NEW ZEALAND LISTENER August 4-10

The Best of New Zealand
by Denis Welch

We have so much to be proud of in New Zealand, but you might be forgiven sometimes for thinking that our main pastoral industry was tall-poppy lopping. So here, with a wide-ranging but by no means exhaustive list, the __Listener__ happily celebrates the best of New Zealand – and invites you, the reader, to celebrate, too, with your own contributions.

The cover story this week New Zealand's Best opens as above and makes for interesting reading. Of course the Best Novel was the item that interested me most and here is what Denis Welch had to say on the subject:

Plumb by Maurice Gee, or if you prefer, The whole Plumb trilogy, (Plumb, Meg, Sole Survivor) published bewteen 1978 and 1983; but most critics agree that the first book - which draws heavily on the life of Gee's grandfather, the Presbyterian minister Ja,mes Chapple - is a modern classic.

"No other writer," says broadcaster and reviewer Elizabeth Alley, "has yet paralleled Gee's clarity of vision or penetrating perspective on the New Zealand character. The books become even more relevant with time as lives have become more complex and closer to the abyss of which he forewarned us. And his so-called "dark vision" often masks a deep grain of humour."

Naming anything or anyone "the best of" is a tricky concept and inevitably leads to debate but I think Welch is on the button here. It will be interesting to see what sort of reaction his selection receives.