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Joe Cinque’s Consolation by Helen Garner

Kim Kingston — Wed, 12 Sep 2018 03:02:22 +0000

When Helen Garner sees accused murderer Anu Singh, she writes that Singh “raised my girl hackles in a bristle.” That is Garner’s writing in a nutshell; succinct, sincere, spare. We’ve all felt that sensation without ever voicing it, and we all know exactly what she means.

In 1997 Singh murdered her boyfriend Joe Cinque in Canberra. This book is Garner’s account of the susbsequent trial of Singh and her friend Madhavi Rao. Garner tries to make sense of the place where the law intersects and often clashes with common sense. Singh killed a young man who had done her no harm and was by all accounts a good person. Surely she deserves the most severe punishment possible? But the law says otherwise, and Garner attempts to find out why and what that says about our legal system, and what it means for Joe Cinque’s family.

The true beauty of Garner’s writing exists in the explicit acknowledgment that she doesn’t have all the answers but she will ask the questions, and she will try to exercise humanity and fairness in her responses. This is her best book, and hopefully it is some consolation to Joe Cinque’s family.

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Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha by Roddy Doyle

Kim Kingston — Tue, 11 Sep 2018 22:23:54 +0000

I love everything about this 1994 novel, but mostly I love how Doyle demonstrates that simple writing can be so profound. Told from the perspective of 10 year old Irish Catholic Paddy Doyle, watching his parents’ marriage slowly disintegrate while he tries to make sense of school and church and other kids, this book is funny, riveting and unforgettable. Doyle at his beautiful best.

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To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Kim Kingston — Wed, 05 Sep 2018 05:47:23 +0000

It’s a classic for a reason – profoundly good, unexpectedly funny and unforgettable. If you were unfortunate enough not to encounter it in your early teens, read it now. But whatever you do, don’t read the appalling Go Set a Watchman afterwards. That book should never have been published. It makes me so mad I could spit. Enough said.

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We Need To Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver

Kim Kingston — Thu, 12 Jul 2018 05:53:22 +0000

Wow. What an incandescent ball of light this book is; a scorching, eviscerating examination of nature versus nurture and the limits of parental love. Shriver shines a unflinching light on the bits of being parents we’d all prefer to keep hidden and unsaid. What do we do if we regret becoming parents, and it’s too late? What if we have a child we don’t actually like? What if we believe our child is capable of great evil, and we’re right? What then? This is an utterly believable nightmare wrapped up in a gripping story. You will be thinking and talking about Kevin for a very long time.

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The Principles of Uncertainty by Maira Kalman

Kim Kingston — Thu, 12 Jul 2018 05:29:33 +0000

This is not so much a book as a trip around Kalman’s mind, and what a beautiful place to be that is. Maira Kalman is an American artist but she’s anything but pretentious. She’s more like the eccentric great aunt you see at someone’s funeral and wish you knew better, ‘cause she seems like a lot of fun. She takes photos of the backs of strangers in the streets and always buys a ball of string when she goes on a trip. She is curious about humanity, everyone from philosophers to the woman who bakes the bread in her hotel. She likes to paint fruit platters and sofas discarded on the street. She knows she doesn’t have all the answers but is willing to speculate, and her speculations never fail to fascinate. I keep a copy of this book beside my bed and dive into it now and then when in need of solace and sustenance. Beautiful, original and exceptional.

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