^ Lol, @ignatius, you probably want to cross Australia off your vacation bucket list:
I completely understand what you mean about the local police tropes. When I read at the very beginning of the book that Sergeant Raco was on the case and was a new arrival to the job, I thought I knew what kind of relationship was coming (he and Aaron butting heads, etc.) – and it was a relief to have them be mature, respectful colleagues instead. The one time Raco becomes really angry with Falk, he is completely justified (when Falk follows Deacon home in the patrol car, and then gets into a physical altercation with him).
As I was reading The Dry, I kept thinking it would have been more suitable to read during the sweltering days of summer rather than our unseasonably cool spring.
What is it about the drought and its effects on the town that makes people less likely to question what happened to the Hadlers? I think there’s a two-fold answer here: One is that the drought has brought poverty, and poverty brings despair, which can lead people to do terrible things. The second is that the heat has driven everyone mad, with tragic results. It seems to me there are sci-fi stories (or Stephen King novels?) in which entire populations go insane due to some force over which they have no control. At least that sounds like a horror or sci-fi plot — I can’t actually name a title offhand.
Apparently, there’s a scientific basis for the rise in crime during heat waves:
And:
Sounds a little bit like Mal Deacon. Maybe the heat contributed to his dementia.
Falk has his own moment of madness, standing in the dry river bed:
About 10 years ago I Read “In a sunburned Country” by Bill Bryson about Australia and was so shocked to learn of the intense heat, fires burning out of control a decade ago. Well, with climate change it’s gotten worse, and recall the Australian open tennis players last year stopping play due to the intense 117 degree heat!
So I now always think of Australia’s summer season ( our winter) as unbearable.
Harper chose a great title for the book, especially with the pivotal scene- kindling wood everywhere! Poof
Friends of mine from Australia remind me regularly that most of Australia is the same distance south of the equator as the Saraha is north of the equator. I do sort of feel that at least in the present people have been driven a little crazy by the heat - but there wasn’t a heat wave for the original murder.
We’ve lived in our town for over 25 years (and it’s not a small town!) and I still sometimes feel like I’ll never be a native. Last Sunday at the gym the guys were all talking about their high school teachers.
Works for me. There’s all sorts of photos of Chris Hemsworth online, but here’s the Aaron Falk-iest (it’s a really long url, but worth the space it takes up ):
I could see Hugo Johnstone-Burt (from Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries) http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3793639/ . Of course he’s much too old now, but there’s no better Aussie leading man than Bryan Brown. (Breaker Morant, A Town Like Alice)
^ Yep, Bryan Brown is now 70. I guess we’re not getting any younger either . He’s been married to his Thornbirds co-star Rachel Ward for 35 years. Hey, they can play Luke’s mom and dad!
^ hemsworthbwould have to lose weight ala Mathew Mcconaughney - ok maybe Matthew
Gretchen could be Charlize Theron !
Also, the timing of this movie about gun violence slaughter, especially when we Americans look to Australia as more evolved about gun laws, might have to wait long while before being made
@Caraid and @VeryHappy, I agree with you as regards Falk’s “real” looks, but Hollywood will never see it that way.
@SouthJerseyChessMom, it might work the opposite way – get pushed through quickly because of the timely subject matter. Anyway, it’s not controversial in the sense that the book isn’t about guns per se – they are a necessary part of life in Kiewarra.
That reminds me: It’s interesting–and probably not coincidental–that Luke isn’t the only one who can’t be trusted around bunnies. Gretchen has a scene shooting rabbits, which for a moment, makes Falk uneasy.
. He’s been married to his Thornbirds co-star Rachel Ward for 35 years. Hey, they can play Luke’s mom and dad!
