ALEX MILLER was born in 1936 in London,U.K. to a Scottish father and an Irish mother. He migrated alone to Australia at the age of 16. He worked as a ringer in Queensland and a horse breaker in New Zealand. He later graduated from the University of Melbourne in English and History in 1965. He is now one of Australia's best loved writers and the winner of many literary awards.
LOVESONG:
Kris:
It's a story of a marriage between a young Tunisian immigrant and a young Australian man in Paris. Sabiha, an exotic dark skinned young woman has recently arrived in France to help her widowed aunt with her cafe. The cafe offers a home away from home for North African immigrant workers. Tragedy strikes and eventually the couple move to Australia with their young daughter to start a new patisserie and put the past behind them. It was an interesting story and beautifully written.
Pamela:
Pamela didn't like the book. She didn't like the characters, especially the disloyalty. She felt Sabiha was an awful person.
Pat:
Pat liked the book. She liked the style of writing. There was sadness but it was also a feel good book. She also enjoyed the scenes in Paris and liked the characters.
Claurene:
Claurene was really pleased she found this author. She wondered how she has missed him and will read more books by this author.
PASSAGE OF LOVE:
Rosemarie:
This book was written in 2017. Robert, a young man leaves London and moves to Queensland and then to Melbourne. He becomes an author and meets Lena who is educated and well off. It's a love story but Lena has mental health issues. Rosemary said she liked the characters despite their flaws. She also said it was well written with tones of a male voice open to emotion. Rosemarie said it was the author's own story moulded into fiction.
Charis:
Charis said the blurb on the cover said it was Miller's own story in a novel. The story is the passage of people's relationships and it follows people's ambitions. There is tension in the relationship which comes through in the writing. She enjoyed the book until about half way and then got got sick of the simple descriptions of the land. She also found the psychological aspect interesting and would recommend the book as a semi light read.
JOURNEY TO THE STONE COUNTRY: (Published 2002 - Winner of Miles Franklin Literary Award)
Joan:
The two main characters are Annabelle who has been a Melbourne academic and Bo, an aboriginal ranger and cultural surveyor. Annabelle's husband has a fling with a student and then Annabelle has an affair with Bo. They both grew up in North Queensland on a farm. Joan said there was good characterizations but felt the descriptions of the land didn't give you the feel of the land. There was a theme of the need for the two cultures to work together. The most powerful part was the last twenty pages. The strong ending was revelatory, confronting and threatening. Joan also said cigarettes were a big part of the story and would like to try some of his other novels without the constant smoking.
Ed:
Ed was annoyed about the descriptions of the characters smoking all the time and rolling their cigarettes. She enjoyed the book but felt dubious about Bo and Annabelle's relationship.
Judy J:
Judy also found the relationship with Bo and Annabelle highly unlikely. Annabelle had a privileged lifestyle and went to a Melbourne boarding school. Maybe it was a physical attraction? Judy couldn't get past the spitting and smoking.
Val:
Val said she usually chooses books by their first page and this book did it for her. She had only been to the outback once and felt there was a sense of spirituality there. The descriptions are beautiful. Val liked the story.
Wendy 1:
Wendy said the description of the country was good. Annabelle was a weak character whereas Bo was a stronger character. She agreed the relationship was a bit unlikely as well. She liked his writing and felt he got the Australian vernacular quite well most of the time. The indigenous characters weren't portrayed as victims. The confrontation with the old Aboriginal woman at the end of the book was very powerful.
Jo:
Jo loved the book and loved the descriptions. She found it very interesting.
Tam:
Tam said it was very descriptive and had a spirituality theme - the Aboriginals drawn to the land. She also got sick of the smoking in the story. The relationship between Annabelle and Bo didn't make sense. She felt the story had a theme of how to move together with love and acknowledgement, despite the difficult past.
Prue:
Prue felt there were three main characters, Bo, Annabelle and the landscape. Bo and Annabelle were both returning from places in their past. The minor characters were well done. She felt he did the language well and that all the author's experiences come through. He regards his stories as gifted to him.
Anne:
Anne enjoyed the book. She said it was partly based on a true story.
AUTUMN LAING
Connie:
Connie said it was excellent writing. She enjoyed it but didn't like the characters. The descriptions of Queensland were good. The story is set in Melbourne about a group of modern artists who Connie felt weren't very nice people. She didn't like the promiscuity.The narrator is a woman of 85 writing her autobiography. It tells the story of each of the artists, one who becomes the narrator's younger lover after leaving his pregnant wife. Autumn doesn't care at the time but regrets it later in life.
Wendy 2:
Wendy didn't read the whole book. She enjoyed the style but not the story and just couldn't finish.
Charis:
Charis read this book as well as PASSAGE OF LOVE. She preferred this book. She disliked the character of the narrator. She liked to control her art circle but couldn't conquer and control her young lover. She found the descriptions of the landscape bland and she felt cigarette smoking permeated the story as an irritant.
COAL CREEK (Published 2013)
Pauline:
Pauline had liked two books of Alex Miller she had previously read. This time she read Coal Creek. This story is set in the hinterland of Queensland in the 1940's. Bobby Blue is a cattleman looking back on his life. It is told in artless prose. It is disconcerting when used to the good prose of Alex Miller. There is a new constable from the city who has deep fear and suspicion of country people. He is Bobby Blue's boss. Bobby's best friend Ben has a violent streak and a series of conflicts arise. The characters are well defined. It is beautifully written and sensitive. It's about love, loyalty and trust. Pauline said it was a good read.
Kris
AUGUST: We will be reading books about Segregation. One example is Colour Purple.
SEPTEMBER: We will be reading books by the author Will Cather. Various titles include "My Antonia","O Pioneers" and "The Song of the Lark". Otherwise choose your own book by this author.
After our book club meeting this month we celebrated our Christmas in July lunch at the Cornerstone Cafe. It was an enjoyable time with good food and good company.
