Time flies when you’re reading a good book, which happens to be the case every month for members of Dua Lipa’s Service95 Book Club. Each month features a new book, ranging from the shockingly true to the downright peculiar. As Dua shares her thoughts on these books, members are encouraged to join her and form their own conclusions. They are also encouraged to explore the supplemental material posted onto the Service95 website, be it essays, reading lists, playlists, interviews with the author, and more. August’s pick is This House of Grief by Helen Garner.
Since 1977, Melbourne-based author Helen Garner has published novels, stories, screenplays, and nonfiction works. This means that she has nearly 50 years of experience under her belt as a writer, and has spent nearly 50 years of sharing her stories with the world. In 2006, she won the inaugural Melbourne Prize for Literature, which was only the start of prestigious recognition that she was to receive. In 2016, she won the Windham-Campbell Literature Prize for Nonfiction, the Australia Council Award for Lifetime Achievement in Literature in 2019, and the Australian Society of Authors Medal in 2023. She published This House of Grief in 2014.
About This House of Grief, Dua mentions,
“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, forcing us to ask the question: What is the average man truly capable of?
“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. There’s a lot to uncover, so let’s get started.”
For this month’s pick, members can check out Garner’s reading list, which includes books that have inspired her works. There is also a profile on Garner’s impact by Australian journalist Scott Henderson. And of course, Dua’s author interview is also available on the website, in both video and audio form.
To top it off, there is a video of Garner reading an excerpt from the book, which can be found here.
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