Just Another Little Murder, Phil Cleary. Allen & Unwin, 2002. isbn 1865 087 890, rrp $29.95
Vicki Cleary, the author’s sister, was murdered as she arrived for work in suburban Melbourne in late 1987. Two years later, in the Supreme Court of Victoria, she was portrayed as somehow responsible for her own death. The murderer was released less than four years afterwards.
Phil Cleary links his investigation of the violent history of the murderer with an exploration of the dominant ideas about women and violence. He demonstrates the appalling consequences of outdated notions of male dominance over women. The law of provocation promotes such injustice. It is absurd for a court to conclude that a ‘reasonable man’ would react to his ex-girlfriend’s arrival at work by killing her.
I hope Phil Cleary will be successful in his campaign to change both attitudes and the law.
Kieran Gill
Willie’s Bar and Grill: A rock ‘n’ roll tour of North America in the age of terror, Rob Hirst. Picador Australia, 2003. isbn 0 330 364 12 X, rrp $30
As Midnight’s Oil’s drummer, Rob Hirst co-wrote most of the band’s hits over their 25-year career. Always known as a political band, Midnight Oil have supported countless social and environmental causes locally and internationally. Their opinions, voiced through the imposing figure of Peter Garrett, favour the green and the left, but this rarely alienated them from the mainstream. Willie’s Bar and Grill catalogues their US tour, begun just weeks after the multi-pronged terrorist attacks of 2001.
Blending travel writing, humour, rock and roll and social commentary, the book is conversational in style and rich in anecdotal observations. As they travel through the major cities, Hirst shows an enthusiasm for idiosyncrasies of his band, the roadies and the fans. He describes the daily grind of playing and travelling with a full rock ‘n’ roll entourage and its personalities—from wise-cracking band mates to irascible and fastidious bus drivers.
Hirst has an impressive vocabulary. If he’s trying to negate years of dumb drummer jokes, he has succeeded. His writing is florid—LA freeways are a ‘Macadamised mayhem of an unconscionable burden of traffic’.
Willie’s Bar and Grill offers insight into the jittery American psyche, post-‘war against terror’. The band encountered hyperventilating customs officials on the Canadian border, airport security at unprecedented levels and a near-deserted Disneyland. Yet the people are as defiantly proud as ever. US flags are omnipresent, as are aggressively patriotic bumper stickers.
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