Loving ways

by Maurice Gee

May, David and Alan Macpherson have the same father but different mothers, and their paths in life have been enormously different. The three have come together after thirty-five years at the Nelson orchard of their dying father, Robert Macpherson. The old tugmaster, domineering and earthy still, is being nursed by May's daughter, Heather, who also runs the orchard. A strange love exists between her and the old man.

As summer runs into autumn and the apples are harvested, the desires and beliefs of the ill-matched siblings – each, in some way, loving or loved – are frustrated, satisfied, put to the test until, at last, a shocking act of violence brings their unlikely reunion to an end.

Genres: Fiction

214 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

Maurice Gough Gee was a New Zealand novelist. He was one of New Zealand's most distinguished and prolific authors, having written over thirty novels for adults and children, and having won numerous awards both in New Zealand and overseas, including multiple top prizes at the New Zealand Book Awards, the James Tait Black Memorial Prize in the UK, the Katherine Mansfield Menton Fellowship, the Robert Burns Fellowship and a Prime Minister's Award for Literary Achievement. In 2003 he was recognised as one of New Zealand's greatest living artists across all disciplines by the Arts Foundation of New Zealand, which presented him with an Icon Award.
Gee's novel Plumb (1978) was described by the Oxford Companion to New Zealand Literature to be one of the best novels ever written in New Zealand. He was also well-known for children's and young adult fiction such as Under the Mountain (1979). He won multiple top prizes at the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults and in 2002 he was presented with the prestigious Margaret Mahy Award by the Children's Literature Foundation in recognition of his contributions to children's literature.

Reviews

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ouch........

This is prickly, challenging and dark yet so very good.

It portrays the need for love and belonging, above the requirement for money and success

Alan, David and May’s unyielding hard broken Father is dying. They have not been together for 35 years but are bought together catastrophically by events out if anyone’s control.

Sadly since this was written reality here in New Zealand has shown this kind of scenario to not be entirely fictional. We have a dark underbelly of misogynistic violence that means some are not safe in their relationships and less so when they attempt to leave.

This novel has suspense, dread and healing all mixed into the messy roughness of how life really is. In sharp contrast with the most idyllic setting of Ruby Bay, Takaka and Golden Bay.

I agree with the back blurb on the book Maurice Gee at his finest.

[Rebecca Mason · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first read this book not long after it was published in 1996, when I was living in Wellington. I remember liking it but not much else about it. My husband and I have now been living in Nelson for over 14 years so it was an added pleasure to know all of the scenes so vividly depicted.
The book is a real exploration of generational harm - the three damaged offspring of the damaged tyrant. Two of the offspring manage a sort of redemption and reckoning with life while the third is irreparably harmed. Even the old man has a form of happiness and redemption towards the end of his life. Reading it again I wondered what it took for the author to get inside the minds of these broken people.
The only thing I didn’t like was the ending, which seemed a little lame after so much drama.

[Gerald · Rating 3 out of 5]

More of a thriller than some of the others. But equally beautifully written. Wonderful real characters. Such a great novelist.