
The Tall Man
Death and Life on Palm Island
Chloe Hooper(Author)
Vintage (Publisher)
Published on 7. January 2010
Book
Paperback/Softback
272 pages
978-0-09-952076-4 (ISBN)
Description
When Cameron Doomadgee, a 36-year-old member of the Aboriginal community of Palm Island, was arrested for swearing at a white police officer, he was dead within forty-five minutes of being locked up. The police claimed he'd tripped on a step, but the pathologist likened his injuries to those received in a plane crash. The main suspect was the handsome, charismatic Senior Sergeant Christopher Hurley, an experienced cop with decorations for his work.
In following Hurley's trail to some of the wildest and most remote parts of Australia, Chloe Hooper explores Aboriginal myths and history and uncovers buried secrets of white mischief. Atmospheric, gritty and original, The Tall Man takes readers to the heart of a struggle for power, revenge and justice.
In following Hurley's trail to some of the wildest and most remote parts of Australia, Chloe Hooper explores Aboriginal myths and history and uncovers buried secrets of white mischief. Atmospheric, gritty and original, The Tall Man takes readers to the heart of a struggle for power, revenge and justice.
Reviews / Votes
Chloe Hooper's masterful book of reportage is a kind of moral thriller about power, wretchedness and violence * Philip Roth * It is impossible to overestimate the importance of this book -- Peter Carey Hooper fills in the background with a light touch.... She instinctively grasps the most telling detail... This is a brilliant vignette in which one appalling incident illuminates a saga of social breakdown -- Sara Wheeler * The Times * Queensland's police force - along with its tourist board - won't thank Hooper for The Tall Man, but the rest of us should. This meticulous, compelling portrayal of the dark side of Australian life deserves the widest possible audience * Sunday Times * An important, brilliant, perceptive book * Literary Review * Has already drawn comparisons with some of the best of that often derided genre, true crime, and it fully deserves the attention...this gracefully nuanced book is as much about the world in which a death takes place as the nature of death itself * Guardian * Povocative and visceral -- Barry Forshaw * The Times * This compelling portrait of the dark side of life down under deserves to be widely read -- Brian Schofield * Sunday Times * So sharply self-aware, laser-precise in its observation, so brutal, and still so tender. It's a masterpiece: true crime writing where Hooper takes no prisoners -- Skye Arundhati Thomas * White Review, *Books of the Year* *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Vintage Publishing
Target group
Professional and scholarly
College/higher education
Product notice
Paperback (UK-trade)
Dimensions
Height: 216 mm
Width: 135 mm
Thickness: 16 mm
Weight
377 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-09-952076-4 (9780099520764)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
01/2010
1st Edition
Vintage Digital
€14.99
Available for download
Person
Chloe Hooper was born in 1973. Her highly praised first novel, A Child's Book of True Crime (2002), was shortlisted for the Orange Prize. Her Observer article about the Doomadgee case, 'Island of Lost Souls', was shortlisted for the Amnesty International Media Awards. She is also the author of The Engagement and The Tall Man, which won seven major literary awards in Australia.