The Deal

by Alex Miller

A powerful and perceptive novel from two-time Miles Franklin Award winner Alex Miller.

'Miller has created a body of writing that is now acknowledged as one of the great Australian literary achievements of the past half-century.' - Morag Fraser

It's 1975, and at the threshold of his writing career Andy McPherson is navigating how to be fully present both for his partner, Jo, and their young daughter.  

When forced to take a part-time teaching job Andy meets Lang Tzu, a charismatic and intriguing man. Andy is drawn deeper into a dangerous relationship when Lang asks him to prove his friendship by brokering a risky deal for a much-desired piece of art. Andy finally consents despite Jo's opposition. In the process, Andy is in fact negotiating his own deal with himself as an artist and is compelled to face up to the conflict between his conception of art as a creative gift and the realities of the art market.  

Powerful and perceptive, Miller's profound and intimate depiction of Jo and her partnership with Andy, and his poignant portrait of Lang's troubled genius, form the beating heart of this beautiful novel.

Praise for A Brief Affair

'… a moving study of the value of both writing and reading. In many ways it is a distillation of all of Miller's invaluable fiction.' - The Guardian

'There's a seductive, languid poetry to Alex Miller's writing that gently lulls the reader into his world and makes it a place you never want to leave. There, we are surrounded by a melange of sights, sounds, smells and most importantly characters, a place that is at once embracing and poignantly thought-provoking.' - Australian Women's Weekly

293 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 1, 2024

About the author

Librarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
This profile may contain books from multiple authors of this name
For other authors of this name, see:

see: Alex Miller - Australian Fiction

see: Alex Miller - Astrology

Reviews

[Jennifer Elliott · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Deal felt to me like a work of autofiction, mirroring Alex Miller's life events and background such as the art world, family relationships between parents and children, and sadness and loss, death and dying, issues that he writes about so often. The moral question, of fraud in the art world and the different opinions represented by Andy and Jo in reacting to Lang Tzu's desperate attempts to acquire a treasured work, is presented as a common practice, something that is disturbing in itself. I assumed Miller is speaking from his own knowledge of the practise.
The novel was interesting partly because his chosen landscape to place Andy and Jo is a city where I lived, so it seemed real to me in a way others may not relate to. There is also a commentary on acquisition of housing in the 1970's, which to younger readers would be difficult to comprehend as they have never known a bounty such as Jo received, or the ease of choosing from a plentiful housing supply close to amenities such as child care. Miller also describes a family with less than full employment of the parents, a mother engaged in work who is supported by a father who is a writer who has the luxury of time with his child.
Alex Miller writes the end of Andy's life, with him as an old man aware of death, having lost his wife and Lang, but reconciled and accepting of his fate, something that could also be applied to the writer
His writing in this book is engaging, as always, if less substantial and complex, but enjoyable.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an unpleasant book. Andy the protagonist has an ideal family and is very happy. However he has a strange fixation on Lang Tzu, a fellow teacher, with whom he strikes a seemingly mutual intimate relationship from the start. Jo, Andy’s wife, suggest Lang is manipulative, demanding the gullible Andy to visit him late at night where they drink heavily and discuss art. Lang has painted one beautiful picture of his strange wife Agatha (who walked out on him unsurprisingly), but he burnt all of his other paintings. He has a fixation on a particular painting by Sickert, which he buys by inveigling Andy in basically fraudulent behaviour. This is Miller at his typical: semi-mystical attachments, deep knowledge of the art world, implausible characters (would a deputy principal of a high school phone a teacher at night screaming obscenities because he hadn’t been attending a staff meetings?) and much trivial detail that doesn’t advance the plot. Again, there’s excellent writing but that can’t on its own carry a plot and content like this. No more Miller, I;ve read 4 and only one 4 stars.

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ebook. I find the writing compelling although I am not totally won over by it. It is easy to read while at the same time full of depth and thought. My favourite bit was the portrayal of family life, both with his English family as a child and with his wife and daughter in Melbourne. There is much love and longing.

[Maja Skrlj-Tufegdzic · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very warm & deep…

Some will stay with me …

“ We find our way by searching for it.”

“He wondered why the beauty and mystique of art and story must always carry the seeds of despair. As if beauty could not exist without reminding us of death.”

“ If we leave their room in our hearts unoccupied, our beloved dead eventually find their way home.”

[Elizabeth McKay · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book in 3 days and it kept me interested. A good story though I found the structure a little confusing, in that some was written in the first person and the whole novel spanned the life of the writer. The book he wrote was The Deal. But it was a page turner and the three main characters very well drawn.

[Beatrice Braun · Rating 2 out of 5]

What a disappointment given how very much I enjoyed some of his previous books. The story and the characters simply didn't ring true.
A boring read which had it been by a different author I would not have bothered to finish.

[Robbie Lloyd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Haunting Reflections on Life, Love, Cultural Identity and Art

It’s well worth the read, especially for Miller fans, and anyone interested in Australia’s love affair with artistic provenance and reputations

[Lynn Donohue · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Douglas Robertson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another lovely story of recollection and loss. I am not quite sure what Alex Miller does to prose but he writes simply, elegantly and with deep emotion. The novel is well paced and understated.

[Karen Bryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Gavan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good, but not one of Alex Miller's best. It took a while to start, but the characters were very well developed and faced into interesting issues (family, honesty, art, alcohol). Lots of great Melbourne references; and very well written. But it felt strangely remote for such a personal book.