Access Road by Maurice Gee
Penguin Australia, 2009. ISBN 9780670074020
(Age 16+) This thriller about five old people has the astonishing
ability to
immerse you in their lives and memories and builds to a gripping
climax.
This is classic Maurice Gee - 'one of New Zealand's finest writers.' He
writes about the impact childhood has on adult lives whilst
capturing the voice of his protagonist, Rowan Beach, an
eighty something woman, recalling her life growing up in Access
Road, Loomis, NZ with her two brothers, Lionel and Roly. Neither
brother marries and they end up living together, despite taking
quite different paths in life. Roly gardens while Lionel seems to have
given up and refuses to leave his bed, his memory slipping away. As
Rowan visits them, fragmented but vivid memories recur. Woven
throughout the story is Clyde Buckley, long time friend of Lionel's but
a sinister presence to Rowan, who remembers his childhood act of
cruelty. Here are the Gee themes of a distinct sense of place with a
lurking sense of hidden violence.
Rowan and Dickie have had their ups and downs but they are still
together and caring for each other. Daughter Cheryl is coping with an
assault and hopefully finding a good man; Dickie is being tested for
troubling pains. Rowan is such a responsible, caring and good woman her
inaction and silence make us question what we would do in her
situation. That he can make such ordinary people so interesting is
testament to Gee's talents.
Gee writes with seemingly effortless imagery: 'She plucked a banana
from the bowl and threw it backhanded across the room, where it bounced
off the wall and sat grinning on a chair.' p75.
This remarkable book should be read by students but it is unlikely that
it will be. Senior students might be recommended it for a connected
text but I can't imagine many choosing it off the shelf. Adults will
enjoy these characters and their thought-provoking moral ambiguities.
Maurice Gee was among ten of New Zealand's greatest living artists
named as Arts Foundation of New Zealand Icon Artists in 2003.
Kevyna Gardner