8/9/2019 Maggie Gee

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Maggie Gee

Maggie Gee

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Biography

 "ovelist #aggie Gee was born in Poole$ %orset$ andeducated at state schools and &omerville College$ '(!ord

where she completed two degrees in )nglish* A!ter working

in publishing as an editor$ she took a research +ob at

,olverhampton Polytechnic where she completed a Ph%*

-er !irst published novel was Dying, in Other Words

./01/2$ an e(perimental black comedy in which a

supposedly dead woman triumphantly rewrites the story o! her own death* 3n /014 #aggie

Gee was selected as one o! the original 45 6Best o! 7oung British "ovelists6 and became

,riting Fellow at the 8niversity o! )ast Anglia*

The Burning Book  ./0192 intercuts the story o! a British !amily whose lives are torn apart byworld wars with sections about "agasaki and -iroshima* Light Years ./01:2$ structured in /4

sections and :4 chapters to represent a year$ places the ;uarrels o! two tiny human lovers in

the bigger !rame o! nature$ the planets and the stars* Grace ./0102 implicates the British secret

state in its !ictional parallel to the unsolved realli!e murder o! an antinuclear activist$ -ilda

#urrell* Where Are the Snows ./00/2$ a satire on the /015s$ begins like an erotic saga as two

lovers abandon their teenage children to go on a perpetual holiday$ but ultimately suggests

you cannot buy up the planet$ separate se( !rom reproduction$ and stay young !or ever* Lost

Children ./00 the ice !orces people

!rom the rich north to try to migrate south$ where they are unwelcome* -er eighth novel$ The

White "a#ily .45542$ shortlisted !or the 'range Prize !or Fiction and the 455< 3nternational

3#PAC %ublin =iterary Award$ tackles the issue o! racism in Britain* The "lood  .455

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#aggie Gee is a Fellow and @icePresident o! the Royal &ociety o! =iterature* &he has been a

member o! the &ociety o! Authors6 Committee o! #anagement and the government Public

=ending Right committee$ and was !rom 455

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Diaspora ity: "he ondon .e' Writing Anthology  .contributor2 Arcadia Books$ 4559

"he Flood  &a;i Books$ 455<

My leaner  &a;i Books$ 455:

"he Bl#e  elegram Books$ 455?

 

/ead abo#t boo$s by Maggie Gee at enco-passc#lt#re0co- 1 the British o#ncil2s

boo$ database and global online boo$ cl#b

B#y boo$s by Maggie Gee at A-a3on0co0#$ 

op o! page

 

ri3es and a'ards

4554 Orange ri3e for Fiction  .shortlist2 The White "a#ily

455< International IMA D#blin iterary A'ard  .shortlist2 The White "a#ily

 

op o! page

 

ritical erspecti4e

he style o! #aggie Gees writing is o!ten linked to the modernist tradition* &he is technically

innovative and relishes the cra!t o! writing$ and her style is o!ten sel!conscious$ drawing

attention to the process o! construction* &he has o!ten said that her in!luences include ,ool!$

 "abokov and Beckett$ but also /0thcentury writers such as %ickens and hackeray* ohn

Cotton comments on Gees synchronisation o! /1th and /0thcentury styles with modernist

techni;ues> DGee can be seen$ in spite o! .or perhaps because o!2 her e(perimentation$ to be in

the tradition o! Fielding and %ickens where the author is everpresent$ ready to comment or

intervene .Conte#!orary (o)elists$ /00/2* 7et Gees attention to style and !orm is not$ by

any means$ at the e(pense o! content* -er work is o!ten satirical and always in!ormed by

contemporary political and social issues* &he combines domestic concerns o! love$

resentment and bitterness$ loss$ reconciliation and the evercomple( web o! !amily

http://www.encompassculture.com/results/?qs=Maggie+Geehttp://www.encompassculture.com/results/?qs=Maggie+Geehttp://www.encompassculture.com/results/?qs=Maggie+Geehttp://www.encompassculture.com/results/?qs=Maggie+Geehttp://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/external-search/202-1626605-0702263?keyword=Maggie+Gee&mode=blended&tag=contemporaryw-21&Go.x=4&Go.y=6http://www.contemporarywriters.com/authors/?p=auth41#tophttp://www.contemporarywriters.com/authors/?p=auth41#tophttp://www.contemporarywriters.com/authors/?p=auth41#tophttp://www.contemporarywriters.com/authors/?p=auth41#tophttp://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/external-search/202-1626605-0702263?keyword=Maggie+Gee&mode=blended&tag=contemporaryw-21&Go.x=4&Go.y=6http://www.encompassculture.com/results/?qs=Maggie+Geehttp://www.encompassculture.com/results/?qs=Maggie+Geehttp://www.encompassculture.com/results/?qs=Maggie+Geehttp://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/external-search/202-1626605-0702263?keyword=Maggie+Gee&mode=blended&tag=contemporaryw-21&Go.x=4&Go.y=6http://www.contemporarywriters.com/authors/?p=auth41#tophttp://www.contemporarywriters.com/authors/?p=auth41#top

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relationships with societal and global issues such as homelessness$ poverty$ climate change

and nuclear weapons*

Gees !irst novel$ Dying, in Other Words ./01/2$ is$ in her own words$ Dprobably the mostdi!!icult technically .Conte#!orary (o)elists$ cited above2* '!ten described as a black

comedy$ it starts with the apparent suicide o! a young writer$ #oira Penny* 7et$ chillingly$ it

seems that #oira hersel! is writing the story the sound o! typing can be heard in her

supposedly empty room and gradually the circular structure takes us back to the time o!

#oiras death* hroughout the novel$ #oiras supposed suicide is shown to have a continuous

ripple e!!ect on the lives o! others$ while past$ present and !uture intertwine* he technically

innovative style helps to emphasise the depiction o! people$ events and time itsel! as a

comple( interwoven web ohn Cotton likens the novel to a Chinese bo( .Conte#!orary

 (o)elists$ cited above2*

 

The Burning Book  ./0192 is a variation on the classic !amily saga$ !ollowing the lives o! two

workingclass !amilies as they struggle to deal with two world wars and the !ear o! a third*

Gee o!ten intertwines domestic and global issues$ and a clear comparison is made between the

disharmony and violence within the !amily and the destruction going on in the wider world$

culminating in the threat o! nuclear war* Light Years ./01:2 is a love story with a cosmic

theme$ suggesting the Dsmallness o! individuals as the love a!!air o! =ottie and -arold is set

within the bigger picture o! nature$ seasons and the planets* his was !ollowed by Grace

./0112$ in which Gee returns to the theme o! nuclear weapons* Grace is based on the realli!e

/015s murder o! antinuclear campaigner -ilda #urrell and$ as such$ combines the style o! a

classic thriller with a contemporary political edge*

Although these !irst !ew novels address a variety o! di!!erent themes$ there is a common

thread o! e(amining the way in which individuals !it into$ and impact on$ the wider world o!

society$ nature and the cosmos* he implication is that Dno man is an island and individuals

have a responsibility to consider the e!!ects o! their behaviour and li!estyle on the world

around them* Where Are the Snows* ./00/2 depicts a couple$ Christopher and Ale(andra$ who

attempt to abandon their responsibilities .including Christophers teenage children2 and live in

a solipsistic bubble* &imultaneously$ the novel addresses climate change* =isa 'Eellycompares Gee with #argaret Atwood$ !or both writers Dtackle contemporary ideas on a grand

as well as a domestic scale .The O'ser)er $ 4/ August 455:2* Gee$ as discussed above$ o!ten

demonstrates the way in which intimate domestic issues and broadscale social problems

intertwine the latter is o!ten an e(tension o! the !ormer$ and there!ore something each

individual must take responsibility !or* 3n Where Are the Snows* the depiction o! the couples

egotistical approach to li!e not only shows the harm this causes to their own close circle o!

 people$ but simultaneously makes a point about the severe ecological damage that is being

caused by the sel!absorbed ,estern mindset$ which demands its grati!ications at any cost

or$ simply$ without any awareness o! the cost* hus$ the inclusion o! impending environmental

disaster is not merely a backdrop or an added !eature$ but rather makes a clear point about our

individualistic$ consumerist li!estyle$ where Dconsuming takes place emotionally as well as

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commercially* Christopher and Ale(andra$ there!ore$ are perhaps simply an e(aggerated

version o! D)veryman*

 

,hile Where Are the Snows* portends ecological disaster$ both The Ice eo!le ./0012 andThe "lood  .455

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6'n the sur!ace$ #ary and @anessa are polar opposites> @anessa is pale and bony and cooks

so!t$ white$ preprepared !ood that clogs everyones innards and causes constipation #ary is

dark and voluptuous and steams up the kitchen with vast meals made !rom huge$ earthy

vegetables HI @anessa is mean$ sel!obsessed$ closedo!! HI #ary is generous$ outgoing$gregarious HI 7et at heart$ we realise they are not so very di!!erent*6

.The O'ser)er $ cited above2

 

As well as showing the underlying similarities between the two women .and thus between

di!!erent cultures2$ Gees subtle comple(ity also ensures that the depiction o! #ary is not

overly idealised$ nor is @anessa entirely unsympathetic$ particularly as we come to learn how@anessa was damaged in her own childhood* hus$ the veneer o! social and cultural power

can hide all manner o! vulnerabilities and emotional scars*

 

Gees work as a whole combines classic themes$ topical social issues and stylistic innovation*

&he has commented that when she looks back on her novels a!ter writing them$ she o!ten

realises that she has reworked classic genres$ such as thrillers$ !amily sagas and romances$

and created new versions* -owever$ she is not usually aware o! this while she is writing> DAll

3 am conscious o! at the time o! writing$ though$ is a desire to show the truth$ in ways 3 never

can in speech$ and a desire to make structures as beauti!ul as 3 can .Conte#!orary (o)elists$

cited above2*

 

)lizabeth 'Reilly$ 455J

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A#thor state-ent

63 write !or the +oy o! the language and the !orm$ and to pay the mortgage* 3 also write because

li!e is !ascinating$ beauti!ul$ and short* 3 want to record my e(perience$ and my brie! attempts

at understanding it$ !or others$ while 3 can*6

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