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Coal Creek Alex Miller

Coal Creek By Alex Miller

Coal Creek by Alex Miller


$26.99
Condition - Very Good
Only 1 left

Summary

From one of Australia's most acclaimed literary authors comes a mesmerising new novel of friendship and betrayal.

Coal Creek Summary

Coal Creek by Alex Miller

When his father dies, Bobby Blue decides to leave the Mount Hay cattle station where they worked side by side and take a job in town as the new constable's offsider. Daniel, the constable, his wife Esme and their two girls, Irie and Miriam, are new to the western country and, struggling to understand its inhabitants, invite Bobby to stay in a hut on their property where he is educated alongside their daughters.

But there's a simmering tension, building quietly and strongly, beneath the overt goodwill. And when first Irie then Miriam become involved in a dispute that threatens violence, there's an abrupt and ruthless change in attitude from Daniel and Esme towards Bobby.

When tragedy strikes at Coal Creek the true nature of the perceived friendship is laid bare with consequences that will haunt Bobby for decades.

Coal Creek Reviews

Told in sinewy, taciturn prose, Coal Creek is a brilliantly realised character piece. * The Herald (Scotland) *
Despite its inevitability the novel's explosion of violence, when it comes, makes me almost jump out of my skin. Miller is good at that. And danged if, even after everything that happens, he doesn't manage - Antipodean magician that he is - to put a smile on my face as I turn the final page. * Irish Times *
Alex Miller's Coal Creek is a triumph. If ever there were an example of a novelist simultaneously commanding yet somehow at the mercy of a character's voice, this is it. -- Tim Winton * The Australian *
Miller has been a master of visceral description from as long ago as the first novel he published...What might also be considered are the likenesses, more than ever apparent, between his career and that of Patrick White. Each draws deeply on his youthful experience working in the outback. Each writes of the making of art. They are alike adept at acrid comedies of manners. * Weekend Australian *
It's difficult to shake off the sense that in Coal Creek Miller has struck a kind of grace note in a literary career already lauded for a certain touch of resonant genius. For Coal Creek is that rare, mystifyingly powerful novel that lodges itself, unbidden, deep in the human marrow... Miller brings a rare empathy and melodic power to this tale which is, at one level, a timeless tale of friendship and love, betrayal and injustice. At another it is like a ballad to country - timeless, evocative, and unforgettable. * West Australian *
Miller's novel is in many respects his best yet, a compelling tale of important ideas and influential relationships, an examination of a period in art and of characters who command empathy even when acting badly. * The Times Literary Supplement on Autumn Laing *
Miller is a treasure from the land Down Under... Why we haven't been reading him for years, I honestly can't imagine. * Irish Times *
Miller's eleventh novel deserves a place in the national psyche * Herald Sun *

About Alex Miller

Alex Miller has twice won the prestigious Miles Franklin Literary Award, Australia's premier literary prize; the first occasion in 1993 for The Ancestor Game, and again in 2003 for Journey to the Stone Country. He is also an overall winner of the Commonwealth Writers' Prize, for The Ancestor Game, in 1993. British by birth, he now lives in Victoria.

Additional information

GOR006460975
9781743319451
1743319452
Coal Creek by Alex Miller
Used - Very Good
Paperback
Allen & Unwin
2015-01-01
304
Long-listed for IMPAC DUBLIN LITERARY AWARD 2014 (UK)
Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
This is a used book - there is no escaping the fact it has been read by someone else and it will show signs of wear and previous use. Overall we expect it to be in very good condition, but if you are not entirely satisfied please get in touch with us

Customer Reviews - Coal Creek