For such an interesting true crime event, this book really bored me. It's not structured like other true crime novels and instead is basically just a play-by-play of the trial. I like a court drama as much as the next person, but it would be a lot more interesting if there were actually the slightest possibility that the defendant wasn't guilty. I mean, really. Everything he did right after drowning his kids made it perfectly clear that it was all on purpose. None of the arguments convinced me that he didn't do it maliciously. Maybe if the argument had been insanity, I might have gone for that, but nothing else. To read page after page after page talking about whether or not he did it on purpose was just boring AF when it was so clear there was no alternative. There might be something interesting in the why he did it, but it seems so obvious that I don't need an entire book to tell me the ins and outs of his thoughts. There was not a single piece of evidence that made me consider, even for a second, that the drownings weren't 100% his intention.

This book has been highly praised in the years since it came out and I cannot figure out why. Unless you really want to feel like you're sitting in a courtroom yawning along with the jurors, I'd skip this. Maybe I am biased because my dad is an attorney and I've spent my entire life in and out of courtrooms, watching court dramas on TV, and hearing stories about trials, but I simply cannot see the appeal in a book like this. There's no mystery at all. There's no question, beyond the first few pages, of whether the guy is guilty. There's no interesting manhunt or search for witnesses or anything that makes this case intriguing. It's just a sad sad case of a man throwing a tantrum because he isn't getting what he wants.

There was so much detail that didn't add anything to the narrative--what people were wearing in the courtroom, their facial expressions, who was fighting yawns during certain testimonies (besides me), all teeny tiny minutae about increasingly boring expert witnesses--that I think if this book were about half the length, it might have been entertaining. But instead it just dragged and dragged.

I found the first person POV odd for such a book and some of her commentary really bothered me. She had so many opinions that didn't make sense. In a way, it was like she was trying to convert the reader to a particular thought, but it came across as preachy. And why on earth did she have a 16 year old playmate with her in such a horrific trial? Just to have someone to talk to so she could add dialogue to the book? So much about this book made zero sense to me. Definitely not one of my favorites.

I received this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The subject matter of this book is heavy to say the least. It's a personal account by a lauded Australian author about a court case in the early 2000's involving the death of three children where their father is accused of murder.

The book was released in Australia some time ago, and I believe now will be released to international audiences. I think it's important to note that violence against women in Australia has been a focus of legal and media attention since the turn of the century and as a country we are starting to get better at identifying all its different forms.

Although the book does talk tangentially about the motives of a man who may kill his children after a marriage breakdown as a form of revenge, that's not the main focus of the book. The focus is purely on the author's observations of the trial which are insightful and thought-provoking.

The writing is, of course, extremely impactful and perfectly phrased. Garner makes the reader ask their own questions and ultimately, to stare their own opinions and prejudices in the face.

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley prior to it's US Release. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

This book was a bit of a challenging read. First, it takes place in Australia and contains a lot of local slang. I could follow most of it, but at times I had to stop and do some research to figure out what the author was referring to. Second, the author’s writing style, based on facts and observations, was a bit confusing and downright boring at times. The most interesting part of the book is how the Australian legal system works.

I received a free Kindle copy of this book courtesy of Net Galley and the publisher with the understanding that I would post a review on Net Galley, Goodreads, Amazon and my nonfiction book review blog. I also posted it to my Facebook page.

This House of Grief is a haunting recounting of the trial of Robert Farquharson, who was accused of purposely driving his car into a dam, drowning his three young sons. It's a heartbreaking tragedy that Ms. Garner handles with sensitivity and respect. This case was new to me, and it was hard to put the book down. I was anxious to read the outcome, even knowing that either way, nothing could bring these children back. I highly recommend This House of Grief. Thanks to NetGalley and Pantheon for the ARC.

Excellent layperson's account of a father on trial for the deaths of his three sons. Author Helen Garner attended the years of court hearings and offers her observations of the proceedings, witnesses, and families. Set in Australia beginning in 2005, This House of Grief is highly recommended for true crime fans and book discussion groups.

True crime story presented by an author who sat through the trial of the accused and studied all aspects of the crime.
First this is such a sad tale, can't imagine anything more horrific! Robert Farquharson is charged with murder of his three sons with his estranged wife Cindy. He is driving the boys home and drives off the road into a dam. He escapes the car and survives but the three boys drown.
The book is an almost clinical description of the investigation and trial. The author has certainly given all the "facts and known details".
The book was hard to read on 2 levels for me, First the story itself is an epic family tragedy with so many lives totally destroyed. I still never felt I really understood Robert and in fact any of the other characters very well. Second there is so much technical detail, much of it contradictory. I must admit I skimmed much of this part. I found all the information on cough induced blackout particularly boring with again no resolution.
This is an interesting story with a very complete reporting, true crime readers will likely enjoy it.
Thanks to Net Galley for the ARC to read. All opinions are solely my own.

Alright, this one is for all of you true crime fans out there. I heard such great things about Helen Garner's writing that I was really looking forward to reading "This House of Grief". I absolutely get what the buzz is about.
Garner details the trial of a father in Australia who is accused of the horrific crime of driving his car into a dam and killing his three children.
What I liked about the way this unfolded in the book, is that while touching on so many tough topics, (the limits of opportunity, class, the feelings created by a divorce, how families grieve, our friendships, just to name a few items), Garner doesn't just give is a stereo instruction just the facts report. She gives it such a personal and human touch with injecting her own struggles with the trial and evidence that shows a vulnerability I've not seen in these types of books before. It's also such a good reminder about the humanity of everyone involved, no matter how the people are portrayed in the court system.
I had to resist the urge to Google this trial until I had finished reading this book. It took a lot of self discipline I tell you!

I recently read and enjoyed Helen Garner's "The Children's Bach", and I was eager to test out her other books. "This House of Grief" had a very different feel to it, but I was just as engrossed, if not more so. This is a true crime book about the case of Robert Farquharson, a father in Australia that drove his car into a pond in 2005. He survived, but his three sons drowned. The book takes us through the case over the years and we quickly learn that there are many sides to a story.

I hadn't heard about this case before, so I liked that sense of "what will happen next?" as I read through. It felt like a novel, which I always appreciate when reading nonfiction. The lack of chapters was a little unsettling, but it didn't hinder my overall enjoyment of the book.

This House of Grief was a really heavy but well-done piece. It could be in the same canon as In Cold Blood.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley. This review is my honest opinion of the book.

This case was completely unknown to me before reading the book and I found it interesting and unique. It's about an Australian father convicted of murdering his three sons by driving into a dam (in America we'd call it a pond) and letting them drown in the car. At first his estranged wife believes his contention that it was a horrible accident caused by his passing out during an extreme coughing fit due to a medical condition called cough syncope, but a good bit after his conviction she changes her mind and decided he did it on purpose as the prosecution had asserted. The author does a fairly good job of laying out the evidence the prosecution presented and in trying to be an impartial reporter of the case from both sides. However she includes many statements of personal bias on both her part and of others including a young woman who sat through much of the trial with her. She also describes the atmosphere in the courtroom and the attitudes of other journalists and spectators. There was just something in the way she did this that was very off putting to me. And her comments about the juries were simply strange oftentimes. While her narrative was fairly sequential it seemed disjointed and difficult to follow. While I'm glad I read the book because the case was interesting, I will not be reading further books by this author. Overall an acceptable read.

I loved this book, it made me cry, it’s a wonderful story, ADVICE : keep your Kleenex box near, you’ll need it.

This was a tragic, convoluted story of mental illness, a messy divorce, and the heart-wrenching and unforgivable death of three innocent children.

I found myself continuously torn about which version of events to believe and who's testimony was the most genuine. Being from the US, I haven't heard of this case at all, so Garner's narrative kept me on the edge of my seat since I came in with no preconceived notions about how it would all end up. Even when it all wrapped, I am still left confused about the overall motive and intention, as I'm sure many people are.

Garner not only walks the reader through the trial from beginning to end, but brings up thought-provoking discussions about the fluidity of memory, the open-ended nature of interpretation in medicine and trauma, and about the sense of ownership people begin to feel over a story and the grief it may bring.

Overall, I give this book a solid 4/5 stars. The foreword by Sarah Weinman didn't add anything to the story and I think it can (and in my opinion, should) be skipped. The NetGalley version I had didn't have any chapters which also made the pace of the book a bit peculiar, but maybe that will be addressed prior to publication. Thought-provoking, quick read for any true crime fan!

Thank you NetGalley and Pantheon for the opportunity to read the advanced reader's copy prior to release in exchange for my honest review.

Australian writer/journalist Helen Garner reports on the lengthy, wrenching court trials of one Robert Farquharson, a blue-collar schlub whose existence would be overlooked, except for his defining act of killing his three children by purposefully driving his car into a body of water on September 4, 2005. This seems like an esoteric subject, but Garner’s efforts in covering the case from a courtroom spectators’ gallery over a seven-year period make the affair captivating and revealing. Her internal dialogue during the trial makes for an engaging narrative. Garner is wise, sharp, and occasionally funny, offering nuance on and variated descriptions of the universal themes of loss, grief, survival and madness in a small, isolated community.

On Australian Father’s Day in 2005 Rob Farkinson was taking his boys home after an outing to Kentucky fried chicken in a trip to see their aunt at Kmart. He and his wife Sandy had recently broken up after she told him she was not in love with him and like most men who won but lose their family he was very depressed and all this night somehow his car wound up in the water with his three boys trapped inside he said it happened after he started coughing and lost consciousness The House Of Grief by Helen Gardner tells the whole story from Cindy’s staunch support of Rob his family‘s unconditional love and the prolonged court trials that found a man who in my opinion seemed innocent sentenced to life in prison. The thing that stands out most to me is how the defense answered every point raised by the prosecution and in most cases negate it, only to have the verdict come back just as horrible as the atrocity itself. There’s things in the spot I did not see coming in things I knew would happen only because the prosecution was involved this is a great book in one any true crime staying well enjoy reading I want to thank Net Galley and the publisher for my free arc copy please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

This House of Grief is a famous work of true crime reporting from Australia, originally released in 2014, now being re-released for US audiences. I have to admit I had never heard of Helen Garner, even though I have now discovered that she is considered one of Australia’s greatest writers.

Helen Garner sat in court for many years, observing the trial of a man who was suspected of killing his three children. Clearly, the subject matter is horrifying and unfortunately not uncommon. However, Garner manages to paint a multifaceted picture of the people affected in this long court case, showing how difficult and baffling such a case can be. We, the readers, are transported to Garner’s chair in the courtroom, where we see everything through her eyes and thoughts, following her along in her daily life while the haunting details swirl through her mind. Since Garner comes across as such a likeable, thoughtful and wise person, the narrative is compelling. This is essential since this is told via Garner and thus she becomes a character in the telling.

It is important to know going in that it is true crime focusing on the court minutiae and the Australian legal system. Garner paints an extremely detailed picture of the courtroom and its participants, which slows the pace but does provide a cinematic experience.

Very moving, very tragic, written beautifully with great empathy.

Thank you NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for letting me read this in exchange for an honest review.

“What’s worse? – living with suspicions and various possibilities and neve knowing the truth, or living with the truth of something too horrible to contemplate?”


When Helen Garner decides to faithfully follow the case of Rob Farquharson, -- an ordinary bloke, an unambitious “sook”, a hapless and bitter divorced husband, and an alleged murderer of his three young sons – she discovers that loss transcends a mere “guilty or innocent.”

She writes, “The only question they wanted to know was “Well? Did he do it? The last interesting question anyone could possibly ask.”

At its core, the case comes down to a simple question: did Farquharson suffer from cough syncope while driving – losing consciousness and driving his car, with his sons in the front and back seats into a watery grave? Or was this a heinous act of revenge against his wife, Cindy Gambino, who initiated the divorce and was now in love with another man?

The front-row intimacy of the trial – and the access to Garner’s private thoughts – provides the reader with a particularly chilling look into the twists and turns of a notorious Australian trial case. As the boundaries between journalist and participant begin to slip away, so does the reader’s own objectivity.

We want to believe very much that Farquharson – resplendent in his ordinariness – could never, ever, willfully kill his three sons, the youngest of whom is still feeding on breast milk. Evil deeds like that come from people who and psychopaths, and Farquharson presents himself as small, stumpy, and barely capable. And yet. And yet. The prosecutor’s depiction of him as angry, vengeful, and self-involved keeps becoming more real.

Ms. Gartner combines court dynamics, delicate legal points, flashbacks to an unbearably heartbreaking night, witness testimonies, and her own reactions together. The result is haunting and unforgettable, a true testimony to the power of literary journalism. I owe thanks to Pantheon Publishing and #NetGalley for enabling me to read this new edition of #ThisHouseofGrief.

One of the drawbacks to being a dedicated true crime reader is the acquired awareness that, regardless of the breadth of evidence presented to you, regardless of the many sad facts laid bare, there are just some moments in a person or a community's life which will always manage to evade a sense of justice, for which the ending (because do such moments ever really end?) will never satisfy, for which questions will always remain unanswered.

This case, as is so often true of crimes involving children, is one of those moments.

Helen Garner's THIS HOUSE OF GRIEF is creative/literary nonfiction at its finest, right up there with Truman Capote's IN COLD BLOOD in terms of style and tone. Honestly, I hesitate to call it "true crime"; a crime indeed occurs, but I'm not sure the crime or its particulars is actually the point. There's no whodunnit, no investigation. It's a case study in grief, misery, mental illness, and masculinity, encased in a courtroom drama. Garner chucks us in at trial level and presents us with only one set of divergent choices: either you believe that Robert Farquharson murdered his sons, or that he didn't. I can't say that I was especially persuaded by either side; if anything, the most convincing evidence for me was my own experience as a woman living in this world, which has granted me the knowledge that angry and rejected men often go to unthinkable lengths to hurt women who they believe have wronged them. Whatever happened in his car that Father's Day, Robert Farquharson is a pitiful creature.

Difficult book to read.
Thanks to author, publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book. While I got the book for free it had no bearing on the rating I gave it