The First Stone in Aussie Readers

Oct 30, 2020 PattyMacDotComma rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: politics-culture-social-war, favourites-adult, arc-netgalley-done, australian-author, nonfiction, aa

5★
“. . . it’s not the kind of book that’s easy to review briskly. Because it’s a series of shifting speculations, with an open structure, it’s hard to pull out single quotes without distorting it. What the book invites from a reader is openness – an answering spark.”

Helen Garner said that in a lecture she gave after this book was published, 25 years ago. She stirred up enormous controversy in the community over her reportage (her word) about what was called the most important sexual harassment c ...more

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Jan 21, 2015 Josie rated it liked it · review of another edition

Now I'm sure this wasn't the intended aim, but reading this book made me really like Helen Garner.
It is noted quite repeatedly in numerous forms that her intention was to get the full story, however this never happened. Nor did she actually get an answer to the question "Why did you go to the Police" and yet wrote the book anyway.
What I took from this book was an insight into the varying degrees of feminism (from hard core to respectfully logical) in the early 90s. I came away sharing Garner's v ...more

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Jan 04, 2022 Tracey rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: historical, crime, reference, australian, true-crime, politics, 2022

The First Stone was written in 1995 and attempts to examine the rationale behind the allegations of sexual misconduct made against the Master at Melbourne University's Ormond College that came before the courts. The accusations as presented in the media were seemingly benign in that he had put his hand on her breast and had Garner pondering how did this action arrived in the courts.
I am a great fan of Garner's writing and I have known that this book has courted controversy on a number of levels ...more

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Jul 31, 2022 Rhoda rated it liked it · review of another edition

3.5 stars

In the autumn of 1992, two female students at Melbourne University went to the police stating that they had been indecently assaulted at a party at the University - and by the head of their residential college. There is quite a huge fall out following these allegations and the author attempts to provide both sides of the divide, however notably minus ever having been able to interview anyone from the accuser’s side.

Despite not agreeing with a lot of what the author presents in this boo 3.5 stars

In the autumn of 1992, two female students at Melbourne University went to the police stating that they had been indecently assaulted at a party at the University - and by the head of their residential college. There is quite a huge fall out following these allegations and the author attempts to provide both sides of the divide, however notably minus ever having been able to interview anyone from the accuser’s side.

Despite not agreeing with a lot of what the author presents in this book, it still makes for fascinating reading and raises a lot of questions. The author claims to be a feminist, however in fairness, considering that this book was written in the early 1990s, I can’t even remember what my own views on feminism were in those days, so perhaps as with many things, views evolve and the author may also see things differently now 🤷🏻‍♀️ In addition to this, an interview subject noted that there are many ways to be a feminist and it is a very multi-faceted thing.

In any case, the author’s writing is a joy to read as she presents her information in such a considered way, including her own thoughts, feelings and reactions to what she uncovers.

I have seen many criticisms of the book, seeing it labeled as being sympathetic to the accused. Whilst I can see why some would come to this conclusion, I personally don’t see it this way. The author’s style of writing is empathetic. Anyone who has also read This House of Grief will be familiar with her moments of feeling sorry for the defendant. I think this is just part of being human and the author is very transparent in conveying how she feels about things. As she was never afforded an interview with the accusers, she has presented their side from her own feminist lens. So I guess you could say it’s an unbalanced examination, however not one I would have considered as favouring one side over the other.

For this reason, I don’t feel that it presents an overly satisfying story but what it does do is open up a discussion on the topic of indecent/sexual assault and feminism. This would be a fantastic book club selection as there is so much in here to dissect and unpack. ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5 ...more

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Jun 03, 2012 Sue rated it really liked it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Sep 15, 2010 Pam rated it it was ok

Okay ... sometimes lm a little nervous about HG and her messages..but l do like to read her ...

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Apr 22, 2019 Alexandra rated it really liked it

Shelves: feminist-gender, 2019

It was interesting to read this post #me too. I love the way Garner exposes her tenacity and vulnerability in the same paragraph. I also love the insights about the way different generations perceive each other. I didn’t agree with everything Garner said but that probably made it an even more interesting read than if I had.

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