Coal Creek is set in the Australian outback in the 1940’s. it is the story of Bobby Blue, an uneducated young man who has always worked with his father as a cattle farmer. Daniel Collins arrives from the coast as the town’s new policeman with his wife and daughters and Bobby becomes his assistant. Bobby starts interacting with the Collins family and begins to learn to read and write. Collins has no understanding of the outback and its way of life and causes rivalries and tensions amongst the inhabitants. A terrible event happens and Billy gets involved, causing even more trouble in the small town.

The story is written in the first person, narrated by Billy Blue. I understand why the author chose to do this but I found the language Bobby uses and his style quite distracting and limited and it took me a while to get into the story. Also, as the story is quite slow and not much happens I did not feel very interested in the characters and it took me a while to get through it.

This is a book for those who love the country, a slow and relaxing read and the Australian outback. ( )

I'm sorry and very disappointed to say that I did not like this book at all. Disappointed because, before I read it, I could see that it had so many 5 star ratings and reviews - it just did not match up to my rating driven expectations.
The whole narrative is that of Bobby Blue and is told in a long winded and rambling style to mimic Bobby Blue's lack of education. The constant use of short sentences made it difficult, and annoying, to read.
I didn't enjoy it and won't be recommending it - sorry. ( )

Alex Miller Coal Creek

I am not one to judge a book by its cover. In most cases I don’t even notice the cover, as I’m too eager to see what’s inside. But for some reason I did look at the cover of this novel sent to me by Real Readers and immediately Brokeback Mountain came into my head, the short story not the film. And whilst I am not offering a comparison between this writer and Annie Proulx there was a similar ambience cast throughout as I read this.

I enjoyed it very much. I found it a well-constructed novel with clearly defined characters. Initially I found the style of writing a little stilted until I came to realise that the narrative was the protagonist’s written account of events. It was a simple enough story but rendered complex by the acknowledgement of the intricacies of human emotion and behaviour. There was a very strong feeling of how different the events might have been if different courses of action had been taken. And the particular courses of actions that unfolded were mostly all fuelled by human emotion not necessarily understanding the true situation. Except for Bobby who seems extraordinarily perceptive and knowing about people, animals and their place within the natural order of things and what happens when that natural order is contaminated.

The ending did have a little of the ‘happy ever afters’ in it but as a reader it gave me a satisfactory conclusion to the book. It wasn’t sugar coated but, like the entire novel, stated as a fact of what happened.

I can see this making a good movie if there’s anyone out there looking for some material with potential? ( )

http://wp.me/p20PAS-v7 ( )

Best book I've read all year! OK, the year is only 11 days old, but this is going to take some beating. Miller writes voices so well I am sucked into the mind and heart of Bobby Blue. Wonderfully evocative of Australia's Outback and skilfully plotted and paced, with the occasional teaser drawing toward its dramatic climax. Is Alex Miller our best living writer? ( )