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Watching the Climbers on the Mountain
Anger, jealousy, madness and revenge - a powerful novel of relationships set on a remote far north Queensland cattle station.
233 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 1, 2012
2 people are currently reading
41 people want to read
About the author
Alex Miller
28 books151 followersAlex Miller is one of Australia's best-loved writers, and winner of the Melbourne Prize for Literature 2012.
Alex Miller is twice winner of Australia's premier literary prize, The Miles Franklin Literary Award, first 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, in 1993 for The Ancestor Game. His fifth novel, Conditions of Faith, won the Christina Stead Prize for Fiction in the 2001 New South Wales Premier's Awards. In 2011 he won this award a second time with his most recent novel Lovesong. Lovesong also won the People's Choice Award in the NSW Premier's Awards, the Age Book of the Year Award and the Age Fiction Prize for 2011. In 2007 Landscape of Farewell was published to wide critical acclaim and in 2008 won the Chinese Annual Foreign Novels 21st Century Award for Best Novel and the Manning Clark Medal for an outstanding contribution to Australian cultural life. It was also short-listed for the Miles Franklin Award, the Christina Stead Prize for Fiction, the ALS Gold Medal and the Commonwealth Writers' Prize. Alex is published internationally and widely in translation. Autumn Laing is his tenth novel.
Alex Miller is twice winner of Australia's premier literary prize, The Miles Franklin Literary Award, first 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, in 1993 for The Ancestor Game. His fifth novel, Conditions of Faith, won the Christina Stead Prize for Fiction in the 2001 New South Wales Premier's Awards. In 2011 he won this award a second time with his most recent novel Lovesong. Lovesong also won the People's Choice Award in the NSW Premier's Awards, the Age Book of the Year Award and the Age Fiction Prize for 2011. In 2007 Landscape of Farewell was published to wide critical acclaim and in 2008 won the Chinese Annual Foreign Novels 21st Century Award for Best Novel and the Manning Clark Medal for an outstanding contribution to Australian cultural life. It was also short-listed for the Miles Franklin Award, the Christina Stead Prize for Fiction, the ALS Gold Medal and the Commonwealth Writers' Prize. Alex is published internationally and widely in translation. Autumn Laing is his tenth novel.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
December 9, 2013
Miller's debut novel (actually his second to be written - 'The Tivington Nott' preceded this but was published a year after 'Watching the Climbers on the Mountain') draws on his own experiences as a stockman on stations in Queensland's Central Highlands after he emigrated to Australia, aged 16, as a 'ten pound pom'.
It is an oft-used (indeed, over-used) phrase in book reviewing to say a novel does not read like a debut, but Miller's truly does read like the work of a mature and experienced writer. Which of course he was: Miller was already in his fifties when this was published in 1988, and whilst it differs somewhat in terms of style from his later works, it escapes many of the pitfalls associated with debuts. Indeed it has a timeless, elemental quality that feels almost akin to myth (and which means he gets away with the use of some symbolism that in lesser hands could have felt heavy-handed).
This is the eighth of Miller's eleven novels I have read, and it was interesting to see the ways in which it foreshadows some of his later works: in his empathy for female characters that is such a notable feature of his work; and in his handling of landscape and of silence - both in the landscape and within and between characters - it prefigures works like 'Journey to the Stone Country', 'The Landscape of Farewell', and also the use of physical absence in 'The Sitters'. It also, in its set-up and some of the character dynamics, feels like a forerunner to his most recent novel, 'Coal Creek'.
What this novel is primarily about though is sex. A young English stockman, Robert Crofts, is hired by Ward Rankin to work on his station in Queensland - Crofts is a man of few words and a tireless labourer, but is chiefly characterised by his intense physical beauty and muscularity, which Miller writes about almost fetishistically (Crofts seems to spend a large part of the novel naked). As the heat of summer builds towards the storm season, so too do the passions and schisms in the Rankin family come bubbling to the surface. Ward Rankin becomes increasingly distrustful of Crofts, suspecting him of trying to undermine him and to eradicate the 'mark' he and his ancestors have left on the land, but there is a distinct undercurrent of homoeroticism in the way Rankin plots Crofts' downfall whilst simultaneously fantasising about being rescued by him. Rankin's young wife, Ida's reaction to the stockman is much more prosaic: her marriage to Rankin is loveless and she feels isolated both within her family and from her own idea of her self, and Crofts offers a release for her. The reaction of the two Rankin children, Janet and Alistair, is also interesting: Janet, at thirteen, is becoming aware of her own sexuality and flaunts herself ay Crofts; Alistair resents the way in which his sister is moving away from him, but more importantly intuits that something is going on between Crofts and his mother - his response is an almost oedipal jealousy.
There are - for me - very few authors who write novels as immersive as Miller's, where I will look up from the page and be surprised to find myself facing a dreary december day in England. Few books have as vividly engaged all my senses as 'Journey to the Stone Country', and 'Watching the Climbers on the Mountain' comes very close to achieving the same effect. I also love the way Miller writes characters: it often seem to me that writers are like sculptors - some add layers and 'flesh to the bones' as the story progresses, as though they were working in clay; Miller is the rarer kind - his characters feel fully-formed from the first page yet, like real people, essentially unknown; Miller then chips away at this as though he were working in marble, gradually revealing and making known what was there all along.
Finishing this novel I am puzzled as to why it was out of print for many years until being reissued by Allen & Unwin in 2012 - the lack of review quotes for it seem to suggest that it is seen almost as a piece of juvenilia to be dismissed. It may lack some of the subtlety of his later works, but this is still a superb novel. Why Miller isn't as well known internationally as Peter Carey, Tim Winton or David Malouf is a mystery.
It is an oft-used (indeed, over-used) phrase in book reviewing to say a novel does not read like a debut, but Miller's truly does read like the work of a mature and experienced writer. Which of course he was: Miller was already in his fifties when this was published in 1988, and whilst it differs somewhat in terms of style from his later works, it escapes many of the pitfalls associated with debuts. Indeed it has a timeless, elemental quality that feels almost akin to myth (and which means he gets away with the use of some symbolism that in lesser hands could have felt heavy-handed).
This is the eighth of Miller's eleven novels I have read, and it was interesting to see the ways in which it foreshadows some of his later works: in his empathy for female characters that is such a notable feature of his work; and in his handling of landscape and of silence - both in the landscape and within and between characters - it prefigures works like 'Journey to the Stone Country', 'The Landscape of Farewell', and also the use of physical absence in 'The Sitters'. It also, in its set-up and some of the character dynamics, feels like a forerunner to his most recent novel, 'Coal Creek'.
What this novel is primarily about though is sex. A young English stockman, Robert Crofts, is hired by Ward Rankin to work on his station in Queensland - Crofts is a man of few words and a tireless labourer, but is chiefly characterised by his intense physical beauty and muscularity, which Miller writes about almost fetishistically (Crofts seems to spend a large part of the novel naked). As the heat of summer builds towards the storm season, so too do the passions and schisms in the Rankin family come bubbling to the surface. Ward Rankin becomes increasingly distrustful of Crofts, suspecting him of trying to undermine him and to eradicate the 'mark' he and his ancestors have left on the land, but there is a distinct undercurrent of homoeroticism in the way Rankin plots Crofts' downfall whilst simultaneously fantasising about being rescued by him. Rankin's young wife, Ida's reaction to the stockman is much more prosaic: her marriage to Rankin is loveless and she feels isolated both within her family and from her own idea of her self, and Crofts offers a release for her. The reaction of the two Rankin children, Janet and Alistair, is also interesting: Janet, at thirteen, is becoming aware of her own sexuality and flaunts herself ay Crofts; Alistair resents the way in which his sister is moving away from him, but more importantly intuits that something is going on between Crofts and his mother - his response is an almost oedipal jealousy.
There are - for me - very few authors who write novels as immersive as Miller's, where I will look up from the page and be surprised to find myself facing a dreary december day in England. Few books have as vividly engaged all my senses as 'Journey to the Stone Country', and 'Watching the Climbers on the Mountain' comes very close to achieving the same effect. I also love the way Miller writes characters: it often seem to me that writers are like sculptors - some add layers and 'flesh to the bones' as the story progresses, as though they were working in clay; Miller is the rarer kind - his characters feel fully-formed from the first page yet, like real people, essentially unknown; Miller then chips away at this as though he were working in marble, gradually revealing and making known what was there all along.
Finishing this novel I am puzzled as to why it was out of print for many years until being reissued by Allen & Unwin in 2012 - the lack of review quotes for it seem to suggest that it is seen almost as a piece of juvenilia to be dismissed. It may lack some of the subtlety of his later works, but this is still a superb novel. Why Miller isn't as well known internationally as Peter Carey, Tim Winton or David Malouf is a mystery.
December 2, 2025
This was an excellent work on many levels but the finishing event came across as a cop out. A narrative straining to reach a conclusion and collapsing in a heap before it got there. Two and half stars, if could, for characters, setting and tension maintained convincingly. This unfortunately kept me reading til it trailed off dismally into a cliche’d and unconvincing, but convenient for all involved, ending.
October 11, 2017
Four and a half stars from me. This is another excellent novel by Alex Miller set again in central Queensland, Australia. I visited there earlier this year and am planning on going back again next year to see and experience more of the places he writes about.
November 1, 2013
(Review originally published in The Byron Shire Echo Newspaper - November 6th, 2012)
“A small Queensland cattle station during the height of summer is a place where events that are quite out of the ordinary may sometimes occur. There is, at that time of year in such places, an enforced dislocation of the regular rhythms of daily life. The sense of isolation deepens with the coming season of storms and the intensification of the heat.”
These are the opening words of Alex Miller’s Watching the Climbers on the Mountain; rarely does the first page so perfectly sum up the experience you are about to have in reading the rest of the book, but here they ring absolutely true.
This novel tells the tale of the unstable and controlling Ward Rankin and his family struck out in the remote Central Highlands of Queensland, alone until their world is shattered by the arrival of the new stockman. Robert Crofts — beautiful, young and aloof — bursts into their world and no one is ever the same.
The land they occupy is harsh and unrelenting; you can feel the dryness and the intolerable heat and it lends a sense of the surreal to their lives. Here, nature is oppressive but beautiful, dangerous but thrilling and ultimately offers the chance of freedom. Much is alluded to and I felt as if I was never quite sure if something had happened, if the characters imagined it happened or if I’d been reading too late at night and just missed a beat in the story. This is perhaps part of Miller’s intention, to create a world of speculation and suspense that draws you in. And it does. The strange children, the extended family, the budding bonds and ways they either fiercely love or hate the underdog stockman; the narrative moves quickly towards an uncertain conclusion amidst rivalry, passion and revenge. The ending is shocking, but satisfyingly so. Still, I felt always one step removed from the drama, probably more because things were all a bit creepy and twisted and I wanted to distance myself, rather than due to any failing of the Miles Franklin winning author.
The landscape and characters are undeniably Australian; this book is like an intelligent and gritty old yarn about what happens out there in the places most of us never get to go.
“A small Queensland cattle station during the height of summer is a place where events that are quite out of the ordinary may sometimes occur. There is, at that time of year in such places, an enforced dislocation of the regular rhythms of daily life. The sense of isolation deepens with the coming season of storms and the intensification of the heat.”
These are the opening words of Alex Miller’s Watching the Climbers on the Mountain; rarely does the first page so perfectly sum up the experience you are about to have in reading the rest of the book, but here they ring absolutely true.
This novel tells the tale of the unstable and controlling Ward Rankin and his family struck out in the remote Central Highlands of Queensland, alone until their world is shattered by the arrival of the new stockman. Robert Crofts — beautiful, young and aloof — bursts into their world and no one is ever the same.
The land they occupy is harsh and unrelenting; you can feel the dryness and the intolerable heat and it lends a sense of the surreal to their lives. Here, nature is oppressive but beautiful, dangerous but thrilling and ultimately offers the chance of freedom. Much is alluded to and I felt as if I was never quite sure if something had happened, if the characters imagined it happened or if I’d been reading too late at night and just missed a beat in the story. This is perhaps part of Miller’s intention, to create a world of speculation and suspense that draws you in. And it does. The strange children, the extended family, the budding bonds and ways they either fiercely love or hate the underdog stockman; the narrative moves quickly towards an uncertain conclusion amidst rivalry, passion and revenge. The ending is shocking, but satisfyingly so. Still, I felt always one step removed from the drama, probably more because things were all a bit creepy and twisted and I wanted to distance myself, rather than due to any failing of the Miles Franklin winning author.
The landscape and characters are undeniably Australian; this book is like an intelligent and gritty old yarn about what happens out there in the places most of us never get to go.
March 30, 2013
Alex Miller is one of my favourite Australian writers and he does not disappoint with this terrific story. He has created an utterly credible sense of place both physically and emotionally in this absorbing read. Set on a property in Queensland it is about frustration, bitterness and hopelessness. I found none of the characters likeable and it is not an "enjoyable" story but one that has stayed in my mind for days now. Ward Rankin finds himself by duty/obligation running the family property, a job he loathes, resents and is hopeless at, his wife is selfish, foolish and bitter in her marriage to a much older man, the two children are difficult but can't be anything else in the toxic family atmosphere - daughter can't wait to get away to boarding school and her brother just wants a little attention. Throw into this an 18 year old English stockman escaping his crummy life and unable to bring himself to be honest about it. Probably also a bit of latent homosexuality, lust, regret of poor choices made, unpleasant local yobbos, big egos, even the CWA - it would make an excellent book for discussion. By the end of the story the only character I could emphasize with is the lonely, confused and desperate 11 year old son, Alistair. So good......
December 28, 2015
I do love reading Alex Miller. This one is exceptionally good. His careful and subtle handling of psychological suspense can feel chilling.
Coal Creek was along similar lines. I don't know which came first or why he went round this storyline twice, but this one for me, was much more finely tuned to the dark desires of the characters and the complexity of their interactions.
The imagery of the country, the feeling of a sense of foreboding in the land, the very smell of the land, all come to life.
So much secretive unrealised desire is exposed in raw nakedness, and yet left hidden in the character who wreaks catalytic change.
Very cleverly crafted storyline and structure.
Coal Creek was along similar lines. I don't know which came first or why he went round this storyline twice, but this one for me, was much more finely tuned to the dark desires of the characters and the complexity of their interactions.
The imagery of the country, the feeling of a sense of foreboding in the land, the very smell of the land, all come to life.
So much secretive unrealised desire is exposed in raw nakedness, and yet left hidden in the character who wreaks catalytic change.
Very cleverly crafted storyline and structure.
June 24, 2020
Excellent writing and beautiful depth of description. I felt for entirety of the book a foreboding, a sense that something irrational was about to happen at the hands of any one of the characters. In fact all the characters inner worlds wore constantly irrational due to complete lack of communication with each other and illogical perspective on events. This aspect kept me reading and yet not totally enjoying the nature of any of the characters or there actions. The ending felt sudden and cut short, leaving me with numerous questions, however I can see how this works in tune with the whole nature of the story the author is telling.
June 28, 2015
I love Alex Miller's style of writing. He evokes the Australian bush & how remote & huge it can be I this book.
There are sentences or paragraphs that I reread for their beauty, or their ugliness. His characters are as strongly portrayed as his environments. So much clarity of their physicality & their thoughts & emotional states.
This is a story of the affect that an outsider has on a family who live on a remote cattle farm. He, unwittingly, triggers a response in all 4 members of the Rankin family.
The conclusion, in the last paragraph, is shattering.
Loved it!
There are sentences or paragraphs that I reread for their beauty, or their ugliness. His characters are as strongly portrayed as his environments. So much clarity of their physicality & their thoughts & emotional states.
This is a story of the affect that an outsider has on a family who live on a remote cattle farm. He, unwittingly, triggers a response in all 4 members of the Rankin family.
The conclusion, in the last paragraph, is shattering.
Loved it!
July 29, 2013
While beautifully written I wasn't as engaged with this as much as with other Alex Miller books. The strong connection with country is still there, and that particularly part of the country, but I was impatient with much of this book for some reason.
April 1, 2014
There's a coming-alive of some characters and a disintegration of others, developed with a feeling that tragedy is looming. The description of the country-side and the times is, as usual, done brilliantly.
September 30, 2017
Enjoyed this book although I found it slow at first. I thought it was going to be predictable romance love story but proved me wrong. Couldnt put it down in the end as I had to see how the story finishes. Would like to read another of Alex Miller's as he has a lovely writing style.
January 22, 2017
Set in Central Qld, intriguing story, still wondering how much I liked it.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews