Summary
The Tall Man: Death and Life on Palm Island is a 2008 book by Chloe Hooper. It is about the events surrounding the death in custody of Aboriginal Australian man, Cameron Doomadgee. It won numerous awards and was shortlisted for many others in 2009.
 First edition | |
| Author | Chloe Hooper |
|---|---|
| Country | Australia |
| Language | English |
| Subject | Non-fiction |
| Published | 2008 (Hamish Hamilton) |
| Media type | Print (Hardback) |
| Pages | 276 |
| Awards | Davitt Award |
| ISBN | 9780241015377 |
| OCLC | 247035554 |
Publication history edit
- 2006, The Tall Man: Inside Palm Island's heart of darkness appearing in The Monthly, pages 34–53, Australia, March 2006, Schwartz Publishing ISSN 1832-3421[1][2]
- 2008, The Tall Man: Death and Life on Palm Island (277 pages), Australia, Hamish Hamilton ISBN 9780241015377, hardcover[3]
- 2009, Tall Man: The Death of Doomadgee (258 pages), USA, Scribner ISBN 9781416561590, hardback[4]
Reception edit
The New York Times reviewing The Tall Man wrote "Hooper travels to remote settlements and reaches into prehistory in her effort to penetrate this fractured story, learning of song lines, of Hairy Man and Tall Man spirits (Hurley, at 6-foot-7, evokes the latter). And though there is no resolution, she makes of it all an extraordinary whole. “I had wanted to know more about my country,” she says at the end of the book, “and now I did — now I knew more than I wanted to.”"[5]
The Guardian noted "The Tall Man has already drawn comparisons with some of the best of that often derided genre, true crime, and it fully deserves the attention. Like Truman Capote's In Cold Blood and, more recently, Francisco Goldman's The Art of Political Murder, this gracefully nuanced book is as much about the world in which a death takes place as the nature of the death itself."[6] and The Sydney Morning Herald found it "a thoughtful, perceptive examination of an important Australian tragedy."[7]
The Tall Man has also been reviewed by The Daily Telegraph,[8] the Indigenous Law Bulletin,[9] The Globe and Mail,[10] the Australian Book Review[11] and Kirkus Reviews.[12]
Awards edit
- Winner 2006 Walkley Award. for her articles in The Monthly on the death in custody of Cameron Doomadgee on Palm Island.[13]
- Winner 2008 Western Australian Premier Non-Fiction Book Award[14]
- Winner 2008 Western Australian Premier's Prize Book Award[15]
- Winner 2009 New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards.Douglas Stewart Prize for Non-Fiction[16]
- Winner 2009 Victorian Premier's Literary Award Nettie Palmer Prize for Australian Nonfiction[17]
- Winner 2009 Ned Kelly Award for Best True Crime[18]
- Winner 2009 Queensland Premier's Literary Non-Fiction Book Award[19]
- Winner 2009 Australian Book Industry Awards for General Non-fiction[20]
- Winner 2009 John Button Prize for Writing for Young Adults[20]
- Winner 2009 Indie Award for Non-fiction[20]
- Winner 2009 Davitt Awards for Best True Crime[20]
- Shortlisted 2008 Human Rights Award for Non-fiction[20]
- Shortlisted 2008 Walkley Award for Non-fiction[20]
- Shortlisted 2009 Australian Book Industry Awards for Book of the Year[20]
- Shortlisted 2009 Queensland Premier's Award for Advancing Public Debate[20]
- Shortlisted 2009 Gleebooks Prize for Critical Writing, NSW Premier's Literary Awards[20]
- Shortlisted 2009 Prime Minister's Literary Award for Non-fiction[21]
- Finalist 2009 Melbourne Prize For Literature: Best Writing Award - finalist[22]
References edit
- ^ The tall man. WorldCat. OCLC 902799557. Retrieved 14 July 2017 – via worldcat.org.
- ^ "The Tall Man: Inside Palm Island's heart of darkness". The Monthly. Schwartz Publishing: 34–53. March 2006. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
- ^ "The tall man : death and life on Palm Island". worldcat.org. WorldCat. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
- ^ Tall man : the death of Doomadgee. WorldCat. OCLC 213839973. Retrieved 14 July 2017 – via worldcat.org.
- ^ McCulloch, Alison (16 April 2009). "Sunday Book Review: Brutal Settlement". New York Times. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
- ^ Campbell, Duncan (31 January 2009). "Society: Crime without punishment". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
- ^ Moran, Jennifer (18 July 2008). "The Tall Man". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
- ^ Christmas, Linda (5 February 2009). "The Tall Man: Death and Life on Palm Island by Chloe Hooper - review". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
Hooper astutely points out that the war between the police and the Aboriginal community is something of a false battleground.
- ^ "The Tall Man: Death and Life on Palm Island by Chloe Hooper - Book Review". Indigenous Law Bulletin. 7 (20). Indigenous Law Centre. September 2010. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
Hooper weaves a gripping and at times heart-wrenching tale in her portrayal of the events leading up to the arrest, eventual death of Mulrunji and the motorcade of social, legal and political battles which follow.
- ^ Drewe, Robert (29 May 2009). "An Australian tragedy". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
It's a haunting moral maze, described with such intimate observation and exquisite restraint that I kept pausing to take a breath and silently cheer the author. .. Chloe Hooper has more than done justice to a worthy story. She has produced an Australian classic.
- ^ Trigger, David (26 September 2018). "David Trigger reviews 'The Tall Man' by Chloe Hooper". www.australianbookreview.com.au. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
- ^ "Tall Man". Kirkus Reviews. Kirkus Media LLC. 1 February 2009. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
Alternately poignant, powerful and ponderous—a worthwhile glimpse into a battered culture.
- ^ "Awards 2006". Walkley Winners. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
- ^ "2008 Western Australian Premier's Book Awards". pba.slwa.wa.gov.au. State Library of Western Australia. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
- ^ "2008 Western Australian Premier's Book Awards". pba.slwa.wa.gov.au. State Library of Western Australia. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
- ^ Deborah Cameron (19 May 2009). "Chloe Hooper wins the Douglas Stewart Prize". abc.net.au. ABC. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
- ^ "2009 Premier's Literary Awards winners". writersvictoria.org.au. Writers Victoria Inc. 4 September 2009. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
- ^ "Ned Kelly Award Winners". austcrimewriters.com. Australian Crime Writers Association. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
- ^ "2009 Literary Awards Winners and Shortlists". literaryawards.com.au. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "The Tall Man". Copyright Agency Reading Australia. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
- ^ "2009 Prime Minister's Literary Awards – Shortlist". cwl.nsw.gov.au. Central West Libraries. 21 September 2009. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
- ^ "Melbourne Prize For Literature 2009: Best Writing Award 2009 Finalists". melbourneprizetrust.org. Melbourne Prize Trust. Retrieved 3 February 2017.