, but the truth is, I don't even know if there was anything to get. Any time I pulled this book open, I felt the powerful urge to sleep. I really didn't need to sleep, because I'd pick up another book and would be able to read it without so much as a yawn. I tried several times to read it, before I eventually forced myself to finish it in one sitting. My eyes were open, and I'm sure I read all the lines, but I took in very little.
And from what I did, I didn't care for Kate's sex kitten act, nor her lover and his relationship with the wife, and in any case, I'm not really sure it all actually happened in the book's world. It was certainly fragmented enough to have been all in Kate's fractured mind. But then again, considering such a low rating on GR, it might just have been choppy and vaguely written.
And from what I did, I didn't care for Kate's sex kitten act, nor her lover and his relationship with the wife, and in any case, I'm not really sure it all actually happened in the book's world. It was certainly fragmented enough to have been all in Kate's fractured mind. But then again, considering such a low rating on GR, it might just have been choppy and vaguely written.
May 16, 2013
Seems from the reviews, you either hate or love this story. I'm on the lovin' side.
It is an uncomfortable narrative, and at time the protagonist is quite selfish and grates on the reader. However, there is a raw honesty in the voices of this story. I found it an impressively smooth transition between the current difficulties of the protagonist, torn between her affair, her role as teacher to her lover's son and the pull of her own moral compass, the background story of a woman driven to murder when she discovered her husband was sleeping with a much younger woman, and the imagined Australian native animals who are attempting to relive and solve the old crime.
It was such a unique read that I found it an entertaining experience.
It is an uncomfortable narrative, and at time the protagonist is quite selfish and grates on the reader. However, there is a raw honesty in the voices of this story. I found it an impressively smooth transition between the current difficulties of the protagonist, torn between her affair, her role as teacher to her lover's son and the pull of her own moral compass, the background story of a woman driven to murder when she discovered her husband was sleeping with a much younger woman, and the imagined Australian native animals who are attempting to relive and solve the old crime.
It was such a unique read that I found it an entertaining experience.
April 6, 2025
This is the story of a young school teacher having an affair with the father of one of her students. His wife has just written a book about a murder of a girl who committed adultery in a nearby location, years previously and was murdered.
Our protagonist is obsessed with this story, to the point of writing a children's book about it, narrated by native animals.
So far so good, however her obsession with the crime takes over the entire story line. This really a story of paranoia and our protagonists journey there.
This story started brilliantly but went nowhere fast and finished flat.
I loved the author's style, just not her storyline choices. Would like to read more of her works as I believe Chloe Hooper will be quite the author once she hits her stride.
Our protagonist is obsessed with this story, to the point of writing a children's book about it, narrated by native animals.
So far so good, however her obsession with the crime takes over the entire story line. This really a story of paranoia and our protagonists journey there.
This story started brilliantly but went nowhere fast and finished flat.
I loved the author's style, just not her storyline choices. Would like to read more of her works as I believe Chloe Hooper will be quite the author once she hits her stride.
August 12, 2011
Despite my general inclination towards any and all books that feature young women in professions other than "writing" and being a lawyer, this book about a young teacher is totally terrible. I can't remember the last time I read something so nonsensical.
September 25, 2017
Strange and highly imaginative story . A fantasy, thriller and black comedy all at the same time. May not the best read if you are planning a relaxing tour of Tasmania anytime soon (unless you are into Tassie Gothic of course).
May 29, 2023
This writer has bones. I did get a bit list in this novel though I would find myself in awe at the way Hooper could get into and understand the minds and mechanisms of children.
3.5 given that if I see a hard copy, i’d pick it up for another read.
3.5 given that if I see a hard copy, i’d pick it up for another read.
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