Dua’s Monthly Read for August 2025

“On Father’s Day 2005, a recently divorced man in rural Victoria, Australia, drove his car off the road and into a dam. He swam to safety – but his three young boys drowned.

“When Helen Garner, a local resident who also happens to be perhaps Australia’s most celebrated living writer, saw it on the news, she thought: Oh Lord, let this be an accident.

But was it a terrible accident? Or was it pre-meditated murder; a savage act of revenge against his ex-wife?

“In This House of Grief, Helen takes us inside the real-life trial of Robert Farquharson and invites us to join her as she sits through days of detailed evidence, weeks of witness testimony and years of appeals. What she reveals along the way is not simply a courtroom drama but a sharp and forensic analysis of the human condition.

“This is what really drew me to Helen’s writing. She’s not looking for monsters – her interest lies with ordinary people who seem to have been pushed beyond their emotional limits. As the trial progresses, I found myself questioning my own reactions, asking myself less, Did he do it? and instead, Is it possible to have empathy for this man, even if he did the worst thing imaginable?

“Although Helen has been writing for almost 50 years, her work is new to me and it’s a thrilling discovery. She’s one of the most fascinating writers I have come across in recent years, and I’m sure that, like me, you’ll find yourself diving into her back catalogue.” – Dua Lipa

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