An Awfully Big Adventure Audiobook (Unabridged)

" (3.5 stars - very torn...) Dry wit, dark humor, sparse writing, twisted storyline that goes down smooth with a kick at the end. It's been a long time since I read Bainbridge and this was a good reminder of how she can be entertaining and disturbing all at the same time. Young Stella joins the somewhat seedy local theater group and falls in love with the director - the self-centered and apathetic Meredith. Stella is so unworldly that she has no idea that he is gay - her efforts to "practice" sex and make him jealous will only lead to heartache. Her innocence had me laughing out loud on one page and wanting to rescue her on the next. One encounter with a reporter in a movie theater had me particularly squirmy, wondering why someone wasn't looking out for this vulnerable girl. While I enjoy sparse writing, I must admit that I had trouble connecting with these characters as Bainbridge doesn't give you a lot to warm up to. But she delivers on a plot that made me rethink my impressions and go back to reread passages that I originally glossed over. This isn't a book to read passively. It's subtle and asks the reader to work to fill in gaps and draw connections. "

" Of course I'm obsessed with absolutely everything Peter Pan, and Beryl Bainbridge is pretty cool so. I mean, I have to. It wasn't what I was expecting, to be honest. The blurb makes it sound much darker and less literary, but I'm glad I stuck with it, even though there were a few times I had to go back and read over a couple bits. But I still really liked it, and wish it could have been longer. "

" I would have rated it higher if I could have figured out what the sam scratch was going on. "

" There were bits of it I liked and it was sometimes funny, but I'm not sure if I understood the purpose of the story. I just didn't really seem that much happened in it. "

" One of the few examples where the movie and the book compliment each other. Both are fantastic! I read this and was so excited to find out it was a movie. I watched the movie and fell deeper in love with the characters. This is another book that made me gasp and sob at the ending. "

" I enjoyed this touching book with typical British humor. The narrator did a great job, I loved his accent! "

" I expected to like this more than I did. Stella annoyed me too much for me to really enjoy the novel. "

" the strange morality - perhaps of the times, but all the adventures seemed a bit soulless. good writing though "

" The first Beryl Bainbridge I've read but just have to have more - NOW! Hooked on this book from the first page. The comedy is superb, but there was so much more tucked away in such a spare, compressed little book. The ending has the same stunning quality as the scratched recording in Brighton Rock. "

" Great story, great writing "

" I'm still not sure I actually know what the plot of this book was. Far too easy to read without actually taking in a single word. "

" Boring. Sorry, but nothing happened! And not in the prosaic examination of everyday life kinda way, was simply disappointing. "

" A wonderful, tightly-written story. The wry observation, the honed dialogue, the sense of struggle, how not fitting the bill is regarded as 'perverse', the fear a girl might 'build up hopes only to have them dashed'. Every word means something yet so much isn't spelt out. Highly recommended. "

" Took me a little while to get into the way that this was written but once I got going I enjoyed it Enjoyed the story and the rather hysterical main character. "

" Oedipus Rex meet Peter Pan meet Britain's working class. Very moving story and brilliant story-telling (even if you find the story unpalatable). "

" It's really fun, a very enjoyable read. I think I've seen the/a film adaptation as the telephone bit really rang a bell (hee hee!) "

" Surprisingly moving. Bet the films shit though. "

" I'm still not sure I actually know what the plot of this book was. Far too easy to read without actually taking in a single word. "

" I expected to like this more than I did. Stella annoyed me too much for me to really enjoy the novel. "

" I almost gave up on this, because it is no easy read and I'm rather tired at the moment, but it drew me in with its vivid characterisations. Not a happy book, but a memorable and moving one. "

" I mean... typical Bainbridge. Characters that are all quirks in place of substance and a few solid, pithy observations about the details of daily life. Totally readable but I would be surprised if I remember much of it. "

" I would have rated it higher if I could have figured out what the sam scratch was going on. "

" There were quite a few interesting neat aspects of this book, but then things that turned out quite disturbing. I havent seen the film, but the novel was okay. "