Games of Choice

by Maurice Gee

Kingsley Pratt is a fortyish bookseller in a small New Zealand town. It is Christmas but this year the social rituals of the season strain to cover the tensions beneath. His daughter Miranda with her hairy English academic lover, his ruthless son Malcolm, and his brittle wife all are intent on pursuing their own games of choice -- Kingsley may interfere at his peril. Games of Choice is more than a black comedy of manners -- it is an acute portrayal of love and marriage in New Zealand in the early ’70s by New Zealand’s foremost novelist.

171 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1976

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

[Keen Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maurice Gee is better known for his award winning and critically acclaimed "Plumb" trilogy. This was written just before that and is a very dark and simmering slice of suburban Kiwiana, that has the feel of an episode of "Tales of The Unexpected". He perfects a creepy, chilling atmosphere that gives a menacing air about this story. If you have never read Gee before then I would highly recommend this book as a nice introduction to his work.