Maurice GeeRezensionen

I first read this as a college student (Form 5 /6 -1974 Taihape College) as it was part of our literature studies which focused on NZ authors. As students, we read a lot of Maurice Gee and I remember that I struggled to build up mental images from the text to assist comprehension of storyline. I could not determine if the father or brother was the perpetrator of the affair with the young girl, who our teacher described as somewhat promiscuous. All I remember from that time (1974) was that it started with a lie, ended with a lie and learnt the sayings “Truth will out” “Sins of the father are those of the son”. I also learnt words such as pious, sanctimonious, promiscuous, puritanical, immoral so in a sense our literature studies served the purpose of learning language although at that time I really had no idea what this meant apart from ‘To thy self be true”.
So when this story was recently televised (2024) it evoked memories of my English Studies and a favourite teacher, Mr Ivan Lawson who instilled in his students a love of reading (I got the bug). I thought I would watch it on stream feed to make sense of it as I cannot find a copy of the book.
Surprisingly, as an adult, it was much easier to digest I found that I had a better understanding of the storyline and characters. I felt the film filled in my lost understanding of the storyline, although different in some aspects of who and where events took, place I understood the dysfunctional life that the main protagonist, Paul Prior lived. It became clear that the father was not all he seemed (sanctimonious) and was somewhat depraved and that the den was a hideaway for his depravity.
The story is about Paul Prior who returns home to help his brother Andrew sort out his late father’s affairs. Paul, a well-known war photographer, has no intention of hanging around too long as he is haunted by his past and the knowledge of what happened in his father’s den.
As a young boy discovers his father’s den (a gardener’s equipment shed at the back of the large home with rambling gardens and orchard) and views it as a wondrous world of books and the universe. His father, Jeff shares this wonderful hideaway, with his son Paul on the condition he does not tell anyone else.
The father, Jeff, constantly seeks solace in his den, away from his puritanical wife, Iris; here he can fuel his love of literature and freethinking.
As teenagers, Paul and local girl Jackie (somewhat more adventurous than Paul) are schoolyard sweethearts. Going to the house to see Paul, Jackie is invited into the den by Jeff, it is here that intimate touching and eventually a sexual affair takes place. Ultimately, this illicit affair is witnessed by Paul and exposed. Grief-stricken and betrayed, Iris (wife & mother) commits suicide, while Paul, ignoring the pleas of Andrew, leaves the family home at the age of 17.
The story is an entanglement of lies and deceit, which become known as Paul reluctantly, prolongs his stay to sort out the sale of the family property and orchard.
Persuaded by his ex-teacher, Paul accepts a temporary teaching position at his old high school. He forges an unlikely friendship a student, Celia, they intrinsically connect; Celia is a troubled teen who loves writing and dreams of travelling. Celia is the daughter of Paul's former girlfriend Jackie. Paul begins to believe that Celia maybe his daughter, and becomes a father figure with Celia seeking solace at Paul’s, where she is also introduced to the wondrous literary den.
This relationship, between teacher & student, eventually comes under scrutiny, Jackie forbids Paul from having contact with her daughter, while Andrew voices judgmental concerns to his brother. Despite this, Celia continues to visit and Paul encourages her in her ambitions as a writer.
Celia goes missing and due to their close friendship, Paul becomes the prime suspect and endures the hostility and suspicions of the town including family. However, all comes to light through parallel storylines.
After viewing illicit photos of Celia on Andrew’s office desk and knowledge of Jeff’s will, Andrew’s jealous wife, an enraged Penny accidentally killed Celia. She believes that her husband Andrew was having an affair with Celia and when Celia visits the house looking for Jonathon an incensed Penny fights with Celia who falls and smashes her head. Andrew returns home to discover the tragedy and covers up to protect his distraught wife by dumping Celia’s body.
Paul confronts his brother Andrew for confiscating the camera that he gave to his nephew, Jonathon (Andrew’s son). Paul learns from the confrontation that Celia infatuated Jonathon as Andrew produces illicit photos of Celia taken by Jonathon. It is revealed that Andrew invited Celia, to the house to preview his late fathers will in which Jeff had left a third of the estate to Celia this reveals that Celia is the biological daughter of Jeff through the illicit affair with Jackie. The brothers angrily discuss the past transgressions of their father. ‘The sins of the father are those of the son’ and Paul believes that Andrew may have been responsible for the missing Celia. Jonathon, behind closed doors, witnesses this confrontation, irate and wanting justice for his missing love, he rings the police to also believing that his father killed Celia.
To protect his family Andrew takes eh blame and is arrested while his brother Paul tries to erase the past. He razes the den and reconciles his friendship with Jackie where they seek solace in each over the loss of Celia.

Part 2 of Trilogy - An ambitious young woman, Meg Plumb, struggles to lead her own life and searches for her own identity in the shadow of her extraordinary Plumb family. In book 1 – ‘Plumb’ the reader is introduced to the intolerant, irritable Presbyterian clergyman George Plumb, a memorable character with an unyielding and stern personality and a strong belief in his own principles, he is half saint, half monster, and destructive in his utter self-absorption of his pacifist and rationalist opinion. His beliefs lead to sacrifices made by both himself and his family, which develop to fractured relationships with his late wife, and their twelve children (Meg being one of them) long after he passes.
George’s youngest daughter, Meg, narrates this novel Meg. I found this hard reading - too poetic - too dozy, Meg got on my nerves, as she was too whimsical, submissive, and dreamy. However, I can relate to Meg, as a child - young woman, when you live this life you create a fantasy world to take yourself out of it. What I did like about the book was the insight that it gave the reader into the diversity / dysfunction of family life that is portrayed to the public as the good all round Christian family, but in reality there is a lot of damage that is done (if you become a victim to it). I could relate to this upbringing (authoritarian - judgmental - subservient), however it was not all bad, as an adult you have choices and can take the learning you choose from your upbringing and grow from it.

I found this hard reading - too poetic - too dozy, Meg the main character got on my nerves as she was too whimiscal, submissive, dreamy. However I can relate to Meg, as a child - young woman, when you live this life you create a fantasy world to take yourself out of it. What I did like about the book was the insight that it gave the reader into the diversity / dysfunction of family life that is portrayed to the public as the good all round Christian family,but in reality there is a lot of damage that is done (if you become a victim to it). I could relate to this upbringing (authoritarion - judgemental - subservient), however it was not all bad, as an adult I have been able to take the learning that I choose and grow from it.

I had vague recollections of reading but not finishing this as a kid, and 30 years later a few certain details stuck with me, so I decided to finally finish it.

With adult eyes it was nice to recognise the New Zealand setting, and even when we moved to the fantasy world, there was such a focus on the details of landscape that I really felt a sense of recognition. Most of the time in fantasy, landscapes are described in a grand sweeping way, with a lack of attention to detail which leaves them quite abstract. Maurice Gee describes scree, gullies and pathways in such an intimate way that resonates with me as someone who has explored the New Zealand wilderness and experienced similar settings personally.

The bad guys are pretty one-dimensional edgy evil dudes, complete with black leather and everything, but that's presumably part of the point since the entire premise of the novel hinges on every human in the world having been split into either entirely good or entirely evil, which is what our heroes have to fix. This does raise a few philosophical questions that might not be obvious to a child - the evil humans almost entirely wiped out the good ones, because the good ones are incapable of violence. At one point the last remaining Good human has to siphon some "evil" power from Susan so that she can kill the pursuing bad guys. It makes the point that some evil is a requirement to any fully functional human, since killing or violence is always evil even if you are doing it in defence of yourself or others. Then there is the meat eating vs vegetarian theme - it's not super in-your-face but killing animals, even to survive, could be considered evil. It's part of Jimmy Jaspers dual - perhaps more-evil-than-good - character.

We also see a single child in the evil land - which raises the question - can a child really be evil?

Susan demonstrates a believable emotional response to her situation, one that is not often portrayed in fantasy fiction - the chosen hero feeling isolated and overwhelmed by the task given her. I did get a little pissy at her for abandoning her companions over the darklands - they could easily have died while she floated off.

The bird people and the underground people were one of the ideas I'd remembered all these years, and I enjoyed the bird people culture. Would have loved to experience more of the undergrounders, however the effect of the darkness stayed with me for thirty years so I can't fault the episode too much.

It was a bit weird at the end that they never bothered to turn off the pollution machine themselves - the device that threatened to destroy both our world and the world of O. Instead they trusted the surviving humans to choose their own way. I guess that's very noble of our heroes, but personally I wouldn't take the risk!!

Great read, and finishing it gave me some long-delayed satisfaction.

A very tense, interesting story. I had no expectations, just a note on NZ authors to read eventually. Quite pleased with this exploration of personalities.

This book reminds me a bit of Ursula LeGuin's books, in that there is a distance between the reader and the characters. The story is captivating and the world is created so completely that I feel like I've been there. Most of the time, if characters seem too difficult to relate to or understand I think it's a bad thing; but with LeGuin's books and this one, the way the story is told makes it okay that the characters are a little remote. It's as though the world that they are in and it's problems and mysteries are much bigger than the characters themselves, and that is the real focus of the story.

This New Zealand novel won the 1978 James Tait Black Memorial Prize.

I have known much disappointment in my children, seeing so many of them disappoint themselves. although they have moved on the margins of my life, each has known his path to the centre, and all have come, all have taken comfort in their need. They have brought little comfort to me, but that is no proper complaint.......And the thorns that prick me now are the thorns of remembrance. Children, followers. Along that other way, where I found so few to accompany me, and for distances so short, I reached my goal.

George Plumb, a Presbyterian minister until he was sacked for heresy, jailed for sedition during the first world war, father of twelve, is reflecting on his life. He sees himself as an exceptional person, a man of integrity, determined to follow his own path no matter the consequences, but his story reveals a much smaller man. He surrounds himself with sycophants and believes that to associate with him is a privilege.

The story shifts back and forth between the past and the present. In the beginning, George and his wife Edie are united in their religious beliefs and goals, but they spend less and less time together. George spends his time talking at his acolytes, or isolating himself in his study, reading and thinking. Edie single-handedly looks after the children and the house, with no spare time, very little money, and not enough to eat. With every word George reveals himself to the reader as a monstrously selfish, ineffectual man.

I was impressed by Maurice Gee's writing, the depth of the characters and the multiple levels of the narrative, but I found the book hard to read because of the awfulness of George Plumb, who is based on the author's own grandfather.½

A poor New Zealand boy is terrified of the Fat Man, who disappeared years ago and has come back for his revenge.

Supposedly a New Zealand classic but more of that cinema of unease stuff that I cannot bear, no offence Mr Gee but not for me. It requires an emotional investment for nil return.

Still every bit as good as I remember it being. Love this book.

Googlebooks review as my review lost by LibraryThing App:-

"This gripping, page-turning fantasy adventure follows a dangerous quest through a divided world.

From the high reaches of a tree, Fliss watches the soldiers attempting yet again to break through the invisible wall. Amid the explosions, a drummer boy tries to escape. As he is about to be shot, Fliss reaches through the wall and pulls him to safety. But Fliss is dismayed to find she has saved an overfed rich boy. She is even more dismayed to learn that she must accompany him back through the wall on a special mission to rescue the Nightingale.
The world they have to travel through is a perilous one, full of predatory thieves, slave masters, beggars, dippers, mudlarks, drain-sliders, spies and wall-men. It is a world where the ruling families are caught up in a lethal power struggle.
Will Fliss and the despised drummer boy learn to trust each other? Who is the Nightingale? And will they all make it back alive? "½

Children's fantasy/adventure, with a young girl trying to thwart the baddies who want to take the magical spectacles that she has found. This was read aloud to youngest & middlest (started while eldest was away). It worked reasonably as a read aloud, although I frequently found that the text (and in particular the dialogue) didn't flow easily off the tongue. I recommend it be given to kids of the right age as 'reading practice' rather than read aloud, but it was enjoyed by all.½

The setting for this book is novel. An invisible wall has been created by the strength of joined minds. The northern side lives peacefully while the southern side is full of disharmony. When young Fliss saves a drummer boy, Kirt, from death by pulling him through the wall she sets in motion a chain of events. The 'Old One' asks to speak to her. his is the only mind now holding the wall and he is dying. He has located another mind capable of taking it over, Kirt's blind and disabled sister, Laura who is entrapped in the southern land. Their mission is to rescue her and bring her to the northern land to take over holding the wall before the 'Old One' dies. an adventure ensues...
I was curious to read this novel as I am a fan of his adult fiction. It was an undemanding and some what predictable read, designed for a young adult audience.½

To review it is to invite spoilers ... i will avoid only by saying that Gee, as almost ever, simply reminds us that every broken read has a whakapapa, and I like Neville... go figure. Or read.

I am delighted to have read this. The trilogy spans three generations in the Plumb family. The first book [Plumb] is narrated by George Plumb, a Presbyterian minister in the late 19th century. The second book [Meg] is narrated by his youngest daughter and it concludes with [Sole Survivor] narrated by Raymond Sole her youngest son. It is a wonderful overview of New Zealand 's development, both socially and politically over the 20th century. Each book expands on the past by providing a different perspective on individuals and events as they are seen through the eyes of each narrator and put into the context of an evolving society. This is a marvellous achievement from one of this countries foremost writers.

SPOILERS: Skip the whole review if you haven't read _Salt_ already.


Darker and more violent than Salt; the next generation must retrace their parents' flight back to the city of Belong in order to destroy a darkness that has evolved from the hate of the two rival factions left behind after the Battle of CeeBeeDee at the end of _Salt_.

Good for not trying to explain *why* things are- you just have to follow the story and accept that thing just ARE the way they are.

Really good post-apocalyptic world; liked the way the author showed how power and change a "liberating force" into yet another fascistic ruling government itself.

Hari promises to find his father, Tarl, when he is captured during a raid for slaves. Once named the city of Belong, "Company" came years ago from across the ocean, conquering the city and most of the island. The native people are subjected to poverty and many are enslaved to work in Company's factory and mining jobs. Pearl is a privileged Company child, but she is escaping the city as well, when she is promised as bride to a loathsome lord. Together Hari and Pearl journey with Pearl's maid to discover the secrets of Deep Salt, the mine where Tarl has been sent and where no one returns.

Fantasy with science fiction overtones, this book started off well but then lost momentum. "Company" people, who arrived from somewhere across the ocean, are portrayed as wealthy, fair-skinned oppressors against the dark-skinned native city dwellers. There is also a race of jungle people (never seen, rarely mentioned) who have evaded capture and are feared by everyone, as well as a race of beings, Pearl's maid among them, who live outside Company's control. They can communicate telepathically and stronger ones possess mind-controlling abilities--abilities Pearl inexplicably possesses as well. Naturally, Hari and Pearl have to overcome their fear and hatred of each other before they can rescue Hari's father, find out what's being mined in Deep Salt and overthrow Company's iron-fisted hold on the city. Sounds thrilling, and yet...characters lacked "oomph", pacing was erratic, and this world seemed drawn in broad strokes, with little detail. It's not a long book, though, and the first of a trilogy, so maybe there will be more explanation in future volumes. The second book, titled "Gool", picks up with the next generation and a new menace.

The story of one woman's life. Ellie's father is killed in a rail accident when she is two years old. She grows up in a hostel, her mother working hard as matron to put her through a private school. Ellie is a strong-willed and opinionated character. The book follows her life from her Lower Hutt childhood, sheep-shearing gang, OE, apple picking in Nelson, living in a commune, various jobs as a librarian and raising her son as a single mother throughout the 1960s and 1970s. Characters play their part in the novel, then disappear only to emerge later in Ellie's life. In her late 30s she finally becomes a painter, her 'shadow man' a break-through in her work. Ellie is an admirable character, walking away from relationships and things that just don't work for her anymore. A captivating read. I enjoyed such lines as; 'Lawns mown so close they looked in pain. Blinds that made the windows seem like pages in a notebook, unwritten on, and the houses empty'.

After living away for many years, Paul Prior has returned to the small New Zealand town he grew up in to teach at the local school. He takes particular interest in Celia, one of his students, and lends her books and helps her with her studies outside of class time. Not surprisingly, when Celia is murdered, Paul becomes the prime suspect. Despite this bare bones plot summary, this is not really a crime novel. Gee writes beautifully, and moves back and forth over time--as the novel considers Paul's difficult childhood, how he deals with the accusation and suspicions of the town, his current relationship with his more successful brother.

Recommended.

3 1/2 stars½

When Celia Inverarity is murdered, her mentor and English teacher Paul Prior becomes the initial suspect. Set in suburban Auckland, the novel follows Paul as he deals with both the accusation and the devastating loss of his protégé (and perhaps inappropriate love interest.)

Woven into the narrative are flashbacks to Paul's tumultuous childhood, where he and his father are in constant conflict with his mother and brother, for reasons mostly related to religion. The den referred to in the title is a secret poison shed where his father keeps shelves of books and art works not allowed in the house by the pious matriarch (stuff like Walt Whitman.) Paul's early introduction to the den changes the course of his life and shapes the man he is to become.

I'm not sure what to compare this to (I guess "literary mystery" is the best description), but it's poignant, lovely, and quietly suspenseful and creepy. It's a moving portrait of the father/son bond and an in-depth exploration of the forces that quietly tear a family apart and scar it forever. On top of that, it's a compelling mystery that will keep you turning the pages. Loved it!½

Gool is the sequel to ' Salt'. Sixteen years have passed since Pearl from Company and Hari from Blood Burrow defeated the tyrant Ottmar. Now their children, Xantee and Lo, face an even more dangerous foe. Hari lies dangerously ill with a fragment of a strange creature wrapped around his throat, draining his life. The beast is called gool, meaning Unbelonger. It is one of many, destroying the mountains and jungles of the world. Somewhere a hidden mother nourishes her gool brood - the children must find and destroy her to save Hari and the world they know. Xantee and Lo, accompanied by Duro, a brave and practical youth who is also a 'speaker', set out on a dangerous mission that takes them through jungles and over mountains to the ruined city, and on to Ceebeedee, where a terrifying clash with the cruel rival leaders and lurking gool awaits them.

Riveting reading!

This book is brilliantly descriptive, right from page one an arsonist holds a small NZ rural community at ransom by lighting fires. By page 3 you'll read how he craves to set fire to a building and take away life, this he does by setting fire to the local livery stable. Kitty Wix is knocked over as a strange looping figure is seen fleeing the burning stables. But who is the 'fire-raiser' and why is he creating such terror? Kitty has her own suspicions, and so do other children in the town. When he strikes again, the children find themselves in terrible danger as they try to expose the arsonist. The fire raiser is local, Edgar Marwick, who lives with his dictator of a mother, who is still in mourning over the death of her daughter Lucy, who drowned 35 years ago. Edgar (45 years old) was supposed to be watching her while swimming, down at the water hole. His mother, bereft with grief, still mourns her death, blames Edgar and has a room of memories dedicated to Lucy within the house. The mother punished Edgar as a small boy and throughout his life by locking him up in a dark cupboard. To cope, Edgar would create light and seek revenge by setting fires in his head. When he became an adult and no longer able to be locked away he lit fires for real. A classic tale told fantastically by use of descriptive characters and believable entwining plots. A must read.½

This is the story of a fractured family. It is narrated by the three children of Robert MacPherson, Alan, May and David. All three had different mothers and bear the scars of their childhood years. Robert once a tug master, now a retired orchardist is dying. He is nursed by May's daughter Heather who is also running the orchard. He asks her to contact his son Alan. Alan returns to the Nelson region after an absence of 35 years having had a successful army career but has never married. May, after troubled early years has achieved peace and happiness with Evan, as they work togethher in their pottery. However their brother David is a disturbed and angry man.
The tale builds, as the individual family members come together, resulting in a shockingly brutal act of violence. The story is in contrast against the indescribable beauty of the Nelson - Marlborough region.
This is Maurice Gee at his best. His wonderfully crafted characters, damaged and recognisable, create an empathy with the reader.½