Awfully Big Adventure [Hardcover]

Beryl Bainbridge (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 24, 1990

Told with black humour, this is the story of a group of no-hope rep actors in Liverpool in the mid 50s, doing Peter Pan. Stella, the heroine who is Tinkerbell, is a sad and lonely young woman who repeatedly calls the speaking clock for comfort.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This novel of the theater scene in 1950s Liverpool follows a young actress who becomes romantically involved with a director.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

*'Vintage bittersweet Bainbridge' MAIL ON SUNDAY *'Imagine Priestley's THE GOOD COMPANIONS as written by Gogol and you will have some idea of the mixture of waggish humour and sordid pathos in Bainbridge's novel' SUNDAY TIMES *'A subtle schizophrenic insight into adult relationships . Bainbridge's understated prose and obsessive eye for the smallest and most telling of details have never been better employed' TIME OUT --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Duckworth & Co (September 24, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0715622048
• ISBN-13: 978-0715622049
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,312,948 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great read!, February 28, 2000

By 

Irina Rozenberg - See all my reviews

This review is from: An Awfully Big Adventure (Bainbridge, Beryl) (Paperback)

Very honestly, I only read the book because the movie had struck me with its great directing, talented acting and a terrific unusual plot, and I must say I am not at all sorry I did so. I found the book refreshing and incredibly well-written.

An elaborate variation on Barrie's children's book in a grown-up-too-soon world, the novel combines with seeming effortlessness the youth's innocence and the wisdom and power of love of experience.

A young girl, accepted into the theatrical troupe of a small English town, finds herself enamoured of the stern mysterious director, unaware of the fact that his affections lie in the direction of his own sex and whose major characteristic is making everyone around him as miserable as he feels, trapped in unrequited love. She is indifferent to a great actor, who returns to his home town after becoming world-renowned and who, despite the great difference in their age, feels very close to her. She leaves him only to lead his investigation of her prior life to a tragic secret...

Read the book. You'll be surprised and, as variations on children's books are supposed to do, it'll make you older...

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant!, January 23, 2002

By 

sweetmolly (RICHMOND, VA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: An Awfully Big Adventure (Bainbridge, Beryl) (Paperback)

This spare little (205 pages) novel doesn't waste a word, yet signifies volumes. The highly honored Ms. Bainbridge, winner of the prestigious Whitbread Prize and short-listed (six times!) for the Booker Prize amply displays what all the fuss is about. She is that good.

The book is hard to categorize. It isn't a coming-of-age, a psychological thriller, a dazzling Peter Pan parable; it is all these things and more.

Stella raised in blue-collar, post WWII Liverpool is a troubled and troubling 15-year old who determinedly washed out of school and has been fixed up as a "student" (read gofer) at a provincial repertory company. She has no particular acting ambitions, but is certain she would be very good at it. We get a many-sided view of Stella; as she sees herself and as she is perceived by the people around her. Every scene and every word of dialogue interlocks like a jeweled timepiece. The reader is almost unaware of the ever-increasing momentum until it crashes upon you in a chilling finale. You think Ms. Bainbridge is through with you, but not quite. Just when you think you are utterly and completely emotionally drained, Ms. Bainbridge delivers a final twist, and now you know you are. I was left stunned.

An excellent example of fine prose. Highly recommended.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of Bainbridge's Best, December 9, 2001

By 

Zack Handlen (Lewiston, ME United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: An Awfully Big Adventure (Bainbridge, Beryl) (Paperback)

This is a phenomenal book- but it is crucial to approach it with the right mindset. This is not a light comedy, or a fantasy about the joys and agonies of growing up. The laughs to be found here are dark, and the story is painful and disturbing. It is also deeply powerful and moving, full of richly created characters and brilliantly subtle parrallels to J.M. Barrie's classic play, "Peter Pan." Do not open this one expecting anything easy, but do expect to be moved if you are willing to lose yourself inside. Highest possible recommendation.