Power without Glory

Don't know what got into me yesterday. Uncharacteristicly ranty. Today I'm reading Power without Glory by Frank Hardy which is a surprisingly light read. I vaguely remember not watching an ABC miniseries of the book when I was a kid because it was dull and had the impression that it was a HARD book and an AUSTRALIAN CLASSIC. But it's quite easy to read - could almost be a Women's Weekly Good Read.

Before starting it I read the introduction about poor Mr Hardy's travails in researching the book and hiding the fact he was publishing it from the crime lord John Wren on whom the book's main character is based. So I was expecting weight and seriousness. So far (160 pages in) it's reminding me of mafia exposes say by James Ellroy. Sure John West is a nasty man running an illegal tote, buying cops and politicians and exploiting the Holy Roman Catholic church for his own ends but it doesn't seem at all shocking in this post-Sopranoes era.

Maybe it'll get more serious later on.