God on the Rocks

Originally published in Great Britain in 1978, God on the Rocks was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize. The novel follows Margaret Marsh's coming of age during one summer between the world wars. Margaret navigates competing influences: her fervently religious father, her mother's bitter nostalgia, the secular sympathy of neighbors, and the bawdy humor of her nanny Lydia. Her world moves toward a decisive moment of truth. The narrative blends drama, tragedy, and farce within Gardam's eloquent prose. With subtlety and precision, the novel examines tensions between men and women, present and past, and the love and sorrow that persist throughout life. This reissue introduces readers to the writing that established Gardam's reputation decades ago, alongside her later novels Man in the Wooden Hat and Old Filth.