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The Simplest Words
A selection of short pieces - both fiction and non-fiction - from one of Australia's greatest literary treasures.
From one of Australia's greatest novelists comes this fine collection, a storyteller's journey. These short stories and essays, written over the last forty years, comprise an insightful and intelligent meditation on the life of the novelist and the culture of contemporary Australia. Personal and intimate as many of these pieces are, this collection forms a kind of assured autobiography, of the sort that only Alex Miller could write.
Alex Miller's stories are told with a rare level of wisdom and profundity, engaging the intellect and the emotions simultaneously. Stories are, after all, in his blood.
From one of Australia's greatest novelists comes this fine collection, a storyteller's journey. These short stories and essays, written over the last forty years, comprise an insightful and intelligent meditation on the life of the novelist and the culture of contemporary Australia. Personal and intimate as many of these pieces are, this collection forms a kind of assured autobiography, of the sort that only Alex Miller could write.
Alex Miller's stories are told with a rare level of wisdom and profundity, engaging the intellect and the emotions simultaneously. Stories are, after all, in his blood.
- GenresWritingNonfiction
368 pages, Hardcover
First published November 1, 2015
7 people are currently reading
85 people want to read
About the author
Alex Miller
28 books152 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 - 22 of 22 reviews
November 27, 2015
My View:
I am very pleased to have made the acquaintance of author Alex Miller. This is my first experience of Alex Miller’s writing and an experience it was! There is so much of Mr Miller’s life and passion in this book you cannot help but be moved by this collection of extracts and observations. The full range of emotional experiences are exposed in the stories of this brilliant wordsmith – admiration, love, a hint of remorse, guilt, awe, passion, reconciliation and sadness (the short story How to Kill Horses devastated me, such a powerful and moving piece, a story that deserves your attention) and lastly an evocation of jealously – I would like to be able to evoke such feeling with my words, to be able to write with such sublime power. If I cannot write like Alex Miller then I would be satisfied to sit in a classroom with Alex Miller as tutor, even for one session – any chance Alex?
There is something here for both the reader and the writer in this collection. Alex Miller shares this observation with us “I’ve had great joy from writing novels. But now I need to obey the rule of necessity for change and have taken on a new challenge. This need to take a critical look at what I’ve been doing with my life possibly has something to do with Socrates’s remark that an unexamined life has not been worth living. I have begun to write what I hope can become a celebration of the tragic beauty of Max Blatt’s life and our friendship. The ocean of my ignorance, I soon found, is far deeper and broader than the island of my knowing. In reflecting on my own history I am aware of the paradox that I am going into a largely unknown landscape along a road I have never travelled. It has become clear to me that recollection is itself fiction….” (p263)
Further he shares this gem about writing and story (he is reflecting on his story about Journey to the Stone Country and some of the inspiration for characters in it)”…His father, Frank Budby, tell me Graham cherishes the book and his role in it, but it was only after I had written the story that I began to see how central to its theme his character was. We never know what we have written, after all, until our readers tell us to look again. Frank tells me that his son has found his dignity in the book. And I think of the books in which I first found my own dignity.”(p.277) [Emphasis added by author]
This book is a delight to read, a highlight of my reading year.
I am very pleased to have made the acquaintance of author Alex Miller. This is my first experience of Alex Miller’s writing and an experience it was! There is so much of Mr Miller’s life and passion in this book you cannot help but be moved by this collection of extracts and observations. The full range of emotional experiences are exposed in the stories of this brilliant wordsmith – admiration, love, a hint of remorse, guilt, awe, passion, reconciliation and sadness (the short story How to Kill Horses devastated me, such a powerful and moving piece, a story that deserves your attention) and lastly an evocation of jealously – I would like to be able to evoke such feeling with my words, to be able to write with such sublime power. If I cannot write like Alex Miller then I would be satisfied to sit in a classroom with Alex Miller as tutor, even for one session – any chance Alex?
There is something here for both the reader and the writer in this collection. Alex Miller shares this observation with us “I’ve had great joy from writing novels. But now I need to obey the rule of necessity for change and have taken on a new challenge. This need to take a critical look at what I’ve been doing with my life possibly has something to do with Socrates’s remark that an unexamined life has not been worth living. I have begun to write what I hope can become a celebration of the tragic beauty of Max Blatt’s life and our friendship. The ocean of my ignorance, I soon found, is far deeper and broader than the island of my knowing. In reflecting on my own history I am aware of the paradox that I am going into a largely unknown landscape along a road I have never travelled. It has become clear to me that recollection is itself fiction….” (p263)
Further he shares this gem about writing and story (he is reflecting on his story about Journey to the Stone Country and some of the inspiration for characters in it)”…His father, Frank Budby, tell me Graham cherishes the book and his role in it, but it was only after I had written the story that I began to see how central to its theme his character was. We never know what we have written, after all, until our readers tell us to look again. Frank tells me that his son has found his dignity in the book. And I think of the books in which I first found my own dignity.”(p.277) [Emphasis added by author]
This book is a delight to read, a highlight of my reading year.
May 4, 2021
I really, really enjoyed spending time inside Alex Miller’s head. The Simplest Words is a thoughtful, somewhat introspective collection of essays, short stories and fragments of novels, with each selection adding something original to the whole.
His thoughts on Reconciliation and the experiences of Indigenous people were particularly insightful and moving. I also loved his nostalgic reminiscences of his earlier time in England, and his recounting of the path he travelled to become an Australian and why.
I would wholeheartedly recommend this - such an accomplished collection from one of our finest writers and most compassionate thinkers.
At the time of reading this, I was writing a speech on the challenges of the past and how we can reconcile with it: learning from the worst, and bringing the best of it with us. Having Alex’s incredible clarity of thought and deep insight at hand during the drafting process was truly a blessing - I ended up using one of his quotes to finish the speech. Thank you, Alex.
His thoughts on Reconciliation and the experiences of Indigenous people were particularly insightful and moving. I also loved his nostalgic reminiscences of his earlier time in England, and his recounting of the path he travelled to become an Australian and why.
I would wholeheartedly recommend this - such an accomplished collection from one of our finest writers and most compassionate thinkers.
At the time of reading this, I was writing a speech on the challenges of the past and how we can reconcile with it: learning from the worst, and bringing the best of it with us. Having Alex’s incredible clarity of thought and deep insight at hand during the drafting process was truly a blessing - I ended up using one of his quotes to finish the speech. Thank you, Alex.
April 27, 2016
I LOVED this book. Having read a number of Alex Miller's novels, I wasn't sure what to expect from this collection of short stories, essays, musings, etc, but it was a terrific read - he is a wise, open-minded & super interesting man. He has given me an insight into the history of Australia which I did not previously have, brought tears to my eyes and made me laugh! Thank goodness, at age 16, he chose to board the ship which brought him to Australia, chasing a dream that was inspired by Sidney Nolan's photograph - we are the richer for it! His perspective on life, people and social justice is warm, honest and full of compassion. I will continue to seek out his writing, but will keep remembering elements of this collection for a long time to come.
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April 23, 2017Brilliant. The writer in me couldn't get enough of this book. Devoured it almost in one sitting. Wonderful insight into his process...particularly fascinating if you are familiar with all of Miller's novels.
August 8, 2016
There's a lot of Post It notes sticking out of my copy - I'm not sure if these are for the writer, reader or thinker in me but they're pages I know I'll go back to.
March 1, 2020
For those who, like myself, really enjoy the writing of this author will find this book insightful and fascinating. To know his background, beginnings and experiences, all of which inform his novels, is to gain a deeper enjoyment. I also enjoyed the excerpts from some of his books. A great introduction.
August 31, 2023
The Writers Secret was a revelation and I have borrowed that wisdom since. Alex Millers writing is something special and there are many stories that I loved. Towards the end of the book I was a little bored, or perhaps just impatient to finish but would recommend for the writing, the Australianism, the stories of the outback, connection to country, friendships and justice.
May 23, 2017
I am a great lover of Alex Miller's stories and of his characters. He draws them with such clarity and realism.
This book gives us some of the back story about some of his most famous books and also something about the man himself. I did not know, for example that he originally came from London and left the UK for Australia when he was 18. Because he has written so much and so well about the native Australians and done it with such warmth, I had assumed he was a native, perhaps by a generation or two.
The joy of this book is setting stories in their context and understanding some of the inspirations that sat behind them.
There are also one or two wonderful short stores that carry all the fullness and weight of one of Miller's full scale novels. There is so much emotion in the stories that mean to describe them in detail is to spoil their impact.
This is a great collection, both for those that already know Alex Miller, and those who want to know more about the man.
This book gives us some of the back story about some of his most famous books and also something about the man himself. I did not know, for example that he originally came from London and left the UK for Australia when he was 18. Because he has written so much and so well about the native Australians and done it with such warmth, I had assumed he was a native, perhaps by a generation or two.
The joy of this book is setting stories in their context and understanding some of the inspirations that sat behind them.
There are also one or two wonderful short stores that carry all the fullness and weight of one of Miller's full scale novels. There is so much emotion in the stories that mean to describe them in detail is to spoil their impact.
This is a great collection, both for those that already know Alex Miller, and those who want to know more about the man.
July 14, 2017
I need a minute to collect my thoughts, but wow, just wow.
So, I did not expect to enjoy this book as much as I did. The best way to put my thoughts into words is to say that I want to read everything that Alex has written. I want to read everything he has read and recommends, and I want to meet all his friends and the characters he writes about. His insights into writing are sublime. Absolutely loved it.
So, I did not expect to enjoy this book as much as I did. The best way to put my thoughts into words is to say that I want to read everything that Alex has written. I want to read everything he has read and recommends, and I want to meet all his friends and the characters he writes about. His insights into writing are sublime. Absolutely loved it.
August 14, 2017
I really enjoyed this book which I read over several months... It is about Alex Miller's insights and self-reflections on his writing in a frank manner that draws one in. It is also very much about his engagement with the Australian culture, almost holding a mirror... And underlying it all emerges the value he gives to friendship, to each and every individual he has met along the way that captured his being, that somewhere along the lines eventually found a place in his books.
January 17, 2018
An engrossing read. I love Miller’s style of writing. To me, he uses perfect words to describe his settings and situations. I constantly find myself pausing to savour his use of language and wondrous ability to move me as his reader. A pleasure to be constantly transported to places I have never been to... or feel kinship with emotions I can only imagine up to this point.
January 21, 2016
An interesting collection of true stories and excerpts from the novels of one of our master storytellers and one of my favourite Australian authors. The juxtaposition of these two types of narrative explores how, for Alex Miller, life inspires art. Very revealing and touching in its honesty.
January 30, 2019
The simplest words but the most wonderful! Thank you, Alex Miller, for your thoughtful and thought provoking words. I have read many of your books and now feel that I understand them more than before.
April 2, 2016
A well organised selection of memoirs, tributes, novel excerpts, and writing about writing. Compliments the high quality of Miller's novels and explains many aspects of those books.
February 17, 2022
It is a collection of heartfelt events in the author’s life. Beautiful but it appeals more to those who want to delve into the author’s background and life influences rather than a story.
April 21, 2023
Short stories and essays from a Master writer. Some were academic and not very interesting but most contained elements of his genius with words---especially his short story "Comrade Pawel"---a 5 star piece.
7.5/10
7.5/10
January 14, 2026
Quietly satisfying work for a wannabe writer. About the mental and emotional merry go round the life of a writer is, even with his advantages eg time, smorgasbord of life experiences, significant energy and application. Success by sheer hard work and determination. And he lives locally!
February 28, 2018
I do so love Alex Miller. Some sage advice for writers.
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September 3, 2019No review because I didn’t get past the first few pages. I hadn’t realised it was short excerpts from other stories. Not for me.
February 3, 2026
3.5 a mix of musings, memoir and novel excerpts from one of Australia’s most accomplished writers.
January 10, 2016
A collection of writings from my favourite Australian author.
It's difficult to classify where this book should be kept - it has excerpts from some of his novels, speeches he has given, reflections on life, and his first short story ever published.
It is wonderful to get an incite into his life though, and how he started writing. I particularly loved his reflection on discussing how to begin story writing with his daughter:
'the writer's secret is to choose just one thing from all the things you can see and to begin with that'.. 'Proust's beginning is famous and everyone who reads his great book remembers it. He begins, For a long time I used to go to bed early'... the possibilities from there are endless!
It's difficult to classify where this book should be kept - it has excerpts from some of his novels, speeches he has given, reflections on life, and his first short story ever published.
It is wonderful to get an incite into his life though, and how he started writing. I particularly loved his reflection on discussing how to begin story writing with his daughter:
'the writer's secret is to choose just one thing from all the things you can see and to begin with that'.. 'Proust's beginning is famous and everyone who reads his great book remembers it. He begins, For a long time I used to go to bed early'... the possibilities from there are endless!
December 18, 2024
Some of the stories were good
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews