The Biggerers

By Amy Lilwall

Introducing a witty and unique voice poised to take the literary world by storm. For fans of The Borrowers, Munmun and The Truckers.

Everybody became a bit mean. A bit individual. Units. That's all humanity could say for itself – well, it couldn't actually, because it was made up of too many, um, units. And then there were the elderly, who could never bear to be so isolated, yet isolated they were. It was cruel, really it was. And kids – not that many people had them any more – they seemed to be born sitting in one of those egg-shaped chairs, only seeing what was right in front of them.


So, the government asked a doctor, that famous one, to get a team together and figure it all out. He did. Everyone got a playmate. Well, everyone who wanted one, could buy a playmate. About a foot tall, they stood, naked (except in winter), very affectionate, not too intelligent. Mute, but cute - exactly what every home needs. Something to love, little units of love.


The Biggerers is set in a dystopian future where our two heroes, Bonbon and Jinx, spend their days gathering stones and feathers for their basket, and waiting to be fed by their owners. But it’s not long before getting sick, falling in love and wondering why they can’t eat with a spoon pushes them to realise they are exactly the same as their owners…only smaller.


So, the government asked a doctor, that famous one, to get a team together and figure it all out. He did. Everyone got a playmate. Well, everyone who wanted one, could buy a playmate. About a foot tall, they stood, naked (except in winter), very affectionate, not too intelligent. Mute, but cute - exactly what every home needs. Something to love, little units of love.


The Biggerers is set in a dystopian future where our two heroes, Bonbon and Jinx, spend their days gathering stones and feathers for their basket, and waiting to be fed by their owners. But it’s not long before getting sick, falling in love and wondering why they can’t eat with a spoon pushes them to realize they are exactly the same as their owners … only smaller.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Oneworld Publications
• Release date: Jun 7, 2018
• ISBN: 9781786073563

Reviews for The Biggerers

[dreesie-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This novel is over 500 pages. It didn't have to be. I feel like there is an interesting and fast-paced disturbing dystopia hidden inside this over-long book. And I love big books, and I love dystopias.———This novel is a dystopia--at least, it is for the Littlers. Unfortunately, they don't really understand that until the very end, and we don't get much of their perspective on the entire situation. We also don't get a lot of explanation about how the situation is resolving--just that it is beginning to (who's in charge? what steps are being taken?). We don't get a lot of information--is this worldwide? Just UK? Just England? Just part of England? Or what the timespan we are talking is, exactly--based on info at the end, I am guessing 20 years, with maybe 1 tops being covered in the novel. But really I think the novel covers 1-2 months and then certain flashbacks to the past.What we do get is lots and lots of descriptive info of daily life. The first 300 pages is just background daily life information--so many points that seem important and come up over and over again (feather day, flakes, humcoats) don't really lead anywhere. Most of this is about Littlers, but also some confusing interludes of different Biggerers in their lives, and then of a different set of characters (and we slowly work out who they are), and some bears (I am still confused there, honestly). All of the different parts of the story just start. The reader is (presumably) supposed to put the different characters and their relationships together. What this book really needs is to be shorter. Everything really happens in the last 200 pages, and especially the last 100. With 300 pages of detail, I don't see why we couldn't have had some explanation as to the relationships between characters, the time frames, and so forth.All in all, there were some interesting ideas here, but they were drowning in unnecessary repettive detail. 2.5 stars.———Thank you to Point Blank for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[ltcl_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I should be honest enough to admit that I had trouble reading this book because there were just so many names and too many voices in my head. It is a very dark dystopian look at the future of pets - in the form of warm and cuddly little mini-versions of ourselves. Jinx and Bonbon don't speak, they are really cute and don't require much maintenance except a coat in winter much to the delight of their owner couple, Susan and Hamish. While I really enjoyed the Littler spin on their world I really didn't like the Biggerer adult couple at all. This is not your average BORROWERS or GULLIVER'S TRAVELS but a darker look at how we treat creatures (even if they are modeled after humans). Readers who enjoy a slightly quirky and dark look at the future of cloning and the sad fate of mankind will enjoy this debut. My thanks to the publishers for an advance copy.

[emscape · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I had a very hard time putting this down, often staying up far past my bedtime ... "just a few more pages!"In a not-too-distant future, humans have scientifically created smaller people whom they keep and treat as pets. The Littlers can talk amongst themselves but do not communicate with their "Biggerers". The book is told from the points of view of the main Littlers, Jinx and Bonbon, as well as their "owners" Susan and Hamish. A couple other characters also have their stories told and once I figured out how those related to each other, and (more importantly) that their stories were not happening contemporaneously, I was able to understand the book much better. This is the main reason for a half-star off from a full five stars. The writing style and exposition is a little ambiguous? It's a good thing that we aren't just told all about the Littlers and how they came to be in some big info-dump, and it's good that the author wants to show rather than tell, and the method of doing so, having Susan watch a documentary about it when she can't sleep, is pretty ingenious, but...I don't know. The beginning of the book was very compelling but also confusing. The end was less confusing, but also slightly less compelling. Anyway, this is getting more critical than I intended. It was a great story. Really made me think about the nature of pets and how we treat them as well as what might be possible in the future with scientific technology around creating replacement organs and whatnot. You should read it. I already have a bunch of friends who want to borrow it just because they saw me reading it and asked what it was about.

[sunqueen_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This was very different. I enjoyed some sections, while others left me mystified.

[katybee_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

There are several good things about this speculative novel. It's based on an intriguing premise of a futuristic society where humans had come to need more - something to provide companionship, re-develop empathy, just something to care about. A doctor developed a genetically modified race of little humans called 'littlers' about a foot tall and they were provided as a kind of pet to families and the elderly. But the littlers were modified to have suppressed memories and were unable to speak to the regular sized people (the 'biggerers'). Thus they were just thought of as unintelligent, cute, and basically not human. The story of the lives of several individual littlers, how they lived and were treated, and how they came to understand what they really were is fascinating. Let's just say that the biggerers of the story are not as likable.Unfortunately, this novel is too long with a lot of rambling dialogue, both spoken and internal, and lurching 'point of view' shifts. This writing style really takes away from the main narrative. With some serious editing, this could be a great book, very weird but cool. As it stands, it was a bit hard to get through.

[tjsjohanna_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I really liked the premise of this book, but the writing was too coy. In the effort to keep the reader from guessing too much too soon, Ms. Lilwall is too vague in her descriptions and explanations. It takes a long time to sort out the main characters and their relationship to each other which made for frustrating reading. Even at the end, I was still unsure of just what exactly had happened, which was a shame. I really liked the characters as I came to know them and wish I had a better grasp of their experience.

[jjean7-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Very unusual, and full of such complex relationships - have never really read a book like this before but holds your interest - just have to remember who the "little people" are and who are the regular humans - well written with some humor thrown in also - thought provoking,