THE BLUE

…the joy of reading Maggie Gee. – The Observer

The people in The Blue, Maggie Gees first collection of short stories, try and often fail to understand the world, freeing themselves by small acts of courage, love or folly. A journalist decides to convert an evangelist in mid-air; a solicitor gives up his day job to help young artists; a Middle Eastern woman shocks her children as she walks through the heat towards the sea; a man, in a moment of madness, cuts down his neighbours tree.

These subtle fables of everyday life are set against an intricate global backdrop where life is harder for outsiders. Exquisitely written and aerated by comedy, they show human beings who struggle to live good lives.

Her writing is clear as glass and has marvellous rhythm, fluency and grace.-- The Observer

Impressive, captivating and highly recommended.-- Scotland on Sunday

Maggie Gee is a superb and pitiless analyser of middle-class angst.-- The Times

Maggie Gee is one of our most ambitious and challenging novelists. -- Sunday Times

Original and courageous. -- Doris Lessing

United by Gees ability to delineate personalities and adopt voices with small but accurate touches. ... Light sketches, filled with colour. -- Times Literary Supplement

Deceptive stylistic simplicity and plain dialogue, complicated emotions are revealed in The Blue ... Each story casts an individual spell. --Mslexia Magazine