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The Passage of Love
A thoughtful autobiographical work by an award-winning Australian novelist...traces themes of art and commitment through Crofts' relationships with three women. Miller pulls back from the narrative several times in interludes that return to the first person of the much older man and highlight how memory has many layers. A rich addition to the growing shelf of autofiction from a seasoned storyteller.' Kirkus, starred reviewSitting in a New York park, an old man holds a book and tries to accept that his contribution to the future is over. Instead, he remembers a youthful yearning for open horizons, for Australia, a yearning he now knows inspired his life as a writer. Instinctively he picks up his pen and starts at the beginning...At twenty-one years, Robert Crofts leaves his broken dreams in Far North Queensland, finally stopping in Melbourne almost destitute. It's there he begins to understand how books and writing might be the saving of him. They will be how he leaves his mark on the world. He also begins to understand how many obstacles there will be to thwart his ambition.When Robert is introduced to Lena Soren, beautiful, rich and educated, his life takes a very different path. But in the intimacy of their connection lies an unknowability that both torments and tantalises as Robert and Lena long for something that neither can provide for the other.In a rich blend of thoughtful and beautifully observed writing, the lives of a husband and wife are laid bare in their passionate struggle to engage with their individual creativity.Alex Miller is magnificent in this most personal of all novels filled with rare wisdom and incisive observation.Praise for Coal fine achievement' - Sydney Morning Herald'a story that will linger in your mind' - Good Reading magazine'The intelligence of the author haunts the novel, like an atmosphere.' - Australian Book Review
594 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 1, 2018
47 people are currently reading
789 people want to read
About the author
Alex Miller
28 books153 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 - 30 of 109 reviews
September 11, 2017
This is a beautiful book with a lovely pace. It follows the life of a marriage and the creative life of those individuals in the marriage. It shows the consequences when those in the marriage become stuck emotionally and creatively. It also shows how the expectations of others can weigh us down, but they can also lift us up.
The book has a distinctive masculine voice, but it is the voice of a man who longs for connection and is open and mature about his emotional life. I have read a few books about the masculine emotional experience and if the writing is good, I always find the story full of a gentle humanity. It is touching reading this type of story. It is like I am privy to a world that is at once alien and familiar all at the same time and full of beauty. And I can assure you, Miller's writing is very good.
While at times I despaired for Alex because of what Lena put him through, I never disliked her. Miller always allowed the reader a view into her reality, so it wasn't as if I was being recruited to 'team Robert' rather than 'team Lena'. I always felt a great sense of compassion for her. The characters that Miller draws are full-bodied with a real-life mix of virtues and faults.
This book is about how the lives of people who love each other, but have difficulty sustaining a relationship that society expects them to have, become enmeshed in each other's world, still manage to sustain each other and navigate their way to the type of relationship they should truly have. This navigation is sign posted by their discovery of their own individual creative processes. For me, their uncovering of their authentic emotional life is mirrored by their understanding of how the creative process moves within and without them. And it is in this journey that the passage of love is revealed.
If you want a grown-up book about the trajectory of a relationship told from the perspective of one person, but that authentically takes into account every significant person in the relationship throughout their life, then this is the book for you.
The book has a distinctive masculine voice, but it is the voice of a man who longs for connection and is open and mature about his emotional life. I have read a few books about the masculine emotional experience and if the writing is good, I always find the story full of a gentle humanity. It is touching reading this type of story. It is like I am privy to a world that is at once alien and familiar all at the same time and full of beauty. And I can assure you, Miller's writing is very good.
While at times I despaired for Alex because of what Lena put him through, I never disliked her. Miller always allowed the reader a view into her reality, so it wasn't as if I was being recruited to 'team Robert' rather than 'team Lena'. I always felt a great sense of compassion for her. The characters that Miller draws are full-bodied with a real-life mix of virtues and faults.
This book is about how the lives of people who love each other, but have difficulty sustaining a relationship that society expects them to have, become enmeshed in each other's world, still manage to sustain each other and navigate their way to the type of relationship they should truly have. This navigation is sign posted by their discovery of their own individual creative processes. For me, their uncovering of their authentic emotional life is mirrored by their understanding of how the creative process moves within and without them. And it is in this journey that the passage of love is revealed.
If you want a grown-up book about the trajectory of a relationship told from the perspective of one person, but that authentically takes into account every significant person in the relationship throughout their life, then this is the book for you.
January 26, 2018
How apropos to finish this book on Australia Day, an author who is quickly becoming my favourite Australian author and one of my favs period. This is a long rambling novel, told in flashback as an 80+-year-old successful author. It is his story of finding love and success and the friends, male and female who guided him and gave him encouragement along the way. It is a love story also of the faded life of farmers who lived off the land out in the bush. It is a book about regrets and living life to the full. There are so many passages that rang so true for me:
John said, "You're on your way! You'll travel. It's in you...." You may not always tank me for introducing you to Lena Soren. She's a troubled girl. Like a lot of us. It won't be straightforward."
Robert said, "Maybe the best people are always trouble." Then a bit later, Lena asks why he left his life as a stockman in Tropical North QLD. "I was wrong about what I wanted from life. It was only a boyhood dream. I learned even the most exotic place soon becomes normal and routine once you're living in the reality of it."
"You got bored?"
Sickened by some things. Bored by the routine. The same thing every day."
Then later when he finds a new muse, Anne, She called, "Goodnight Robert."
He wondered if he should leave his door open, as a sign to her. He sat on the camp bed and took his boots off. He put his head in his hands. Holy Mother of God! How do you know? How can you tell? Do you just take the risk and say something straight out?" and a couple of pages later
He had a dread of spoiling things between them. He had no way of deciding if she thought of him as her potential lover or just a friend. He did know that it was beyond him to take any kind of initiative.
I can so relate to the above. This book is dense in a good way - a lot of things are happening, from the change of economy, the squeezing of small farmers, the creative life, what does it mean to love. I cannot stress how much I loved this book
John said, "You're on your way! You'll travel. It's in you...." You may not always tank me for introducing you to Lena Soren. She's a troubled girl. Like a lot of us. It won't be straightforward."
Robert said, "Maybe the best people are always trouble." Then a bit later, Lena asks why he left his life as a stockman in Tropical North QLD. "I was wrong about what I wanted from life. It was only a boyhood dream. I learned even the most exotic place soon becomes normal and routine once you're living in the reality of it."
"You got bored?"
Sickened by some things. Bored by the routine. The same thing every day."
Then later when he finds a new muse, Anne, She called, "Goodnight Robert."
He wondered if he should leave his door open, as a sign to her. He sat on the camp bed and took his boots off. He put his head in his hands. Holy Mother of God! How do you know? How can you tell? Do you just take the risk and say something straight out?" and a couple of pages later
He had a dread of spoiling things between them. He had no way of deciding if she thought of him as her potential lover or just a friend. He did know that it was beyond him to take any kind of initiative.
I can so relate to the above. This book is dense in a good way - a lot of things are happening, from the change of economy, the squeezing of small farmers, the creative life, what does it mean to love. I cannot stress how much I loved this book
September 9, 2017
As a reader this unputdownable book made me want to re-read Alex Miller's entire backliist. A moving story of intimacy and the search for personal truth.
As a writer this book reminded me to write what I love and to never give up.
As a writer this book reminded me to write what I love and to never give up.
March 29, 2020
"Many thanks to Allen and Unwin for providing me with this ARC.
The book starts with the author speaking to us first person as he drives North from Melbourne to make an appointment in a women's prison, where he will read chapters from his latest book. It then reverts to the time of his arrival in our Great Sothern Land.............
The Passage of Love centres around Robert Crofts, a young man who arrives alone, from England, in the mid 1950's and finds work as a stockman in the hot centre of far north Queensland, Australia. After his work is done he bids farewell to an Aboriginal friend he has made, asking him to come with him. But it is mid 50's Australia, and they both know this cannot happen.
>Soon we leap forward a few days or a week to find Robert sleeping on Malvern train station in Melbourne, his first night in town and the best place he could find after being dropped off by his last ride. Although this is a fictional work there is a large amount of memoir included in this story. I do not know enough about Alex Miller to say how much is a memoir and how much fictional but at this stage I was drawn by common ground, having lived my entire life in Melbourne, including four years in East Malvern, so the scenes he describes are vivid in my mind.
He spends quite a fair amount of time struggling to get by in Melbourne, bouncing through jobs and becoming somewhat of a recluse. He dreams, he dreams of writing novels.......
He meets a beautiful, well-educated and wealthy young lady named Lena and this is where the real story begins. Their attraction is powerful but they are almost opposite. Lena sees Robert's freedom from overbearing parents and str
ict rules as the core of her attraction to her ""cowboy"", but Robert loves her beauty and the way her life is sorted out, at such a young age. Both crave what the other has and yet both are wrong.
Lena and Robert form a lifelong partnership, one that is so incredibly fragile yet undeniable. They both have dreams when Lena eventually discovers her art and Robert still wants to write his novels. They both have strong needs, both idolize people they meet but for different reasons. Their relationship is much like the infinity symbol - drawn together in the middle when they find common ground, only to separate again when it becomes tiresome. Turning the corner they are again drawn together and separate and so on......... But there is always a deep-seated love.
The Passage of Love is their story as much as it is Robert's alone. A novel of hope and love scattered with angst and sadness. Above all, the despair of two people in love who follow dreams that will not
allow them to be together, but somehow, in their own way, manage it anyhow.
I challenge any fledgling author to read this book and put it down without the urge to write again. Miller almost pulls you in and drives your need to write as you follow Robert's path.
Beautifully written and powerful, a GREAT Australian novel that is relevant anywhere.
"
The book starts with the author speaking to us first person as he drives North from Melbourne to make an appointment in a women's prison, where he will read chapters from his latest book. It then reverts to the time of his arrival in our Great Sothern Land.............
The Passage of Love centres around Robert Crofts, a young man who arrives alone, from England, in the mid 1950's and finds work as a stockman in the hot centre of far north Queensland, Australia. After his work is done he bids farewell to an Aboriginal friend he has made, asking him to come with him. But it is mid 50's Australia, and they both know this cannot happen.
>Soon we leap forward a few days or a week to find Robert sleeping on Malvern train station in Melbourne, his first night in town and the best place he could find after being dropped off by his last ride. Although this is a fictional work there is a large amount of memoir included in this story. I do not know enough about Alex Miller to say how much is a memoir and how much fictional but at this stage I was drawn by common ground, having lived my entire life in Melbourne, including four years in East Malvern, so the scenes he describes are vivid in my mind.
He spends quite a fair amount of time struggling to get by in Melbourne, bouncing through jobs and becoming somewhat of a recluse. He dreams, he dreams of writing novels.......
He meets a beautiful, well-educated and wealthy young lady named Lena and this is where the real story begins. Their attraction is powerful but they are almost opposite. Lena sees Robert's freedom from overbearing parents and str
ict rules as the core of her attraction to her ""cowboy"", but Robert loves her beauty and the way her life is sorted out, at such a young age. Both crave what the other has and yet both are wrong.
Lena and Robert form a lifelong partnership, one that is so incredibly fragile yet undeniable. They both have dreams when Lena eventually discovers her art and Robert still wants to write his novels. They both have strong needs, both idolize people they meet but for different reasons. Their relationship is much like the infinity symbol - drawn together in the middle when they find common ground, only to separate again when it becomes tiresome. Turning the corner they are again drawn together and separate and so on......... But there is always a deep-seated love.
The Passage of Love is their story as much as it is Robert's alone. A novel of hope and love scattered with angst and sadness. Above all, the despair of two people in love who follow dreams that will not
allow them to be together, but somehow, in their own way, manage it anyhow.
I challenge any fledgling author to read this book and put it down without the urge to write again. Miller almost pulls you in and drives your need to write as you follow Robert's path.
Beautifully written and powerful, a GREAT Australian novel that is relevant anywhere.
"
February 7, 2018
Summer is supposedly the time for effortless reads in the sun, so perhaps it was somewhat perverse of me to tackle two of Alex Miller's tomes at this time of year – his mint new offering 'The Passage of Love' and one that had been hanging around on my shelves for a while, 'Autumn Laing' (2011). Miller is one of my favourites, up there with Winton. He is also a national literary treasure and I think 'Journey into Stone Country' and 'Coal Creek' are masterpieces. He won the Miles Franklin for the first title, as well as for 'Ancestor Game'.
As it turned out, 'The Passage of Love' was a breeze, a real effortless read of 500 plus pages that I loved returning to and got through in a flash. 'Autumn Laing' was a different matter.
The question to be asked is how much of Robert Croft, the first book's central character, is Alex Miller? From what I've perused, in terms of reviews, the author has conceded they are largely the same person, but not quite. So the offering is quasi-autobiographical I guess. There is some playing around of the time scale that Miller has admitted to. It covers a thirteen year period during Croft's life – his journey from the UK to jackarooing in the outback to his city factory work, a marriage and trying to make it as a writer. Miller's first wife Ann was a troubled soul as was Lena, Croft's wife, who was bookended by two other women in 'The Passage of Love'. Firstly, in Melbourne, there was Wendy, an older bed partner who had no time for love but plenty for sex with a sex-starved young fellow. After the anorexic Lena, at the end there came the person who was to be his rock, career wise and emotionally – Ann. Overriding these relationships was the one that drives him on in his obsession to be a writer of note, his friendship, during his formative years on a cattle station, with an Aboriginal stock-man.
Much of what happened in Croft's life is a mirror image of Miller's, including the close encounter with suicide and a rejection letter that cut both to the quick. How can writing be both very fine but unpublishable?
I keep very few books after I've read them, usually passing them on to friends or family; either that or donating them to the local community library. I ripped through 'The Passage of Love' in lightning time for me – and it's definitely a keeper.
But 'Autumn Laing' – oh dear, was that a struggle. Till well over the half way mark I wasn't enjoying it one little bit. But then something kicked in, I was away and started to actually relish it. But it took most of the month to get to that stage.
And it also took a while to twig that this was Miller's version of the artistic machinations of the Heide story, with his major characters being based on Sunday Reed, her husband and the artist Sidney Nolan. Taking place during one of the golden periods for Australian art, it's a tale that has fascinated me for years. And, in a link to 'The Passage of Love', it was a book of outback images, taken by the great artist unbeknown to Miller, that first enticed the writer to come to Australia.
Autumn (read Reed) is in her dotage, her body increasingly failing her, obsessed by her memories and memoirs, she recalls her affair with the mercurial Pat Donlan (Nolan). At that time the would-be artist was trying to convince himself and the world around him that it was possible to paint in an Australian way. He finds he is bashing his head against a brick wall in conservative Melbourne until it is recommended that he visits a supporter of young talent from outside the art establishment – Arthur Laing (John Reed). Through a series of events Pat eventually moves into the Laing's residence and commences his affair with the only too willing Autumn. The pair soon take off to the back country of Queensland where Nolan, sorry Donlan, finds his mojo and his art supplants his lover. Both Pat and Mrs Laing are not particularly appealing characters – I was more drawn to the ever-patient Arthur who was prepared to wait out his wife's infidelity until the artist leaves them both for fame and fortune.
I'm pleased I read 'The Passage of Love' first. Had I commenced with the older book the latest may still be sitting on my shelf this time next year. 'Autumn Laing' is not a keeper, but I am hoping the eighty year old Miller can continue his semi-autobiography with a sequel, as well as delivering other titles. Long may Alex Miller be around.
As it turned out, 'The Passage of Love' was a breeze, a real effortless read of 500 plus pages that I loved returning to and got through in a flash. 'Autumn Laing' was a different matter.
The question to be asked is how much of Robert Croft, the first book's central character, is Alex Miller? From what I've perused, in terms of reviews, the author has conceded they are largely the same person, but not quite. So the offering is quasi-autobiographical I guess. There is some playing around of the time scale that Miller has admitted to. It covers a thirteen year period during Croft's life – his journey from the UK to jackarooing in the outback to his city factory work, a marriage and trying to make it as a writer. Miller's first wife Ann was a troubled soul as was Lena, Croft's wife, who was bookended by two other women in 'The Passage of Love'. Firstly, in Melbourne, there was Wendy, an older bed partner who had no time for love but plenty for sex with a sex-starved young fellow. After the anorexic Lena, at the end there came the person who was to be his rock, career wise and emotionally – Ann. Overriding these relationships was the one that drives him on in his obsession to be a writer of note, his friendship, during his formative years on a cattle station, with an Aboriginal stock-man.
Much of what happened in Croft's life is a mirror image of Miller's, including the close encounter with suicide and a rejection letter that cut both to the quick. How can writing be both very fine but unpublishable?
I keep very few books after I've read them, usually passing them on to friends or family; either that or donating them to the local community library. I ripped through 'The Passage of Love' in lightning time for me – and it's definitely a keeper.
But 'Autumn Laing' – oh dear, was that a struggle. Till well over the half way mark I wasn't enjoying it one little bit. But then something kicked in, I was away and started to actually relish it. But it took most of the month to get to that stage.
And it also took a while to twig that this was Miller's version of the artistic machinations of the Heide story, with his major characters being based on Sunday Reed, her husband and the artist Sidney Nolan. Taking place during one of the golden periods for Australian art, it's a tale that has fascinated me for years. And, in a link to 'The Passage of Love', it was a book of outback images, taken by the great artist unbeknown to Miller, that first enticed the writer to come to Australia.
Autumn (read Reed) is in her dotage, her body increasingly failing her, obsessed by her memories and memoirs, she recalls her affair with the mercurial Pat Donlan (Nolan). At that time the would-be artist was trying to convince himself and the world around him that it was possible to paint in an Australian way. He finds he is bashing his head against a brick wall in conservative Melbourne until it is recommended that he visits a supporter of young talent from outside the art establishment – Arthur Laing (John Reed). Through a series of events Pat eventually moves into the Laing's residence and commences his affair with the only too willing Autumn. The pair soon take off to the back country of Queensland where Nolan, sorry Donlan, finds his mojo and his art supplants his lover. Both Pat and Mrs Laing are not particularly appealing characters – I was more drawn to the ever-patient Arthur who was prepared to wait out his wife's infidelity until the artist leaves them both for fame and fortune.
I'm pleased I read 'The Passage of Love' first. Had I commenced with the older book the latest may still be sitting on my shelf this time next year. 'Autumn Laing' is not a keeper, but I am hoping the eighty year old Miller can continue his semi-autobiography with a sequel, as well as delivering other titles. Long may Alex Miller be around.
October 14, 2025
Такъв висок стил на писане, с красив въздействащ език и герои, така живи, така уязвими пред вас!
Колко е трудно да опознаеш другия или почти невъзможно, но можеш да го приемеш, и ако успееш да не го съдиш, да му съчувстваш за човешката му участ, не по-лека от твоята. Романът не е любовен, но е пропит от любов към човека и човешкия му път, често непонятен за онзи, който го извървява.
Алекс Милър е емпатичен, топъл и рефлексивен автор. Анализира дълбоките движения на човешката душа. Способността му да разказва за тях без да съди, е според мен най-силната му страна.
“Гневно откъсна изписаните листове на тетрадката, смачка ги и ги запрати на пода. После се приведе над белия празен лист и грижливо, със спретнат почерк, написа в горния край на листа: Разкажи ми за кръвта ми. Знаеше какво има предвид. Фразата беше в главата му и трябваше да бъде изречена… Мисъл, която не можеше да сподели с никой друг. Защо живея?, написа под първата фраза. После: Каква е целта на живота ми? Облегна се ��азад и погледна трите фрази, всички те написани с най-хубавия му почерк. Първата беше най-удовлетворяваща. Другите по-малко, макар да имаха смисъл. Когато прочете първата, изпита изненадващото чувство, че простичкият акт на изписването и бе създал място, откъдето да достигне отвъд самото мистериозно нещо. Не отговор или отправна точка, а място. Не проумяваше защо е така, но докато грижливо въплъщаваше тези мисли на страниците на тетрадката, изпита чувството, че пише не на себе си, а на някой, дори по-реален от самия него. Някой друг, безименно същество, което го разбираше така ясно, както той разбираше себе си. Написа: Моето първо аз. Моята вътрешна същност. Онази, на която не се налага да се опитва да бъде истинска, а е истинска дори само с това, че я има. Изпита ликуващо задоволство заради себе си, обзет от неочакваното усещане, че е установил съкровена връзка със самия себе си…”
“В крайна сметка, крепи ни не онова, което откриваме отвън празния хоризонт на Лукач - било то благодат или погибел, а самото търсене. Докато хоризонтът е празен, ние продължаваме. Най-важното е да продължим. Там е спасението ни. И колкото по-дълбоко се вглеждаме в себе си, толкова по-малко разбираме.”
Колко е трудно да опознаеш другия или почти невъзможно, но можеш да го приемеш, и ако успееш да не го съдиш, да му съчувстваш за човешката му участ, не по-лека от твоята. Романът не е любовен, но е пропит от любов към човека и човешкия му път, често непонятен за онзи, който го извървява.
Алекс Милър е емпатичен, топъл и рефлексивен автор. Анализира дълбоките движения на човешката душа. Способността му да разказва за тях без да съди, е според мен най-силната му страна.
“Гневно откъсна изписаните листове на тетрадката, смачка ги и ги запрати на пода. После се приведе над белия празен лист и грижливо, със спретнат почерк, написа в горния край на листа: Разкажи ми за кръвта ми. Знаеше какво има предвид. Фразата беше в главата му и трябваше да бъде изречена… Мисъл, която не можеше да сподели с никой друг. Защо живея?, написа под първата фраза. После: Каква е целта на живота ми? Облегна се ��азад и погледна трите фрази, всички те написани с най-хубавия му почерк. Първата беше най-удовлетворяваща. Другите по-малко, макар да имаха смисъл. Когато прочете първата, изпита изненадващото чувство, че простичкият акт на изписването и бе създал място, откъдето да достигне отвъд самото мистериозно нещо. Не отговор или отправна точка, а място. Не проумяваше защо е така, но докато грижливо въплъщаваше тези мисли на страниците на тетрадката, изпита чувството, че пише не на себе си, а на някой, дори по-реален от самия него. Някой друг, безименно същество, което го разбираше така ясно, както той разбираше себе си. Написа: Моето първо аз. Моята вътрешна същност. Онази, на която не се налага да се опитва да бъде истинска, а е истинска дори само с това, че я има. Изпита ликуващо задоволство заради себе си, обзет от неочакваното усещане, че е установил съкровена връзка със самия себе си…”
“В крайна сметка, крепи ни не онова, което откриваме отвън празния хоризонт на Лукач - било то благодат или погибел, а самото търсене. Докато хоризонтът е празен, ние продължаваме. Най-важното е да продължим. Там е спасението ни. И колкото по-дълбоко се вглеждаме в себе си, толкова по-малко разбираме.”
September 8, 2017
Alex Miller writes with such beautiful prose. He is the master of capturing the essence of men's friendships. Reading Alex each time is a pleasure.
December 18, 2025
4 3/4... Perhaps when I read "The Tivington Nott" and loved the undertow, it has helped me thoroughly enjoy this new book. Hard to explain, other than accepting the concept of being a catalyst for change, in other lives, as I have unwittingly been, many times in my own life.
I must find a way to see who I have awarded the most stars to which author. Have a feeling it might well be Alex Miller.
I must find a way to see who I have awarded the most stars to which author. Have a feeling it might well be Alex Miller.
February 1, 2018
I’m one of those people who never wins anything, so I was pleasantly surprised when I won this book from a Goodreads giveaway (please note – the version I review below is an uncorrected proof).
There isn’t one genre or other that I favour, but this book isn’t one that I would have naturally gravitated toward. Truthfully, I found it difficult to get into the story, and consequently, it took me a long time to finish it. There were elements of the book that I admired; however, I do question the motivations and honesty of the main character, Robert Crofts (/author – The Passage of Love is a fictionalised account of the Alex Miller himself), which impacts on my feelings for the book as a whole. The story did make me think and feel deeply, and I've thought a great deal about it after finishing, which I think is the mark of good story-telling.
Let me explain… (***spoilers below***)
The Passage of Love begins in the first-person voice of an aging author who is aware that there are fewer days ahead than there are behind him. Realising, as he puts it, that he has no part to play in the future, the book is, for the most part, told as a third-person narrative of his past. He announces early on that he must face the greatest unasked question of his life, which is what is found over the horizon line of nothingness? Grace or damnation? And he questions whether he would have the courage to confront the truth of it.
After having finished the book, I wonder whether or not he did have the courage to confront the truth.
The major storyline that runs throughout most of the book is Robert’s relationship with Lena. It is a relationship as unfulfilling as it is fulfilling. As I read of Robert’s thoughts about his initial connection with Lena, to his marriage with her, and his subsequent deep friendship, I admired what I thought was unbridled honesty. It was interesting for me, a woman, to read a man describe his emotions and to feel his awkwardness/bitterness/sadness in traversing a failed passionate love, while at the same time trying desperately to cling to it. However, there were signs along the way that made me wonder whether he was being as honest as he could have been.
Robert doesn’t appear to confront the privilege that his life with Lena afforded him. Wherever he was, he was never content. It seems that there were times where Robert cast blame outside of himself, without considering his role in his present and future. I’m not suggesting that the third-person Robert Crofts should have been expected to be so reflective or self-aware – we all have a right to make our mistakes along our life journeys – but, the first-person looking back on his life has the benefit of hindsight, and I wondered if the older Robert couldn’t see where he might have done things differently if he’d had his time again.
There were little things that bugged me through his life with Lena, e.g. his fascination and repulsion of her body and eating habits, but never pushing her to seek help; accepting things that Lena did without requiring explanations, but letting bitterness creep in because of it; leaving behind his first novel out of that bitterness and spite, and not realising that was a choice, not something done to him; and making so much of his calling – writing – being hard, and letting that affect Lena, when the thing is, passions can be hard, but not everyone is so privileged to move around the country/world to find the ‘right’ place to do them.
It wasn’t Robert’s treatment of Lena (or rather his choosing to stay for so long and being bitter, rather than leaving to live a better life), that really made me question this book, but his relationship with Ann. I have to say, I have never been angrier at the conclusion of a book. It wasn’t even just a case of, well that went a different way than I was expecting, shrug. The situation with Ann made me viscerally angry.
Put in modern turns, Robert is guilty of ghosting a woman who was counting on him to be a part of her life. He turned his back on her without so much as a letter or phone call to assure her he was, at the very least, alive.
This is what makes me wonder whether this book is about really about honesty. The parallels between Lena’s disappearance and Robert leaving Ann are clear, yet even with the knowledge of the hurt such a disappearance causes, he was still able to do the same thing to someone else. This baffled me. I’m not sure if I’ve missed some beauty in this, but to me, this is the crux of this book.
Rather than being a passage of love, the end of this book, the 40-odd years of cowardice, leads me to believe it is a reaction to guilt and a justification for it. Robert got his happily ever after, so that makes the rest of it okay. What angered me was that the answer to the question posed at the beginning of the book appears to be, for older Robert Crofts, at least, grace. In my reading of his story, his actions, are certainly worthy too of condemnation – and, in my opinion, a courageously honest reflection would have admitted this, instead of alluding to it through the difficulties in starting his letter to Ann in the book’s very last lines.
Favourite elements:
• There’s no doubting that the author’s writing is beautiful.
• The descriptions of Australia and elsewhere were detailed and vivid.
• Both Ann and Robert’s best friend Martin were fantastic characters – they were so rich and so honest.
Least favourite elements:
• Switching between first- and third-person – I found this distracting, especially because there were no transitions, i.e. you think you’re heading into a chapter that flows on from the last, but it ends up being a completely different time-period.
• Robert’s lack of awareness regarding how good he had it – e.g. being able to live in different places throughout the world – and that he could have chosen different paths at any time.
There isn’t one genre or other that I favour, but this book isn’t one that I would have naturally gravitated toward. Truthfully, I found it difficult to get into the story, and consequently, it took me a long time to finish it. There were elements of the book that I admired; however, I do question the motivations and honesty of the main character, Robert Crofts (/author – The Passage of Love is a fictionalised account of the Alex Miller himself), which impacts on my feelings for the book as a whole. The story did make me think and feel deeply, and I've thought a great deal about it after finishing, which I think is the mark of good story-telling.
Let me explain… (***spoilers below***)
The Passage of Love begins in the first-person voice of an aging author who is aware that there are fewer days ahead than there are behind him. Realising, as he puts it, that he has no part to play in the future, the book is, for the most part, told as a third-person narrative of his past. He announces early on that he must face the greatest unasked question of his life, which is what is found over the horizon line of nothingness? Grace or damnation? And he questions whether he would have the courage to confront the truth of it.
After having finished the book, I wonder whether or not he did have the courage to confront the truth.
The major storyline that runs throughout most of the book is Robert’s relationship with Lena. It is a relationship as unfulfilling as it is fulfilling. As I read of Robert’s thoughts about his initial connection with Lena, to his marriage with her, and his subsequent deep friendship, I admired what I thought was unbridled honesty. It was interesting for me, a woman, to read a man describe his emotions and to feel his awkwardness/bitterness/sadness in traversing a failed passionate love, while at the same time trying desperately to cling to it. However, there were signs along the way that made me wonder whether he was being as honest as he could have been.
Robert doesn’t appear to confront the privilege that his life with Lena afforded him. Wherever he was, he was never content. It seems that there were times where Robert cast blame outside of himself, without considering his role in his present and future. I’m not suggesting that the third-person Robert Crofts should have been expected to be so reflective or self-aware – we all have a right to make our mistakes along our life journeys – but, the first-person looking back on his life has the benefit of hindsight, and I wondered if the older Robert couldn’t see where he might have done things differently if he’d had his time again.
There were little things that bugged me through his life with Lena, e.g. his fascination and repulsion of her body and eating habits, but never pushing her to seek help; accepting things that Lena did without requiring explanations, but letting bitterness creep in because of it; leaving behind his first novel out of that bitterness and spite, and not realising that was a choice, not something done to him; and making so much of his calling – writing – being hard, and letting that affect Lena, when the thing is, passions can be hard, but not everyone is so privileged to move around the country/world to find the ‘right’ place to do them.
It wasn’t Robert’s treatment of Lena (or rather his choosing to stay for so long and being bitter, rather than leaving to live a better life), that really made me question this book, but his relationship with Ann. I have to say, I have never been angrier at the conclusion of a book. It wasn’t even just a case of, well that went a different way than I was expecting, shrug. The situation with Ann made me viscerally angry.
Put in modern turns, Robert is guilty of ghosting a woman who was counting on him to be a part of her life. He turned his back on her without so much as a letter or phone call to assure her he was, at the very least, alive.
This is what makes me wonder whether this book is about really about honesty. The parallels between Lena’s disappearance and Robert leaving Ann are clear, yet even with the knowledge of the hurt such a disappearance causes, he was still able to do the same thing to someone else. This baffled me. I’m not sure if I’ve missed some beauty in this, but to me, this is the crux of this book.
Rather than being a passage of love, the end of this book, the 40-odd years of cowardice, leads me to believe it is a reaction to guilt and a justification for it. Robert got his happily ever after, so that makes the rest of it okay. What angered me was that the answer to the question posed at the beginning of the book appears to be, for older Robert Crofts, at least, grace. In my reading of his story, his actions, are certainly worthy too of condemnation – and, in my opinion, a courageously honest reflection would have admitted this, instead of alluding to it through the difficulties in starting his letter to Ann in the book’s very last lines.
Favourite elements:
• There’s no doubting that the author’s writing is beautiful.
• The descriptions of Australia and elsewhere were detailed and vivid.
• Both Ann and Robert’s best friend Martin were fantastic characters – they were so rich and so honest.
Least favourite elements:
• Switching between first- and third-person – I found this distracting, especially because there were no transitions, i.e. you think you’re heading into a chapter that flows on from the last, but it ends up being a completely different time-period.
• Robert’s lack of awareness regarding how good he had it – e.g. being able to live in different places throughout the world – and that he could have chosen different paths at any time.
Read
December 29, 2019Току-що доччетох "The Passage of Love" от Alex Miller.
И... знаете ли? Май за пръв път не ми стигат думите за някоя книга. След като в последните години /и не само/ четох и превеждах какво ли не, след като книги са ме карали да се чувствам щастлива или безумно тъжна, развеселена или смазана, тази книга ми подейства по начин, който не мога да опиша.
Не само защото действието се развива на място, което е малко познато.
Не само защото двамата главни герои са ми близзки заради това, което правят.
Не само защото тази книга дойденеочаквано.
А защото след всичките прочетени исторически, фентъзи, младежки и съвременни български книги, в които, по един или друг начин, знаеш какво ще стане, и които, колкото и добре да са написани, понякога ти дават усещането за нереалност, тази книга беше истинска. Реална. Реалистична. На моменти болезнена. Разказваща не за кой знае какви велики събития - всъщност не, тя изобщо не разказва за велики събития, тъкмо напротив, - но с човешко, близко до читателя, познато звучене. Разказ за едни човешки стремежи, за една човешка борба, за обич и болка, за отдаденост и изневяра, за всичко онова, което ни се случва, докато градим себе си.
Самият живот.
Тази книга не е "сага" в традиционния смисъл, защото не проследява живота на няколко поколения, а се съсредоточава върху периодите от живота на едни и същи герои. Но именно това определение за нея се загнезди в ума ми. И така си остана до края.
Не всичко, което се случва в тази книга, е хубаво. Не всичко е спокойно. Но въреки това я възприех като тиха, кротка книга, която просто разказва, без да съди. И ако краят е очакван, това не е разочароващо. А успокояващо.
И умиротворяващо.
Радвам се, че се срещнах с тази прекрасна книга.
И... знаете ли? Май за пръв път не ми стигат думите за някоя книга. След като в последните години /и не само/ четох и превеждах какво ли не, след като книги са ме карали да се чувствам щастлива или безумно тъжна, развеселена или смазана, тази книга ми подейства по начин, който не мога да опиша.
Не само защото действието се развива на място, което е малко познато.
Не само защото двамата главни герои са ми близзки заради това, което правят.
Не само защото тази книга дойденеочаквано.
А защото след всичките прочетени исторически, фентъзи, младежки и съвременни български книги, в които, по един или друг начин, знаеш какво ще стане, и които, колкото и добре да са написани, понякога ти дават усещането за нереалност, тази книга беше истинска. Реална. Реалистична. На моменти болезнена. Разказваща не за кой знае какви велики събития - всъщност не, тя изобщо не разказва за велики събития, тъкмо напротив, - но с човешко, близко до читателя, познато звучене. Разказ за едни човешки стремежи, за една човешка борба, за обич и болка, за отдаденост и изневяра, за всичко онова, което ни се случва, докато градим себе си.
Самият живот.
Тази книга не е "сага" в традиционния смисъл, защото не проследява живота на няколко поколения, а се съсредоточава върху периодите от живота на едни и същи герои. Но именно това определение за нея се загнезди в ума ми. И така си остана до края.
Не всичко, което се случва в тази книга, е хубаво. Не всичко е спокойно. Но въреки това я възприех като тиха, кротка книга, която просто разказва, без да съди. И ако краят е очакван, това не е разочароващо. А успокояващо.
И умиротворяващо.
Радвам се, че се срещнах с тази прекрасна книга.
May 13, 2018
I thought this book would never end. Whilst it was a tour de force of life, I found it too depressing.
I loved "Coal Creek" and that was the reason I chose to try this one, highly acclaimed, by the same author. It was more of a literary sojourn than a good, well written story which I found Coal Creek to be.
Having said that, I know there will be lots of experienced readers who will like it and Alex Miller was probably after such acclaim from respected reviewers. There was much to contemplate about life, mainly about leaving the past behind and renewing one's own perspective instead of remaining in a rut. The story talks of the past like it is a ghost but to me the past is how we learn and end up with valuable insites we never had as a youth. Whatever you get from this story, I hope others get the enjoyment from it that it lacked for me.
I loved "Coal Creek" and that was the reason I chose to try this one, highly acclaimed, by the same author. It was more of a literary sojourn than a good, well written story which I found Coal Creek to be.
Having said that, I know there will be lots of experienced readers who will like it and Alex Miller was probably after such acclaim from respected reviewers. There was much to contemplate about life, mainly about leaving the past behind and renewing one's own perspective instead of remaining in a rut. The story talks of the past like it is a ghost but to me the past is how we learn and end up with valuable insites we never had as a youth. Whatever you get from this story, I hope others get the enjoyment from it that it lacked for me.
October 1, 2017
Not usually my kind of book, but I picked it up for a reviewing gig. I enjoyed this more than I thought I would, but I didn't think the relationship at the centre of the novel was convincing. I also thought the narrative style of oscillating between first and third-person was distracting and despite its mammoth size, the last few chapters felt incredibly rushed.
March 1, 2020
Truly a beautiful book. Initially, I did not think I would continue with it, but once I got into it, I wanted to race through and absorb it but also did not want to finish it: beautiful descriptions and memories of Australia. This book made me feel as if I was genuinely entangled in the story myself. What a talented writer, I cannot wait to read more of his books.
February 10, 2018
Some authors just take you on such an amazing journey with, it seems, such effortless ease, this was one of those times. Absolutely loved it, didn't want to say goodbye to Robert Croft and his life! Now looking forward to reading more from this fantastic author!!!!
September 19, 2017
Sorry Alex, but I'm giving up on this one.
http://bronasbooks.blogspot.com.au/20...
http://bronasbooks.blogspot.com.au/20...
August 4, 2018
Quite possibly the best book I’ve ever read.
January 22, 2018
As a big fan of the novels of Alex Miller, I was excited to see a new book of his appear. I was also curious to read on the back cover that this is his own story, cast in the mould of fiction.
There were two incredibly powerful themes in this book. One is about the power that relationships have to shape our lives, and the other is about what I call writing from a distance. It is hard to write about a situation or a setting when you are in the middle of it. Writing with the benefit of distance, when you can write in your imagination (or your memory) is easier.
Miller's previous book 'The Simplest Word' was a collection of autobiography and fiction and I recall being embarrassed because I had not realised that he was not a native Australian, but had been born in London and lived through the Blitz. Reading his earlier works, such as 'Landscape of Farewell', I had always assumed that his knowledge of native customs and his deep association with the people and landscape came from being born there. It feels such a part of him. Being so certain, I had never thought it necessary to find out a little more of his biography.
This book is both magical and painful in its telling of the life of Robert Crofts (the fictional name Miller has taken). Having worked three years as a stockman, there is a wonderful description of the low point at which he had arrived. "He had no money, no friends, no family and no connections in Melbourne. He had stopped drifting because he had run out of money and had run out of Australia. He was at the bottom. There was no further down to go."
Inspired and motivated by various relationships, Robert first starts to draw and then to write and eventually encounters Lena Soren. Lena and Robert will marry, because that was expected of those who slept together, but eventually Lena will desert him to travel to Italy. Connected by their love Robert will go there to find her, but will discover only half the woman he first fell in love with. Their relationship will struggle and they will relocate to different cities and countries seeking a place that might heal the rifts between them. A love will keep burning.
Robert will struggle to write his books, and in particular the story of Frankie, the Aboriginal stockman he worked alongside in the North. That novel will haunt this book, being written and then abandoned along with a life in Sydney and then completed again while working his own farm in NSW. Robert will eventually desert Lena, just as she did him. He will go with another woman to live in Paris, and then leave her to return to Australia. Each woman bestows something different on Robert, a different excitement or a different inspiration, until on his return the author meets "the enduring love of my life". I found that well said...'the enduing'... not the passing or the fitful, but the one who lasts happily into motherhood and then old age. We may have many loves that come and go, loves that we feel certain are 'the one'. Sometimes they turn out to be, sometimes we are wrong and start again. This book is a wonderful tale of such meetings with lovers and muses that come and go and leave a lasting impression on who we are and who we become.
There were two incredibly powerful themes in this book. One is about the power that relationships have to shape our lives, and the other is about what I call writing from a distance. It is hard to write about a situation or a setting when you are in the middle of it. Writing with the benefit of distance, when you can write in your imagination (or your memory) is easier.
Miller's previous book 'The Simplest Word' was a collection of autobiography and fiction and I recall being embarrassed because I had not realised that he was not a native Australian, but had been born in London and lived through the Blitz. Reading his earlier works, such as 'Landscape of Farewell', I had always assumed that his knowledge of native customs and his deep association with the people and landscape came from being born there. It feels such a part of him. Being so certain, I had never thought it necessary to find out a little more of his biography.
This book is both magical and painful in its telling of the life of Robert Crofts (the fictional name Miller has taken). Having worked three years as a stockman, there is a wonderful description of the low point at which he had arrived. "He had no money, no friends, no family and no connections in Melbourne. He had stopped drifting because he had run out of money and had run out of Australia. He was at the bottom. There was no further down to go."
Inspired and motivated by various relationships, Robert first starts to draw and then to write and eventually encounters Lena Soren. Lena and Robert will marry, because that was expected of those who slept together, but eventually Lena will desert him to travel to Italy. Connected by their love Robert will go there to find her, but will discover only half the woman he first fell in love with. Their relationship will struggle and they will relocate to different cities and countries seeking a place that might heal the rifts between them. A love will keep burning.
Robert will struggle to write his books, and in particular the story of Frankie, the Aboriginal stockman he worked alongside in the North. That novel will haunt this book, being written and then abandoned along with a life in Sydney and then completed again while working his own farm in NSW. Robert will eventually desert Lena, just as she did him. He will go with another woman to live in Paris, and then leave her to return to Australia. Each woman bestows something different on Robert, a different excitement or a different inspiration, until on his return the author meets "the enduring love of my life". I found that well said...'the enduing'... not the passing or the fitful, but the one who lasts happily into motherhood and then old age. We may have many loves that come and go, loves that we feel certain are 'the one'. Sometimes they turn out to be, sometimes we are wrong and start again. This book is a wonderful tale of such meetings with lovers and muses that come and go and leave a lasting impression on who we are and who we become.
October 28, 2017
As the photographer of the image in the front cover, I was delighted to recently receive an advanced copy of The Passage of Love by Alex Miller.
On the surface, The Passage of Love is Alex Miller's autobiography masterfully woven into fiction in the life and enigmatic relationship of Robert Crofts, an aspiring writer, and Lena Soren, a middle class Melbourne girl seeking to break free from the bondage of her disciplined upbringing. However, the novel represents a much deeper theme of "central contradictions" that exist not just in the couple’s relationship, but perhaps in many of us.
Alex contrasts the contradictions and ironies of having freedom but no sense of belonging and purpose. For some freedom is sought through bondage. For many, the novel will represent the desire to escape from our very existence and the poignant search for purpose and meaning, but not possessing "the courage of one's dreams", because we are too afraid to step out, perhaps not really wanting to discover what lies beyond the horizon? For some, it may be about a burning passion without a clear purpose and direction, so one never really finds what he or she is seeking. Then, there are the ironies of things that one seeks to escape but others so desire. And the "presence of absence”, where introverts are liberated in silence, and the extroverts who need desperately to be liberated from silence. There will be some who may not want to be looked at, but want their deepest sorrows to be seen.
These themes are contrasted in the photograph of the book cover which I took one misty winter morning of 2015 in the Kangaroo Valley of New South Wales. The contrast of the naked elm tree that on the one hand could look dead but is wanting to burst into leaf at the first sign of spring. Or the young and frail elm tree subtly leaning in the opposite direction seeking her own direction, the two trees figuratively separated by a dividing fence in their own pursuits. Or the beautiful and lush green paddocks, contrasted with the melancholy of the lifting morning fog that slowly unclothes the mystery of each of the novel’s complex and sometimes enigmatic characters. And, the paradox of the image of the wedge tail eagle, which like all eagles in majestic flight symbolise for us freedom, yet are fiercely loyal to their mating partners and highly territorial, returning each year to breed in the same nest.
Alex masterfully unfolds the complex interconnection of these contrasting and contradicting themes that could otherwise be easily missed if The Passage of Love was read without some self-reflection.
On the surface, The Passage of Love is Alex Miller's autobiography masterfully woven into fiction in the life and enigmatic relationship of Robert Crofts, an aspiring writer, and Lena Soren, a middle class Melbourne girl seeking to break free from the bondage of her disciplined upbringing. However, the novel represents a much deeper theme of "central contradictions" that exist not just in the couple’s relationship, but perhaps in many of us.
Alex contrasts the contradictions and ironies of having freedom but no sense of belonging and purpose. For some freedom is sought through bondage. For many, the novel will represent the desire to escape from our very existence and the poignant search for purpose and meaning, but not possessing "the courage of one's dreams", because we are too afraid to step out, perhaps not really wanting to discover what lies beyond the horizon? For some, it may be about a burning passion without a clear purpose and direction, so one never really finds what he or she is seeking. Then, there are the ironies of things that one seeks to escape but others so desire. And the "presence of absence”, where introverts are liberated in silence, and the extroverts who need desperately to be liberated from silence. There will be some who may not want to be looked at, but want their deepest sorrows to be seen.
These themes are contrasted in the photograph of the book cover which I took one misty winter morning of 2015 in the Kangaroo Valley of New South Wales. The contrast of the naked elm tree that on the one hand could look dead but is wanting to burst into leaf at the first sign of spring. Or the young and frail elm tree subtly leaning in the opposite direction seeking her own direction, the two trees figuratively separated by a dividing fence in their own pursuits. Or the beautiful and lush green paddocks, contrasted with the melancholy of the lifting morning fog that slowly unclothes the mystery of each of the novel’s complex and sometimes enigmatic characters. And, the paradox of the image of the wedge tail eagle, which like all eagles in majestic flight symbolise for us freedom, yet are fiercely loyal to their mating partners and highly territorial, returning each year to breed in the same nest.
Alex masterfully unfolds the complex interconnection of these contrasting and contradicting themes that could otherwise be easily missed if The Passage of Love was read without some self-reflection.
September 27, 2019
After so many fast paced, action packed novels this past month, it felt right to settle down with a slower yarn with rich prose and developed characters... Or so I thought.
I have seen all the 5 star reviews and I do see the point. But, by the time I had reached page 213 (47%) in my Kindle edition, I realized that I did not want to continue. Firstly because I didn't buy into Robert's character or his motives in certain sections of the novel. The fact that certain decisions and actions were so well articulated just made the vagueness of others even more implausible.
Then I found most of the male characters to have depth and I could empathize with everyone from the distant Frankie to Robert's father and the stoic Martin. But the women up to this point in the novel seemed to be more caricatures than real people. Wendy, Lena are depicted as flighty and unstable (Wendy & Lena) and even stoic Birte comes across as histrionic and needy.
By page 213 I also couldn't understand why Robert would continue in his current path (not to give away any potential spoilers) and I lost all sympathy for his decisions and actions which seemed to be more passive aggressive than anything else.
So sadly a DNF. I think I shall go back to reread The End of the Affair for the first time in 20 years....
I have seen all the 5 star reviews and I do see the point. But, by the time I had reached page 213 (47%) in my Kindle edition, I realized that I did not want to continue. Firstly because I didn't buy into Robert's character or his motives in certain sections of the novel. The fact that certain decisions and actions were so well articulated just made the vagueness of others even more implausible.
Then I found most of the male characters to have depth and I could empathize with everyone from the distant Frankie to Robert's father and the stoic Martin. But the women up to this point in the novel seemed to be more caricatures than real people. Wendy, Lena are depicted as flighty and unstable (Wendy & Lena) and even stoic Birte comes across as histrionic and needy.
By page 213 I also couldn't understand why Robert would continue in his current path (not to give away any potential spoilers) and I lost all sympathy for his decisions and actions which seemed to be more passive aggressive than anything else.
So sadly a DNF. I think I shall go back to reread The End of the Affair for the first time in 20 years....
November 23, 2017
The Passage of Love – Alex Miller
The most stunning feature of this very personal and unusual novel is Miller’s depiction of loving relationships. He demonstrates that each couple has elements of attraction and joint experience that bind them together, but also jagged conflicts that drive them to unhappiness or despair, or flight. Can any person really know another fully? Miller builds a narrative of events, challenges and failures around these relationship tensions.
Birte and Martin together can appear offhand and critical to each other. Their understanding and caring is revealed through unobtrusive awareness and acceptance. Robert and Lena have a strong bond belied by their sometimes hurtful and unsatisfying interactions. Robert struggles with his own needs while standing by through the puzzling tortuous path Lena makes for herself.
Also wonderful is how Miller’s understanding of the nature of love allows his characters, even in the face of deep lasting bonds, to have close physical or emotional relationships with others. As well, friendships are essential to the existence of the characters.
Robert, affected by his love for his demanding and cruel father, builds strong friendships with men and women, each providing a piece or more for the jigsaw he is building of his life.
He also shows dramatically how there are significant themes, arising from early childhood or later, that shape how an individual responds to the world. Often only an unusual or traumatic event can bring those driving forces to consciousness or resolution.
The last chapters draw together many threads, not so much in fitting everything into place, but in suggesting some possible answers to the questions of why and how things came about. Shining a light on puzzles about the characters in the book, but also perhaps on the reader’s life as well.
The Passage of Love, is indeed, the passage of life.
This novel is one of striking, driven characters, dramatic events and traumatising decisions.
And it is the apparently direct writing that, with disarming simple detail and clarity, lays out the depth of what is told: a few minute movements or sounds that hint at the tension and pain behind; the depth of memory and love attached to an object; the careful description of clothing or senses, particularly smell that evokes more than just an image. Brief descriptions of the landscape, pets, birds, and the weather deepen the emotional atmosphere; as does a focus on particular paintings or art works that evoke mood and meaning.
Finally, Miller also pursues underlying issues about art and writing – why do it and how to get through the emotional highs and depths; universal and age-long questions.
The most stunning feature of this very personal and unusual novel is Miller’s depiction of loving relationships. He demonstrates that each couple has elements of attraction and joint experience that bind them together, but also jagged conflicts that drive them to unhappiness or despair, or flight. Can any person really know another fully? Miller builds a narrative of events, challenges and failures around these relationship tensions.
Birte and Martin together can appear offhand and critical to each other. Their understanding and caring is revealed through unobtrusive awareness and acceptance. Robert and Lena have a strong bond belied by their sometimes hurtful and unsatisfying interactions. Robert struggles with his own needs while standing by through the puzzling tortuous path Lena makes for herself.
Also wonderful is how Miller’s understanding of the nature of love allows his characters, even in the face of deep lasting bonds, to have close physical or emotional relationships with others. As well, friendships are essential to the existence of the characters.
Robert, affected by his love for his demanding and cruel father, builds strong friendships with men and women, each providing a piece or more for the jigsaw he is building of his life.
He also shows dramatically how there are significant themes, arising from early childhood or later, that shape how an individual responds to the world. Often only an unusual or traumatic event can bring those driving forces to consciousness or resolution.
The last chapters draw together many threads, not so much in fitting everything into place, but in suggesting some possible answers to the questions of why and how things came about. Shining a light on puzzles about the characters in the book, but also perhaps on the reader’s life as well.
The Passage of Love, is indeed, the passage of life.
This novel is one of striking, driven characters, dramatic events and traumatising decisions.
And it is the apparently direct writing that, with disarming simple detail and clarity, lays out the depth of what is told: a few minute movements or sounds that hint at the tension and pain behind; the depth of memory and love attached to an object; the careful description of clothing or senses, particularly smell that evokes more than just an image. Brief descriptions of the landscape, pets, birds, and the weather deepen the emotional atmosphere; as does a focus on particular paintings or art works that evoke mood and meaning.
Finally, Miller also pursues underlying issues about art and writing – why do it and how to get through the emotional highs and depths; universal and age-long questions.
October 15, 2017
What a beautiful story! While a simple story it abounds with complex emotions and situations.
Told from the perspective of Robert Croft the reader is led through his path towards being a writer.
I was impressed with the style of writing which flowed easily while at the same time portraying detailed and vivid descriptions of people, places and situations. The change of narrative stye was also interesting - the past was in the third person while the recent past and present are told in first person- creating an intimacy with the reader. The complexities of the relationships between the various characters brings forth many insightful reflections which we are left with - to ponder on and consider the implications on our own lives.
To sum up - a good read but one that gives food for thought!!
Highly recommended read.
Thank you to Goodreads and publisher Allen & Unwin for an ARC copy to read and review.
May 14, 2023
A beautifully written book, full of emotion, hopes, dreams and sadness. Robert Crofts is a young English man who arrives in Melbourne destitute via North Queensland. He is uneducated, but is determined to educate himself and gets an Arts degree from Melbourne University and dreams of becoming a writer. He meets beautiful, well educated Lena Soren, and they get married. Lena is a troubled young woman trying to escape her strict middle class upbringing. This powerful and passionate story based on Miller’s own life, tells of Lena and Robert’s relationship and their eventual success in their chosen fields. I have not read this author before but I am looking forward to reading more of his work.
November 28, 2017
Read it. So much life in Miller’s words.
February 9, 2018
Absolutely Wonderful. A quiet, gentle story of a relationship. So heart breaking but beautifully written. A book that has remained with me. I loved it
March 11, 2018
This novel is autobiographical fiction.
For me this novel was all engrossing- I felt like I was part of the story. Moving and sad in places- life is a passage of love.
For me this novel was all engrossing- I felt like I was part of the story. Moving and sad in places- life is a passage of love.
April 19, 2018
Miller's writing is always stunning. This isn't my favourite, but still a 4 out of 5. He evoked time and place really well and the complexities of the relationships were beautifully written.
February 9, 2018
I loved this book - so descriptive and emotive
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December 24, 2021A moving novel about the pathway of a writer's life as it intersects and is influenced by the women he loves. I am not sure if this is based on Alex Miller's own life, and was drawn to read it following on from reading his biography Max who seems to be based on the character of Martin in The Passage of Love.. Moving from city to country overseas and back again, Robert struggles through a number of attempts to find his literary voice, along the way he becomes drawn into a complex marriage with Lena in which both struggle to bring to birth creative and individuated lives. only later to be bewitched by the soul of another woman, Anne who comes to play a decisive role in his journey.. This book shows how one's fate and creative daimon can unfold in the most unexpected of ways as it bears testament to the losses and decisive turning points that mark that most uncertain of passages which mark both life and our flawed attempts to love.
"What did we leave unsaid that still cries out to be said? To make something whole of us, after all, of what we were and what we strove for. Or is that too neat for life and death? The ragged ends of something incomplete and flawed, rather, a more likely ending. Closer to something we might dare to call our truth. The questions asked and left unanswered. "
"What did we leave unsaid that still cries out to be said? To make something whole of us, after all, of what we were and what we strove for. Or is that too neat for life and death? The ragged ends of something incomplete and flawed, rather, a more likely ending. Closer to something we might dare to call our truth. The questions asked and left unanswered. "
January 18, 2018
This is the author's own story, reading as though it's fiction. I struggled to get into this novel at first, with it opening in modern times, but then found myself wanting to know more as it delved into history and the main characters reflections on his life. This trip down memory lane is about inner struggles of finding and following your passions versus the reality of expectations - both your expectations of yourself and those within relationships and society in general.
Set in earlier, seemingly simpler times, "Robert Crofts" uncovers and explores old wounds to find a type of closure on his interesting life. His working life's journey could be a typical tale, except in his stuggle to become an author, with important friendships helping him to mould him and evolve personally. The supporting characters life stories are very intriguing as well and help to round out the narrative, and the settings explore Australia's cultural history as well.
All up, an enjoyable read. Thankyou to Alan & Unwin for the ARC won in Giveaways.
Set in earlier, seemingly simpler times, "Robert Crofts" uncovers and explores old wounds to find a type of closure on his interesting life. His working life's journey could be a typical tale, except in his stuggle to become an author, with important friendships helping him to mould him and evolve personally. The supporting characters life stories are very intriguing as well and help to round out the narrative, and the settings explore Australia's cultural history as well.
All up, an enjoyable read. Thankyou to Alan & Unwin for the ARC won in Giveaways.
December 25, 2019
Not my cup of tea. Actively disliked the characters and their behaviour and values. Clive James said fiction is life with the dull bits left out. Well, there were a few dull bits in this for me that were left in. This is supposed to be a memoir, of course, so maybe dull bits equal realism. The whole thing made me feel uncomfortable about what we dress up as creativity when another term could be mental illness. How is humanity served by a bunch of unfinished nude studies? Yes, it is well written, but I hated that they bought a farm under romantic notions and sold it to pursue narcissistic ambitions, allowing the land to be carved up and therefore contributing to the loss to housing of that beautiful part of the country. Where now the wedge tailed eagles that soared over the farm’s swimming hole, apparently for the author and his lover’s pleasure?
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