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Joe Cinque's Consolation

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Joe Cinque's Consolation

By: Helen Garner
Narrated by: Helen Garner
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About this listen

NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE

A true story of death, grief and the law from the 2019 winner of the Australia Council Award for Lifetime Achievement in Literature.

In October 1997 a clever young law student at ANU made a bizarre plan to murder her devoted boyfriend after a dinner party at their house. Some of the dinner guests-most of them university students-had heard rumours of the plan. Nobody warned Joe Cinque. He died one Sunday, in his own bed, of a massive dose of rohypnol and heroin. His girlfriend and her best friend were charged with murder.

Helen Garner followed the trials in the ACT Supreme Court. Compassionate but unflinching, this is a book about how and why Joe Cinque died. It probes the gap between ethics and the law; examines the helplessness of the courts in the face of what we think of as 'evil'; and explores conscience, culpability, and the battered ideal of duty of care.

It is a masterwork from one of Australia's greatest writers.

Winner of the Ned Kelly Award for Best True Crime 2005
Winner of the ABIA Book of the Year 2004

©2019 Helen Garner (P)2019 Macmillan Australia Audio Crime Law Murder

Critic Reviews

"Garner's book is a writer's profound response to a tragedy and to questions about human responsibility over time as well as at precise moments." (The Age)

"This is a work of great passion and of countervailing humanity - a book of witness..." (Australian Book Review)
All stars
Most relevant  
Piercing and thoughtful. Beautifully observed. Should be read and re-read, especially by anyone interested in courts and the criminal justice system.

Masterpiece

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Whoever could forget Joe Cinque after reading this? No justice for him and his family. Thank you for your courage.

Heartbreaking. So touched.

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Helen provides a very well rounded insight and retelling of a horrific murder case, very complex in detail, two very different families and two very different people, bound forever due to the devestating murder. Helen’s comforting grandmotherly voice and personal insights and tidbits help soften and bring comfort to an otherwise extremely traumatising tale. Highly recommend.

Extraordinary coverage of a devestating case

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It is the story of a heartbroken family, the story of the absence of basic human morality, the story of the holes in the so called 'justice system', failing to hold those accountable for the unethical decisions made, which led to the earth-shattering loss of an adored man, with such a promising future.

It raises questions of what is acceptable and just in the eyes of the law vs what is acceptable and just as a human being.

An ethical true crime story, told with respect and restraint.

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I read this as a lawyer and found the trial descriptions lacking in legal detail relevant to the decisions, as opposed to the emotional reactions of the author. Interesting all the same to see a lay person’s reaction to the clinic trial process we can all become addicted to. Glad I listened to it.

Not a lawyer’s book

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Was a little disappointed in this book, thought it would have been a bit more insight to Joe and the actual crime, investigations,etc. Instead it was more a story about the author her own issues at the time of the court proceedings and her interactions with the families.

Not what I thought it would be

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In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.