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Carnage: A succulent Chinese meal, Mr Rent-a-Kill and the Australian Manson murders
Millions have been entertained by the viral video of a man being arrested after a ‘succulent Chinese meal’. But when Mark Dapin investigated, it emerged that this man's story went to the heart of the Australian underworld. A true crime cult classic in the making.
Whether you know it as the ‘succulent Chinese meal’ video, or ‘democracy manifest’, chances are you have seen the video of baritone larrikin Jack Karlson getting arrested outside a Brisbane Chinese restaurant in 1991. The Guardian called it ‘perhaps the pre-eminent Australian meme of the last 10 years’.
When Karlson called crime writer Mark Dapin out of the blue, though, Dapin hadn’t heard of him. But there was enough that intrigued him about this theatrical outlaw to continue the conversation. Over the following months emerged a dark and complex past. It turned out that Karlson had been in the background of many notorious incidents in late-twentieth century Australian crime, from collaborating with infamous prison-playwright Jim McNeil to befriending hitman Christopher Dale Flannery (Mr Rent-a-Kill).
But most shockingly of all, Karlson’s life story led Dapin to shed new light on a number of unsolved murders, by two serial killers.
The result is an extraordinary, deeply revealing portrait of Australian crime from the 60s to the 2010s – a portrait of carnage.
‘Mark Dapin could never be accused of glorifying crime, but he is guilty as sin for understanding it. Inhabited by flawed humans, filled with violence, humour, tears and dreams, Carnage is a classic Australian crime story.’ Gary Jubelin, author of I Catch Killers
'True crime at its grim and richly entertaining best, and – let’s face it – its truest.’ Robert Drewe, author of The Shark Net
‘If ever there was a book crammed with colourful villains who are “mad, bad and dangerous to know,” it’s definitely Mark Dapin’s extraordinary book, Carnage.’ Kate McClymont, author of He Who Must Be Obeid
‘Carnage is a window into Australian mayhem, killingly funny and beautifully told. Dapin finds pathos in a twisted world.’ Matthew Spencer, author of Black River
‘Carnage begins by probing what seems a minor curiosity – an internet meme centred on a colourful character – then takes a turn into the lives of traumatised youths hurled without care or thought into brutalising reformatories. From there they graduate to rorts, robberies, violence. Bleak lives interspersed with occasional forays into squaresville – spouses, kids, even jobs – and attempts at betterment via theatre and literature. A unique, deeply felt take on the Australian underworld.’ Peter Doyle, author of Crooks Like Us
‘The moment I start reading anything by Mark Dapin I’m captivated, intrigued and engaged for the entire journey. There is no finer writer documenting the history and characters of Australian criminality.’ Stuart Coupe
Whether you know it as the ‘succulent Chinese meal’ video, or ‘democracy manifest’, chances are you have seen the video of baritone larrikin Jack Karlson getting arrested outside a Brisbane Chinese restaurant in 1991. The Guardian called it ‘perhaps the pre-eminent Australian meme of the last 10 years’.
When Karlson called crime writer Mark Dapin out of the blue, though, Dapin hadn’t heard of him. But there was enough that intrigued him about this theatrical outlaw to continue the conversation. Over the following months emerged a dark and complex past. It turned out that Karlson had been in the background of many notorious incidents in late-twentieth century Australian crime, from collaborating with infamous prison-playwright Jim McNeil to befriending hitman Christopher Dale Flannery (Mr Rent-a-Kill).
But most shockingly of all, Karlson’s life story led Dapin to shed new light on a number of unsolved murders, by two serial killers.
The result is an extraordinary, deeply revealing portrait of Australian crime from the 60s to the 2010s – a portrait of carnage.
‘Mark Dapin could never be accused of glorifying crime, but he is guilty as sin for understanding it. Inhabited by flawed humans, filled with violence, humour, tears and dreams, Carnage is a classic Australian crime story.’ Gary Jubelin, author of I Catch Killers
'True crime at its grim and richly entertaining best, and – let’s face it – its truest.’ Robert Drewe, author of The Shark Net
‘If ever there was a book crammed with colourful villains who are “mad, bad and dangerous to know,” it’s definitely Mark Dapin’s extraordinary book, Carnage.’ Kate McClymont, author of He Who Must Be Obeid
‘Carnage is a window into Australian mayhem, killingly funny and beautifully told. Dapin finds pathos in a twisted world.’ Matthew Spencer, author of Black River
‘Carnage begins by probing what seems a minor curiosity – an internet meme centred on a colourful character – then takes a turn into the lives of traumatised youths hurled without care or thought into brutalising reformatories. From there they graduate to rorts, robberies, violence. Bleak lives interspersed with occasional forays into squaresville – spouses, kids, even jobs – and attempts at betterment via theatre and literature. A unique, deeply felt take on the Australian underworld.’ Peter Doyle, author of Crooks Like Us
‘The moment I start reading anything by Mark Dapin I’m captivated, intrigued and engaged for the entire journey. There is no finer writer documenting the history and characters of Australian criminality.’ Stuart Coupe
319 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 2, 2023
39 people are currently reading
243 people want to read
About the author
Mark Dapin
21 books22 followersMark Dapin is the author of the novels King of the Cross and Spirit House. King of the Cross won the Ned Kelly Award for Best First Fiction, and Spirit House was long listed for the Miles Franklin Literary Award and shortlisted for the Age Book of the Year and the Royal Society for Literature's Ondaatje Prize.
His recent work of military history, The Nashos' War, has been widely acclaimed. He is a PhD candidate at the Australian Defence Force Academy.
His recent work of military history, The Nashos' War, has been widely acclaimed. He is a PhD candidate at the Australian Defence Force Academy.
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
September 21, 2023
I like Mark Dapin's writing a lot, but this book felt like him struggling with how to wrangle the titular Carnage into a coherent and meaningful narrative, and ultimately failing. I feel like there was self-awareness about this failing, as the writing contained an unusual amount of reflection on the nature of his profession and the tawdry unpleasant details of 40 year old atrocities that he was raking over.
Dapin walks us through his unplanned investigation, when he was told to meet Jack Karlson, the infamous 'succulent Chinese meal' bloke, for his last book, the solid Prison Break. The problem was the book was already finished, so he met Karlson for a chat and to gauge the possibility of a new story. Unsurprisingly, Karlson has a million stories, all of them murky and muddled and somewhat dubious. As you would expect, Karlson's patchwork backstory is quite interesting, particularly his dabbling as a somewhat reformed arist.
However, there is an elephant in Karlson's past - a horrific murder in a chain of several in and and around 1970s St Kilda, because he spent time in Pentridge, lived in St Kilda for a while, and so was basically 2 degrees of separation from all the most notorious crims of the era. In teasing these details out, half the book is spent jumping across a cast of thousands - Barry Quinn, Robin Wright, Paul Haigh, Chopper, Roger Rogerson, Chris Flannery, Ron Feeney, Gangitano, etc, etc. Keeping track of which exact lowlife and which exact woman they're abusing in this evidentiary chain, for me at least, got exhausting, along the constant references to gruesome crime scene details, sexual assaults and literal excrement.
To Dapin's credit, he explicitly talks about not trying to sensationalise crime and in this capacity he has succeeded. He emphasises the squalidity of it, the immaturity, the pointlessness of it all. However, this may be a factor in not being able to tie a narrative together for this book. Karlson was a small(ish) fish circling the big sharks and he and his family got hurt by it in appallingly cruel fashion. There is no lesson to be learnt about them, no conclusion drawn. Just bad things done by bad people, often to even worse people for wrongheaded reasons.
Karlson's photo is there to sell the book, and for me the best material was the stuff about his life, which was sold on his natural and odd charisma (undercut a bit by his disquieting enthusiasm for Nazi affectation). That could have probably occupied a lenghty feature article. The resultant book however uses Karlson's story as the wrapping for a shagging dogs story about the malevolent, cruel and petty dead heads who traditionally squat in true crime pages. The two halves are not really reconciled. There is little comfort the reader who is contemplating giving up, because often the author seems to be expressing the same thoughts.
Dapin walks us through his unplanned investigation, when he was told to meet Jack Karlson, the infamous 'succulent Chinese meal' bloke, for his last book, the solid Prison Break. The problem was the book was already finished, so he met Karlson for a chat and to gauge the possibility of a new story. Unsurprisingly, Karlson has a million stories, all of them murky and muddled and somewhat dubious. As you would expect, Karlson's patchwork backstory is quite interesting, particularly his dabbling as a somewhat reformed arist.
However, there is an elephant in Karlson's past - a horrific murder in a chain of several in and and around 1970s St Kilda, because he spent time in Pentridge, lived in St Kilda for a while, and so was basically 2 degrees of separation from all the most notorious crims of the era. In teasing these details out, half the book is spent jumping across a cast of thousands - Barry Quinn, Robin Wright, Paul Haigh, Chopper, Roger Rogerson, Chris Flannery, Ron Feeney, Gangitano, etc, etc. Keeping track of which exact lowlife and which exact woman they're abusing in this evidentiary chain, for me at least, got exhausting, along the constant references to gruesome crime scene details, sexual assaults and literal excrement.
To Dapin's credit, he explicitly talks about not trying to sensationalise crime and in this capacity he has succeeded. He emphasises the squalidity of it, the immaturity, the pointlessness of it all. However, this may be a factor in not being able to tie a narrative together for this book. Karlson was a small(ish) fish circling the big sharks and he and his family got hurt by it in appallingly cruel fashion. There is no lesson to be learnt about them, no conclusion drawn. Just bad things done by bad people, often to even worse people for wrongheaded reasons.
Karlson's photo is there to sell the book, and for me the best material was the stuff about his life, which was sold on his natural and odd charisma (undercut a bit by his disquieting enthusiasm for Nazi affectation). That could have probably occupied a lenghty feature article. The resultant book however uses Karlson's story as the wrapping for a shagging dogs story about the malevolent, cruel and petty dead heads who traditionally squat in true crime pages. The two halves are not really reconciled. There is little comfort the reader who is contemplating giving up, because often the author seems to be expressing the same thoughts.
February 9, 2025
Like most people, looking at the cover, I picked this up for fun. Not being a "fan" of true crime (a dubious noun phrase) I was totally unprepared for the darkness and depravity around Jack Karlson's life. He is charming enough to provoke one to continue reading, but disappears during the book's most difficult passages, when stories of toilet wine, prison drama, conning and bullshittery give way to swathes of sexual violence and murder.
I think most people on this site have avoided high star ratings because it really doesn't appear to be the book it truly is -- a fact I admired, as Dapin frequently reflects on the nature of a true crime journalist, a profession I had, beforehand, considered a kind of inherently disrespectful, self-regarding occupation.
Dapin, at least, seems to agree, and struggles to make his tale cohere, or make sense of the senseless violence. I'm glad that he doesn't, because who could?
Again and again, I find my university leftist bonafides confronted with the staggering callousness of humanity. I've been listening to a comedy podcast recently from two English public school poshos who talk about history and about, for example, Chairman Mao sucking his own dick. That's the kind of comic misanthropy I had held myself to when younger, while still clinging strongly to leftist ideals. (I'm not saying those guys are leftists, but I think they are equally ignorant of suffering and cruelly ironic as a result.)
Over time, it has become so thoroughly impossible to articulate moral and political beliefs without endorsing some heinous criminals, of one sort or another, that it seems like perhaps my parents were right, and the only proper thing to hold to is an inarticulate, vague hope in things turning out okay. Professing political belief, yet alone engaging in the world, is dirtying one's hands. I thought this book would be funny, and it was until it suddenly wasn't. I didn't enjoy what I read once the humour had gone, but I am glad I read it. I respect the author for the work put in. Jack Karlson is a man I'll not soon forget.
I think most people on this site have avoided high star ratings because it really doesn't appear to be the book it truly is -- a fact I admired, as Dapin frequently reflects on the nature of a true crime journalist, a profession I had, beforehand, considered a kind of inherently disrespectful, self-regarding occupation.
Dapin, at least, seems to agree, and struggles to make his tale cohere, or make sense of the senseless violence. I'm glad that he doesn't, because who could?
Again and again, I find my university leftist bonafides confronted with the staggering callousness of humanity. I've been listening to a comedy podcast recently from two English public school poshos who talk about history and about, for example, Chairman Mao sucking his own dick. That's the kind of comic misanthropy I had held myself to when younger, while still clinging strongly to leftist ideals. (I'm not saying those guys are leftists, but I think they are equally ignorant of suffering and cruelly ironic as a result.)
Over time, it has become so thoroughly impossible to articulate moral and political beliefs without endorsing some heinous criminals, of one sort or another, that it seems like perhaps my parents were right, and the only proper thing to hold to is an inarticulate, vague hope in things turning out okay. Professing political belief, yet alone engaging in the world, is dirtying one's hands. I thought this book would be funny, and it was until it suddenly wasn't. I didn't enjoy what I read once the humour had gone, but I am glad I read it. I respect the author for the work put in. Jack Karlson is a man I'll not soon forget.
August 17, 2024
This had been sitting on my tbr for some time before the news that Jack Karlson had passed filtered down earlier in the month and I thought, well, now is as good as time as any.
This book is not so much about Jack Karlson as it is about those around Jack Karlson. For those unfamiliar with the name, let's just say that in 2009 someone uploaded a video of the 1991 arrest of Jack Karlson outside a Chinese restaurant in Queensland and it has since achieved a meteoric meme status amongst Australians and now sits within our folklore. It's not surprise that Jack Karlson is a character and a small time crim. Because, isn't that what makes up most of our folklore anyway?
But Carnage is a darker look than what a clip about enjoying a succulent Chinese meal would suggest. Karlson is an assumed identity, one of many for the man born Cecil Edwards whose childhood was one of abuse by institutions charged with his care only to evolve into small time crime and abuse within another institution, jail. In that society that exists parallel with others Karlson rubbed beside along some of Australia's most vile murderers and rapists.
I'm not a huge fan of true crime. And though there is a selection of fascinating characters within this novel, it feels too broad and disjointed without a truly clear narrative. Though supposedly about Karlson, the man is absent from nearly most of the second half, a background ghost in his own story. But it does highlight how small the criminal world is and how connected its players are. It's a slight shame because it's clear that Karlson led a truly interesting life, though unfortunately due to time, alcohol abuse, and a reluctance to be entirely truthful, we will never get the entirety of it.
This book is not so much about Jack Karlson as it is about those around Jack Karlson. For those unfamiliar with the name, let's just say that in 2009 someone uploaded a video of the 1991 arrest of Jack Karlson outside a Chinese restaurant in Queensland and it has since achieved a meteoric meme status amongst Australians and now sits within our folklore. It's not surprise that Jack Karlson is a character and a small time crim. Because, isn't that what makes up most of our folklore anyway?
But Carnage is a darker look than what a clip about enjoying a succulent Chinese meal would suggest. Karlson is an assumed identity, one of many for the man born Cecil Edwards whose childhood was one of abuse by institutions charged with his care only to evolve into small time crime and abuse within another institution, jail. In that society that exists parallel with others Karlson rubbed beside along some of Australia's most vile murderers and rapists.
I'm not a huge fan of true crime. And though there is a selection of fascinating characters within this novel, it feels too broad and disjointed without a truly clear narrative. Though supposedly about Karlson, the man is absent from nearly most of the second half, a background ghost in his own story. But it does highlight how small the criminal world is and how connected its players are. It's a slight shame because it's clear that Karlson led a truly interesting life, though unfortunately due to time, alcohol abuse, and a reluctance to be entirely truthful, we will never get the entirety of it.
August 2, 2025
I think one of the most critical things about this book is that it is so utterly confused. It just seems to be patchworked together by six degrees of separation to the point that the central character, Jack Karlson, is almost entirely disconnected from about 80% of his own narrative.
I understand some people have confusing histories. I think there is definitely something to be said for accounting for those who do not remember their pasts or who are so muddled by them into words. Even if a subject is a difficult or confusing person, they deserve to be some level of memorialised.
Karlson, widely known as the subject of what is perhaps the most iconic Australian meme out there, is an interesting figure, but I would have preferred a book more about him rather than tangentially related underworld figures hovering near him.
I understand some people have confusing histories. I think there is definitely something to be said for accounting for those who do not remember their pasts or who are so muddled by them into words. Even if a subject is a difficult or confusing person, they deserve to be some level of memorialised.
Karlson, widely known as the subject of what is perhaps the most iconic Australian meme out there, is an interesting figure, but I would have preferred a book more about him rather than tangentially related underworld figures hovering near him.
August 18, 2023
This was a LOT.
Interesting to hear about how interconnected the criminal web of that swathe of Australia was
Interesting to hear about how interconnected the criminal web of that swathe of Australia was
September 28, 2023
An unreal book about many things but a real glimpse into the criminal scene in St Kilda and an insight into the prison system. I really enjoyed this book.
Read
December 21, 2023I’m afraid this was a did nit finish for me. I really struggled with it almost from the word go.
It’s supposedly about a colourful character named Jack Karlson who was a criminal in the 1970s and the people he rubbed shoulders with and the disappearance and murder of his partner but it meanders and at times wanders so far off thr point that I began to forget what the point was.
The early chapters deal with two crime who were “prison play writers” or were they. Doubt is cast on whether they were the actual authors of the works attributed to them and we learn about a couple of others whose paths crossed them
karlson’s partner. She supposedly helped her eventual killer escape, he then met up,with others and now we are learning about missing fur coats and a fight with two more characters who had little to do with the fur coats.
The murdered woman and her killer seemingly left behind.
I’m afraid I lost interest at that point.
It seemed to have fairly good reviews but I found it very slow going and I was taking too long to get through it. There were other library books waiting.
It’s supposedly about a colourful character named Jack Karlson who was a criminal in the 1970s and the people he rubbed shoulders with and the disappearance and murder of his partner but it meanders and at times wanders so far off thr point that I began to forget what the point was.
The early chapters deal with two crime who were “prison play writers” or were they. Doubt is cast on whether they were the actual authors of the works attributed to them and we learn about a couple of others whose paths crossed them
karlson’s partner. She supposedly helped her eventual killer escape, he then met up,with others and now we are learning about missing fur coats and a fight with two more characters who had little to do with the fur coats.
The murdered woman and her killer seemingly left behind.
I’m afraid I lost interest at that point.
It seemed to have fairly good reviews but I found it very slow going and I was taking too long to get through it. There were other library books waiting.
August 13, 2024
2.5 - this book came at me in waves where it was really engaging for a while, then it was tedious and disjointed. I read it because of the democracy manifest video, wanting to know more about what drives such a man to be so impassioned for succulent Chinese meals. It's mostly about the lowlife rapists and murderes from St Kilda in the 70s. I wouldn't have read it if I'd known. It's hard to keep track of all the different people popping in and out of this book. I really struggled with any kind of clear narrative. It's almost just a list of the awful people Karlson knew to varying degrees and the awful things they did.
There are several musings on true crime authors, and minimising the glorification of criminals which I felt rang a bit hollow. This is a true crime novel containing lots of overly specific grisly details of many vicious crimes. How is this any different from all those podcasts that are derided in this book?
There are several musings on true crime authors, and minimising the glorification of criminals which I felt rang a bit hollow. This is a true crime novel containing lots of overly specific grisly details of many vicious crimes. How is this any different from all those podcasts that are derided in this book?
July 5, 2025
The frustrating thing about this book is that very little of it is actually about the man who ate a succulent Chinese meal. I spent most of the book wanting to learn more about the man and his past - but it seems the research actually turned up little concrete evidence and so the book was written about all sorts of other criminals that he was associated with. Thus, the man, who indeed is clearly a mystery, remains so after much reading and hoping for greater insights. And this was frustrating. It seems there wasn’t much of a book to actually right about him.
What I most appreciate about it is how it portrays the horrific and broken contexts that these people were forged in. It is also interesting to reflect that the internet sensation of democracy manifest has seen millions of people laughing at a funny event embodied by a very broken man. Perhaps this has something to say about the superficiality of what we enter into through online, or indeed, any media?
What I most appreciate about it is how it portrays the horrific and broken contexts that these people were forged in. It is also interesting to reflect that the internet sensation of democracy manifest has seen millions of people laughing at a funny event embodied by a very broken man. Perhaps this has something to say about the superficiality of what we enter into through online, or indeed, any media?
Did not finish
June 30, 2024💩DNF’d at 79 pages💩
And another one bites the dust…
Originally picked this book to read along with my 15 year old brother (got it for him as a Christmas gift), thinking it would be about the man behind ”what is the charge?! Eating a meal?! A succulent Chinese meal!!!” and the culture surrounding this particular meme. This was definitely far from it.
In hindsight, knowing what I know about some of the book now, I don’t think I would’ve bought this book as a Christmas present for my brother. The language is quite crude, especially when the author wrote about one of Karlson’s experience in jail.
I also found no relevance to include the biographies of different people that he was involved with.
This probably could’ve been better as a 1 hour documentary, or even a half hour interview…
And another one bites the dust…
Originally picked this book to read along with my 15 year old brother (got it for him as a Christmas gift), thinking it would be about the man behind ”what is the charge?! Eating a meal?! A succulent Chinese meal!!!” and the culture surrounding this particular meme. This was definitely far from it.
In hindsight, knowing what I know about some of the book now, I don’t think I would’ve bought this book as a Christmas present for my brother. The language is quite crude, especially when the author wrote about one of Karlson’s experience in jail.
I also found no relevance to include the biographies of different people that he was involved with.
This probably could’ve been better as a 1 hour documentary, or even a half hour interview…
Read
June 20, 2025this book is a mess and totally misleading; out of all 320 pages of this book (excluding the first and last chapters) maybe 20 pages were about jack karlson. the rest were all random names that i couldn’t keep up with, who i had no interest in, and who’s rapes and murders of women were all described in needlessly graphic detail. seriously, if i took a shot every time a random painter and docker was introduced only for them to never be brought up again i would never have finished this book because i literally would’ve drunk myself to death. thankfully for mark dapin, i am easily entertained and don’t like DNFing books so i got through it easily enough, but if i didn’t then i wouldn’t be burdened with the knowledge that one of australia’s greatest pop culture heroes is unfortunately a legitimate, full on nazi.
📍home
🧘♀️personal choice
💐wouldn’t recommend
🕯️first time reading
📍home
🧘♀️personal choice
💐wouldn’t recommend
🕯️first time reading
September 24, 2023
2.5 stars
For anyone who hasn't seen the infamous video, do yourself a favor now and look up either succulent chinese meal or democracy manifest. The clip is of a burly looking bloke who is getting arrested outside a restaurant, as the cops try to bundle him into the car, he booms out like a Shakespearean actor with a stream of wild accusations and commentary on the police conduct. Well worth a watch.
Mark Dapin's book follows the life of the man in the video who lead a life as a career criminal. Some of the stories in Carnage are interesting and entertaining, but overall I found myself not enjoying the lives of people who spent their time doing terrible things. Just wasn't for me.
For anyone who hasn't seen the infamous video, do yourself a favor now and look up either succulent chinese meal or democracy manifest. The clip is of a burly looking bloke who is getting arrested outside a restaurant, as the cops try to bundle him into the car, he booms out like a Shakespearean actor with a stream of wild accusations and commentary on the police conduct. Well worth a watch.
Mark Dapin's book follows the life of the man in the video who lead a life as a career criminal. Some of the stories in Carnage are interesting and entertaining, but overall I found myself not enjoying the lives of people who spent their time doing terrible things. Just wasn't for me.
December 6, 2023
I do not generally read true crime books, which the author ironically notes are, in most cases, almost certainly anything but “true“.
If it were not for the connection to the Democracy Manifest/Succulent Chinese Meal meme, which book-ends the story of a series of brutal, and completely and utterly pointless, murders that occurred in the late 1970s, then I wouldn’t have read this book either.
I have read some of this author’s work before and enjoyed it, but I found the way this book is written somewhat disjointed and it was difficult to read. I struggled to get through it a little bit, despite the fact that the underlying story was interesting (or at least you want to get to end once you’ve started). It was difficult to keep up with the cast of people in the sordid story.
If it were not for the connection to the Democracy Manifest/Succulent Chinese Meal meme, which book-ends the story of a series of brutal, and completely and utterly pointless, murders that occurred in the late 1970s, then I wouldn’t have read this book either.
I have read some of this author’s work before and enjoyed it, but I found the way this book is written somewhat disjointed and it was difficult to read. I struggled to get through it a little bit, despite the fact that the underlying story was interesting (or at least you want to get to end once you’ve started). It was difficult to keep up with the cast of people in the sordid story.
December 4, 2023
Who would've thought that the Democracy Manifest would have enough about him to warrant a 9hr book. But in fact he was actually a medium time crook with a prison escaping resume that's quite impressive, and ironically the arrest of the Succulent Chinese Meal was mistaken identity despite his sordid history of other crimes.
Perhaps a bit of filler of the melbourne 70s and 80s underground crime scene with Christopher Flannery etc. But quite interesting all round and excellent investigative journalism
Perhaps a bit of filler of the melbourne 70s and 80s underground crime scene with Christopher Flannery etc. But quite interesting all round and excellent investigative journalism
April 9, 2024
There was definitely a lot going on in this book, I feel like it jumped around a lot and at times it would take me a second to realize who we were reading about again. However, that being said, I didn't necessarily mind this as it kept my short attention span engaged. I think if you are familiar with the meme and have any interest in Australian true crime then you would would probably enjoy this book.
June 28, 2024
I borrowed this book as I was interested in learning more about Jack Karlson. How could I not, with those phrases that we all know and are now part of our vernacular. But I was a bit disappointed, and finishing the book was a struggle. I understand his interactions with all the other criminal characters, but I just didn't care for them if I'm honest.
August 11, 2024
I started listening to this before the Democracy Manifest larrikin's demise was reported, purely coincidental after I searched for Australian non-fiction to check out. Started out interesting enough but midway became a meandering tale of various well-known and lesser known Aussie 'underworld' characters from the 70s and 80s. I persevered due to familiarity with the names, but lost interest about 60% of the way through.
August 14, 2024
I was looking forward to reading this book but was disappointed. The central character disappears about halfway through and resurfaces at the end. While the characters are interesting the narrative jumps around and you lose track of who is doing what. Dapin is a good writer and this isn't his best work.
October 20, 2024
This did have some good stories, but was really a review of a number of Australian criminals. I couldn’t always follow as, similar to the last book I read, there were a lot of time jumps and many characters. I did feel that Mark painted Jack Karlson in a fair light and he came across as a very pitiable individual. I hope his family can have some peace.
November 8, 2025
My boyfriend got me this as a reference to the succulent chinese meal video and i thought this was gonna be a fun and lighthearted story. it was not.
This was an interesting (and grisly) depiction of the connectedness of the criminal underworld, but just had too many characters popping up for me to fully understand what was going on
This was an interesting (and grisly) depiction of the connectedness of the criminal underworld, but just had too many characters popping up for me to fully understand what was going on
March 30, 2024
Incoherent. Rambling. Not helped with the fantasist subject. I was intrigued to hear the story behind the famous “This is democracy manifest” clip but disappointed by the random flow of (un)consciousness from a man who clearly needs help after being let down by society.
October 22, 2025
if you’re interested in niche stories from australia’s criminal underbelly circa 1960s - 1980s, this book is probably for you. this book does, however, suffer from the fatal flaw all reviews of it have mentioned; its contents are overcrowded and its narrative through line is threadbare.
April 26, 2024
I prefer Dapin's journalistic talents to his novels. He certainly writes about some weird and wonderful real life characters.
October 5, 2024
A very interesting read
November 7, 2024
Interesting book
May 27, 2025
Carnage indeed!
Read
July 3, 2025not sure i could say what actually happened in this book
December 11, 2025
A highly illuminating look at the Australian criminal underworld of the period and the man who interacted with it in a fairly major way. Far more than just a meme, Jack Karlson was a man with a tragic and complex life that was let down massively in his youth, ending on a path he never truly recovered from.
Mark Dapin also does some great self-reflection on the writing of true crime books and the moral impact it has on you.
Highly recommended.
Mark Dapin also does some great self-reflection on the writing of true crime books and the moral impact it has on you.
Highly recommended.
January 6, 2025
The book has an undeniably interesting hook, but regularly loses the plot. Despite the Succulent Chinese Meal that serves as the anchor for the book, the protagonist of that video feels like an ancillary character in this true crime book. Jack Karlson crossed paths with some of Australia's most storied criminals, his wife even being murdered by "Australia's Charles Manson," but he remains absent for most of the book. Mark Dapin delves deeply into Karlson's early life, including his first stints in prison, but loses sight of him while exploring Mr. Rent-A-Kill and other glamorous criminals who have some tangential connection to Karlson. It's a pity, but also an indication that there may not be that much to Karlson's story beyond his viral stardom.
Nonetheless, this was a fun read and gave me ample excuses to watch Karlson's incredible moment of internet fame on repeat.
Nonetheless, this was a fun read and gave me ample excuses to watch Karlson's incredible moment of internet fame on repeat.
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