Bilgewater (Abacus Books) [Paperback]

Jane Gardam (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 2001 | Series: Abacus Books

Marigold Green calls herself 'hideous, quaint and barmy'. Other people calle her Bilgewater, a corruption of Bill's daughter. Growing up in a boys' school where her father is housemaster, she is convinced of her own plainness and peculiarity. Groomed by the wise and loving Paula, upstaged by bad, beautiful Grace and ripe for seduction by entirely the wrong sort of boy, she suffers extravagantly and comically in her pilgrimage through the turbulent, twilight world of alarming adolescence

Editorial Reviews

Review

Lively...excellent The TIMES One of the funniest, most entertaining, most unusual stories about young love EVENING STANDARD A striking story TLS

About the Author

Jane Gardam has been awarded the Heywood Hill Literary Prize for a lifetime's contribution to the enjoyment of literature; has twice won a Whitbread Award and has been shortlisted for the Booker Prize.

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Little Brown UK (May 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0349114021
• ISBN-13: 978-0349114026
• Product Dimensions: 0.8 x 5.2 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,191,016 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jane Gardam has been awarded the Heywood Hill Literary Prize for a lifetime's contribution to the enjoyment of literature; has twice won a Whitbread Award and has been shortlisted for the Booker Prize. She was awarded an OBE in January 2009.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderfully written, unique story, October 28, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Bilgewater (Hardcover)

Yes, this is one of the best & brainiest children's/young adult's books out there. The main characters are misfits stranded amongst "normality" in a boarding school... anyone who has been less than incredibly perfect and popular can relate to the heroine. Gardam has created very unusual, intelligent and deep characters... and she writes with compassion and skill. What begins as a story full of painful non-interaction and isolation moves toward riveting romance and self-discovery and bravery, unveiling the plot with an almost gothic mood. Complex, atmospheric, smart and strong; this is for mature young-readers and for adults who remember their own coming-of-age pangs. One of my most memorable surprise discoveries.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Lovely and Thoughtful, July 27, 2005

By 

David Morrison "hummingcrab" (Crabbinghum, Illinois) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bilgewater (Abacus Books) (Paperback)

This is a a beautifully written, quiet and introspective novel. It is the first-person narrative of a homely and eccentric girl who, having grown up in a cloistered house on the grounds of the boys' school of which her father was headmaster, is preparing to leave for college. I often found myself either laughing or choking back tears as this bright and awkward introvert was forced by circumstance into awareness of the relationships around her. Though at times there seemed to be an awful lot of coincidence, I thought in the end that, given the insular quality of her social world, it all made psychological sense. As only happens in a good literary novel, the characters remained with me for days afterward - I thought about their quirks, qualities and failures as though they were people I knew.

This book was originally marketed as young adult fiction. For a bright adolescent, I think it would be a fantastic affirmation of individuality and an encouragement to take their interests seriously. As a widely-read 41 year-old man, however, I can vouch that it is richly rewarding for adults.

Note: I hate having to rate books with asterisks. I gave it 4 stars because it's not Moby Dick or Notes From The Underground, but it's an excellent novel, nonetheless.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of my favourite books..., April 12, 2003

By 

Catherine (England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bilgewater (Abacus Books) (Paperback)

This book is surely the ultimate tragic comedy. At the same time as teetering on the brink of despair, I was laughing raucously out loud (which, as an indication of Bilgewater's sheer funniness, I never do, so beware of reading this book in public places!). Bilgewater's character is a work of genius: ungainly, bookish and forlorn; insightful, intelligent and original. My favourite, favourite part is the crazy vision of Bilge climbing out of the Roses' window. If you are looking for something a bit weird, offbeat, or, in fact, just a brilliant book, I would strongly recommend this one. :o)