Read This: Alex Miller Finally Lets His Friend Die
Feb 22, 2025
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Alex Miller, a two-time Miles Franklin Award-winning author at 88, discusses his latest novel, The Deal. He delves into themes of grief and memory shaped by the loss of his friend Alan O'Hoy. The conversation highlights the intricate connections between storytelling and personal relationships, especially regarding societal issues like racism in Australia. Miller reflects on how age and personal experiences deepen artistic expression, emphasizing the healing power of narrative after loss.
Alex Miller's latest novel, The Deal, reflects on the themes of friendship, loss, and cultural identity, revisiting characters from his earlier work.
The podcast highlights Miller's dedication to storytelling as a way to uncover personal truths and address complex societal issues through his writing.
Deep dives
Alex Miller's Literary Journey
Alex Miller, a celebrated Australian author, has crafted a remarkable career spanning several decades, marked by his two Miles Franklin Awards and numerous accolades. At the age of 87, he continues to produce profound works, with his latest novel, The Deal, serving as a poignant return to themes he explored in his earlier writing. Miller's journey began over 37 years ago with his debut, Watching the Climbers on the Mountain, showcasing his evolution as a writer dedicated to delving into complex characters and cultural themes. His recent collaboration with his wife, A Kind of Confession, offers readers a window into his life through an extensive collection of personal writings, providing insight into the creative processes that underline his novels.
Exploring Past Relationships
The Deal revisits themes and characters from Miller's acclaimed novel, The Ancestor Game, which introduced Lang Tzu—a character based on his real-life friend, artist Alan O'Hoy. The poignant exploration of friendship, loss, and cultural identity in The Deal invites readers to reflect on the impact of racism and the complexities of artistic expression in Australia. Through this narrative, Miller aims to confront the emotional aftermath of O'Hoy's tragic death, providing a fresh perspective on their shared experiences and the deeper truths surrounding their friendship. By allowing Lang Tzu to meet a different fate in this novel, Miller seeks to reconcile the past while addressing larger societal issues that persist.
Truth and Reflection in Writing
Miller's reflections on his writing process reveal a dedication to uncovering truth, not just about his characters but also within his own life experiences. In discussing the evolution of his narratives, he emphasizes the importance of perspective and age in how stories are told, particularly regarding themes of death and loss. Unlike his earlier work, which offered a somewhat idealized view of Lang Tzu's life, The Deal allows for a more honest reckoning with the past and the complexities of human relationships. Miller asserts that the act of storytelling remains deeply tied to personal connections and the lessons learned through those bonds, particularly in the context of parenthood and love.
Two time Miles Franklin Award-winning author Alex Miller is 88, but with 17 books under his belt and more writing on the way, he’s showing no signs of slowing down. On this episode of Read This, host Michael Williams sits down with Alex to discuss his latest book The Deal, which revisits the life of Lang Tzu, a character in his critically acclaimed novel The Ancestor Game.
