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Predicament
Youthful Cedric, bored and waiting for something to change his life in the direction of his fantasies and dreams, meets Mervyn and his unusual friend. He is caught up in plots and events that both excite him and alarm him. Harmless pranks become serious crimes and while Cedric battles his conscience he yet yearns to punish some of those around him. This wondrous New Zealand tale delights with the richness of its language and the storytelling skill of the writer, offering a potent mix of psychological insight, tension and comic twist.
- GenresFiction
248 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1974
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44 people want to read
About the author
Ronald Hugh Morrieson
10 books13 followersJames Ronald Hugh Morrieson died at 50, a sad and disappointed man. His remark, ‘I hope I’m not another one of these poor buggers who get discovered when they’re dead’ became a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Morrieson was born on 29 January 1922 and lived his entire life in the house built by his grandfather at the corner of Regent Street and South Road, Hawera. A novelist and short story writer in the New Zealand vernacular, who was little known in his home country until after his death. He earned his living as a musician and music teacher, and played in dance bands throughout south Taranaki. Morrieson lived in the Taranaki town of Hawera all his life and this town appears (under other names) in his novels. He was a heavy drinker throughout his life and this contributed to his early death.
Morrieson was born on 29 January 1922 and lived his entire life in the house built by his grandfather at the corner of Regent Street and South Road, Hawera. A novelist and short story writer in the New Zealand vernacular, who was little known in his home country until after his death. He earned his living as a musician and music teacher, and played in dance bands throughout south Taranaki. Morrieson lived in the Taranaki town of Hawera all his life and this town appears (under other names) in his novels. He was a heavy drinker throughout his life and this contributed to his early death.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
December 26, 2011
ISBN 0 908564 79 1
The Dunmore Press, NZ
From the dust cover, about the book: “No one in that quiet summery little New Zealand town could have guessed that Cedric Williamson carried such a secret within himself. Cedric’s father was an eccentric, to be sure, who spent his time building an extraordinary tower in the grounds of his rambling old house. But theft, blackmail, adultery, sly grogging, and even murder, none of these surely could revolve around shy, bookish Cedric! But they did and inexorably drew him into a dark tangle of plotting and mayhem . . .” (Attributed to the publisher.)
From the dust cover, about the author: “Mr Morrieson has an astonishingly accurate knowledge of small-town New Zealand life, and is such a gifted narrator that he can arouse simultaneously in the reader anxiety on behalf of his characters, amusement at their antics, awe at the ease with which he enters into them, and admiration at the skill with which, never relaxing the suspense, he can deliver them at the finish to fates which are at once surprising and appropriate.” (Attributed to Dan Davin).
Predicament lives up to its definition: a difficult, unpleasant, or embarrassing situation; and one feels that the success of the storyline relies on the secondary characters vices and the main characters virtues; Cedric is portrayed as an innocent abroad who is manipulated by ‘the evil crooks’ and squeezed by ‘his good family’. Like a snooker ball Cedric is bounced around by the competing emotions he feels towards having his own life and yet still tied to family pride and the plot relies on Cedric not wanting to bring further shame on the family even though the initial shame was imposed by the target of his scheming. Morrieson throws out so many lessons on life, or if you only knew then what you know now, it is hard to get to the punch line, which, a bit unlike life, fizzles towards a happy ending; the villains get their comeuppance and Cedric and his family ride off into the sunset on Gus! You had to be there!
RHM does write a great yarn: Predicament is not as entertaining as Came A Hot Friday, not as gothic as The Scarecrow and not as driech as Pallet On The Floor; but is has all these elements which is his trademark; considering his own life one wonders whether this is perhaps the more autobiographical and the ending reflects his own dream.
CJHD
27-Dec-11
The Dunmore Press, NZ
From the dust cover, about the book: “No one in that quiet summery little New Zealand town could have guessed that Cedric Williamson carried such a secret within himself. Cedric’s father was an eccentric, to be sure, who spent his time building an extraordinary tower in the grounds of his rambling old house. But theft, blackmail, adultery, sly grogging, and even murder, none of these surely could revolve around shy, bookish Cedric! But they did and inexorably drew him into a dark tangle of plotting and mayhem . . .” (Attributed to the publisher.)
From the dust cover, about the author: “Mr Morrieson has an astonishingly accurate knowledge of small-town New Zealand life, and is such a gifted narrator that he can arouse simultaneously in the reader anxiety on behalf of his characters, amusement at their antics, awe at the ease with which he enters into them, and admiration at the skill with which, never relaxing the suspense, he can deliver them at the finish to fates which are at once surprising and appropriate.” (Attributed to Dan Davin).
Predicament lives up to its definition: a difficult, unpleasant, or embarrassing situation; and one feels that the success of the storyline relies on the secondary characters vices and the main characters virtues; Cedric is portrayed as an innocent abroad who is manipulated by ‘the evil crooks’ and squeezed by ‘his good family’. Like a snooker ball Cedric is bounced around by the competing emotions he feels towards having his own life and yet still tied to family pride and the plot relies on Cedric not wanting to bring further shame on the family even though the initial shame was imposed by the target of his scheming. Morrieson throws out so many lessons on life, or if you only knew then what you know now, it is hard to get to the punch line, which, a bit unlike life, fizzles towards a happy ending; the villains get their comeuppance and Cedric and his family ride off into the sunset on Gus! You had to be there!
RHM does write a great yarn: Predicament is not as entertaining as Came A Hot Friday, not as gothic as The Scarecrow and not as driech as Pallet On The Floor; but is has all these elements which is his trademark; considering his own life one wonders whether this is perhaps the more autobiographical and the ending reflects his own dream.
CJHD
27-Dec-11
Displaying 1 of 1 review