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.
