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Read this book in 2 days. I didn't realise that it is a true story about the Black Saturday bush fires and the young man convicted of lighting them. A page turner in a different way. Reminded me of some of Helen Garner's books. @MrsMalaprop @Rissreads thanks for your reviews.

Thanks @Rissreads
I‘d been trying to get hold of this book after reading Hooper‘s Bedtime Story recently.
It tells the story of Australia‘s horrific Black Saturday fires in Victoria in Feb 2009 (incidentally when I was about to pop - my son was born on 28 Feb 2009). I had heard this was a fast-paced thriller. It certainly hooked me in and I appreciated the thorough examination of both sides. A devastating tale with absolutely no winners 😢.

This book was so distressing! It‘s so well written and researched. Hooper handles everyone involved such as the victims, firefighters, police and the arsonist himself, with such respect. The devastation to the environment and the animals is heart breaking! It‘s a sad story all round for every single person. I think I will be thinking of this for quiet awhile.

It took me years to get my hands on this book and it was worth the wait. It‘s terrific narrative nonfiction, detailing the story of a fire deliberately set and those impacted by it, then the investigation and trial. Hooper is more convinced of the outcome than I—this book reveals how much nuance there is in our ideas of criminality. I would love to read more of her work.

#WondrousWednesday Thanks for the tag @Eggs 💕💕💕

1. Still in a semi-restricted lockdown 😢so no plans
2. I‘m pretty chill
3. Tagged book but I haven‘t had a breakout book yet!

Feel like playing @MicheleinPhilly @KarenUK @Megabooks

This audio was SO GOOD❣️😭😭😭
The Black Saturday Bush Fires were horrific in nature and destruction and yet I‘m not sure if justice was really served. This story is heartbreaking for all involved; victims, attorneys, family, detectives, and perpetrator. Chloe Hooper has written a beautiful, fully detailed account of that devastating day ~ Saturday, February 7, 2009. Highly recommend
👇🏼

Starting my book for #SetInAustralia #Booked21 It‘s been on my #ReadersRadar for awhile thanks to my #SistaFromAnotherMista @Lizpixie 💚💚💚

I recommend The Arsonist to true crime fans who worry that they‘re completely numb after endless accounts of grisly serial murders. And, of course, I recommend it to all Australians who remember the Black Saturday fires – but only if you think you can stomach it. (Seriously, trigger warning for fire and general horror!) Full review: http://keepingupwiththepenguins.com/the-arsonist-chloe-hooper/ #TrueCrime #Australian

I'm sorry, book group, I've tried but I just can't do it. I've made it to 100 pages and I am bored rigid. Any more and my brain will atrophy. I'm out.

#BookReport Finished and reviewed A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. Started The Art of the Engine Driver and Kingdom of the Blind. Also read a couple of not very good romances on my kindle.
#WeeklyForecast Read The Arsonist before Sunday for book group (I'm dragging my heels on this one, I don't really want to read it) and continue with the ones I've started.

#AyUpAugust #Day10 #Stop Nothing could stop the firebug this book is about, certainly not before he started the conflagration in the Latrobe Valley, Victoria, on a stinking hot summers day that became known as Black Saturday. The amount of destruction he caused, and the deaths that happened on that day will never be forgotten. In a country like ours, bushfires are a yearly event but some are so vast & destructive they scare even the most jaded.

On my way home from the Sydney Writer‘s Festival. It was...
I discovered new authors, relaxed, caught up with friends, bought too many books, ate, drank and learnt lots, even things about maths, Kate Bush and Princess Di. Pictures to come.

I have a HUGE amount of reading to get done in May. Mostly because of my ridiculous habit of reserving way too many library books.
But this is the one I‘m most looking forward to reading this month.
Have you read it? Am I right to be excited?

This is an outstanding example of narrative non-fiction. Hooper explores the complex relationship between the Australian landscape, and its people; the intense power of fire to impact human lives, and the compulsive hold it has over "firestarters", the ethics of a justice system when dealing with those with reduced intellectual capacity, and the responsibility of society to prevent the isolation of people who deviate from our accepted norms.

There is some magnificent writing in this 🔥

Ooooo this is a good one

This is a sad book about an unfortunate child who struggles in the world with undiagnosed autism. Bullied from his school days and through his adult life, he responds with guile and childish pranks. The consequence of this behaviour is a devastating bush fire that destroys many lives. Really good. It‘s a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This is look at the investigation and trial in the aftermath of the 2009 Black Saturday fires at Churchill. Hooper takes an in depth analysis of incidents in Australia and tries to present both sides. In this one part one is from the point of view of the police, the second the defence attorney and the third is a summary. This is the second book of hers I've read and its just confirmed how much I enjoy her work.

This is look at the investigation and trial in the aftermath of the 2009 Black Saturday fires at Churchill. Hooper takes an in depth analysis of incidents in Australia and tries to present both sides. In this one part one is from the point of view of the police, the second the defence attorney and the third is a summary. This is the second book of hers I've read and its just confirmed how much I enjoy her work.

A sobering look at not just the arson & resulting fire, but also of the man accused of starting it. On Black Saturday there were over 400 seperate fires in Victoria, this is the story of just one of them, the Churchill fire, and the subsequent trial & conviction of an autistic man for arson. Highly emotional & very well written. #NonFiction2019 #SomethingPersonal #Pop19 #ReadABookDuringTheSeasonItsSetIn #ReadHarder #ABookOfANonViolentTrueCrime

“So even the birds here are fire-setters”

Watch out all you tourists, it‘s not just the snakes & sharks that‘ll try to kill you in Australia!🦅

3/4 through this book about one of the Black Saturday fires that were deliberately lit. It covers not just the fire, but also the arrest & conviction of the man who set it. Convicted for 10 of the deaths that happened that awful day, he still claims it was “an accident”.😡 I highly recommend watching this documentary from ABCTV
http://youtu.be/dpvM6FoUwMI

Had to take a break from The absolutely brilliant tagged book coz it was making me angry(arsonists should be hung up by their short&curlies😡)So, because I‘m a glutton for punishment, I‘m adding both the #ReadHarderChallenge2019 & the #ReadingWomenChallenge to my challenge journal. Yeah, I‘m an idiot. Trying to make my journal pretty, do you like it? My problem with art always, is knowing when to stop!✋

Up next is my #NonFiction2019 #SomethingPersonal & #Pop19 #ReadABookDuringTheSeasonItsSetIn This is about the Bkack Saturday fires on 7thFeb 2009,which were deliberately lit.Australian bushfire storms are living breathing things,they sound like a freight train coming at full speed,they block out the sun & turn the world orange & black.They even generate their own weather called a pyrocumulus cloud that rains liquid soot & fire bullets. Terrifying.

#BookMail Pt4 The last BookMail for this week is another non fiction. This is the story of the Black Saturday bushfires in Victoria In February 2009. A man waited for the hottest day of the year, lit two fires in the Latrobe Valleys gum forests, then sat on his roof to watch them burn. 1,100,000 acres burnt, 3,000+ buildings destroyed, 180 people dead. I will never understand a mind that can do such a thing. Australian bushfires are wild things.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book has just been nominated to the Australian Stella Prize longlist for 2019. It deals with some of the events of the "Black Saturday" Victorian bushfires of February 2009. While the book starts with plenty of bushfire science and arson investigation it quickly becomes a portrait of how the system deals with suspects that are borderline mentally disabled. Not an easy read.

This is a brilliantly researched, nuanced and highly compassionate explanation of the deliberately-lit Churchill bushfire of February 2009. Hooper weaves the history of the Latrobe Valley with police investigation, the devastation of families who lost loved ones as well as houses, property and animals, and the life of convicted arsonist Brendan Sokaluk together to explain the inexplicable. #stellaprize

Lunchtime reading. This book is so, so good!!

Very very good book! I love the way this author writes and will definitely be reading more. The first part of the book looks at peoples experiences of the Black Saturday bushfires, the subsequent arson investigation and the police officers impressions of the suspect. The rest of the book looks more deeply into his personality. Fascinating reading and highly recommended

A scary book to be reading in a hot summers day. I‘m only a couple of chapters in but, so far, this is quite harrowing and disturbing.