1st Edition

The Novels of Alex Miller An introduction

Edited By Robert Dixon Copyright 2012
    278 Pages
    by Routledge

    One of Australia's most respected novelists, Alex Miller's writing is both popular and critically well-received. He is twice winner of Australia's premier literary prize, the Miles Franklin Award. He has said that writing is his way of 'locating connections' and his work is known for its deeply empathic engagement with relationships and cultures.

    This collection explores his early and later works, including Miller's best-known novels, The Ancestor Game, Journey to the Stone Country, Lovesong and Autumn Laing. Contributors examine his intricately constructed plots, his interest in the nature of home and migration, the representation in his work of Australian history and culture, and key recurring themes including art and Aboriginal issues. Also included is a memoir, illustrated by photographs from his personal collection, in which Alex Miller reflects on his writing life.

    With contributions from leading critics including Raimond Gaita, Peter Pierce, Ronald A. Sharp, Brenda Walker, Elizabeth Webby and Geordie Williamson, this collection is the first substantial critical analysis of Alex Miller's work. It is an invaluable resource for anyone teaching and studying contemporary Australian literature.

    1 Disestablished Worlds: The Novels of Alex Miller - Robert Dixon

    2 The Mask of Fiction: A Memoir - Alex Miller

    3 Alex Miller and Leo Tolstoy: Australian Storytelling in a European Tradition - Brenda Walker

    4 'My Memory Has a Mind of Its Own': Watching the Climbers on the Mountain and The Tivington Nott - Peter Pierce

    5 Alex Miller: Migrant Writer - Ingeborg van Teeseling

    6 The Presence of Absence in The Sitters- Ronald A. Sharp

    7 Like/Unlike: Portraiture, Similitude and the Craft of Words in The Sitters - Brigitta Olubas

    8 An Artist in the Family: Reconfigurations of Romantic Paradigms in Prochownik's Dream - Adrian Caesar

    9 Representing 'the Other' in the Fiction of Alex Miller - Elizabeth Webby

    10 Continental Heartlands and Alex Miller's Geosophical Imaginary - Elizabeth McMahon

    11 Personal Perspectives on the Central Queensland Novels - Frank Budby, Elizabeth Hatte and Anita Heiss

    12 The Frontier Wars: History and Fiction in Journey to the Stone Country and Landscape of Farewell - Shirley Walker

    13 Old Testament Prophets, New Testament Saviours: Reading Retribution and Forgiveness Towards Whiteness in Journey to the Stone Country - Liliana Zavaglia

    14 Dougald's Goat: Alex Miller and the Species Barrier - David Brooks

    15 The Ruin of Time and the Temporality of Belonging: Journey to the Stone Country and Landscape of Farewell - Brigid Rooney

    16 Trusting the Words: Reflections on Landscape of Farewell - Raimond Gaita

    17 Autumn Laing - Geordie Williamson

    Biography

    Robert Dixon is Professor of Australian Literature at the University of Sydney.