Customer Reviews

Adrian Mole Diaries

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

THE ADRIAN MOLE DIARIES by Sue Townsend
July 4, 2007
Amazon Rating: 4/5 stars

Written in journal form, young Adrian Mole ( age 13 3/4 at the start of the first book - THE ADRIAN MOLE DIARIES was actually published originaly as two separate books) writes about teenage angst, living in a dysfunctional home, and all sorts of others issues that British children such as he go through. I laughed all the way to the end as I saw the world through his eyes. He's very Obsessive Compulsive, as is obvious with the first page, in which he has his list of New Years' resolutions:

1. I will help the blind across the road.
2. I will hang my trousers up.
3. I will put the sleeves back on my records.
4. I will not start smoking.
5. I will stop squeezing my spots.

and so on.

He's also a serious poet, who is constantly trying to get his poetry read on the BBC. He's also in love with a girl named Pandora, who at first doesn't share his feelings. (Pandora! Pandora! Pandora!... Why? Why? Why?)

He's got an elderly neighbor named Bert Baxter, who he befriends and helps out when needed. (I had to leave my sick-bed to visit Bert Baxter before school. It took me ages to get there, what with feeling weak and having to stop for a rest every now and again, but with the help of an old lady who had a long black mustache I made it to the front door.)

Anyway, the book is funny NOT for what happens, but for how it is all perceived and written down by our young Adrian. There are several books in this series about Adrian Mole, but I have a feeling this one is probably the funniest.

Somehow, I managed to get through my reading life for the past 20 plus years without coming close to Adrian Mole. I find, in reading the original books, "The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole: Age 13 ¾" and "Adrian Mole: Growing Pains," combined in THE ADRIAN MOLE DIARIES, that I had missed a lot. The good news is, that what was the topical satire of the 1980's is now a very sharp reminder of what life was like in the 1980's, especially in England, especially under the iron thumb of Mrs. Thatcher, when the marriage of Charles and Diana was the bright side and the Falklands, the odd excitement. Even better news, it is a universal, humane portrait of adolescence. Best news: it is knock down, tear inducing hilarious most of the time and touchingly effective the rest.

Adrian Mole, the Everyman Townsend has turned into a media franchise in England, with a television series and sequels as he ages, is age 13 ¾ when he begins his diary, to which he confides his soul, opinions and daily events. He's working class in the Midlands, an only child of self-involved parents who will never get out of debt. Via dramatic irony (that aforementioned tear-inducing hilarity), Townsend records an England brought to its knees by a cumbersome national health plan (Adrian has to get his tonsils removed some 10 years after he was put on the list as needing the procedure), an impoverished public school system (4 students have to share one textbook) and supply side economics. This is tempered by the ageless comedy of adolescent ardor and obsession with bad skin. On top of this, Adrian has decided that he is an intellectual and, if nothing else, fulfills an ambitious reading plan even if he doesn't get everything, he boldly submits his poetry to the BBC and is thrilled with the rejection letters that are a terrific commentary of what poetry should be.

The characters--and through them their society--are wonderfully, humanely drawn. The first book is excellently structured; the second becomes more episodic and topical. Together they take Adrian to age 16. I'm not sure that I want to read on in the series; I would like to think that somehow this unlikely charmer overcame everything going against him and prevails as an adult. I've heard otherwise. But I've also heard that the series continues the hilarity and worthwhile social criticism, so perhaps I will.

In her book, The Adrian Mole Diaries, Townsend gives her readers a well-conceived story told through the eyes of a brand new adolescent. A truly amazing read, she has the wit to make this story both moving and hilarious -- at the same time! This book is a definite must for anyone who grew up in the early eighties,or for the teen who wants to know what it was like when his or her parents were growing up.

Adrian Mole is a riot. While just a pre-teen, Adrian somehow manages to face pre-pubescence and an increasingly mixed up world around him. I wonder if the author of Bridget Jones's Diary read this as both start our with New Year's Resolutions and take the reader through a "year in the life of". The adult world into which Adrian is making his daring entrance is full of miscalculations and ridiculous characters none of whom make very wise choices. Through the eyes of a child we call them on their actions. Very witty, lighthearted. A must read for anyone needing a little comic relief.

A compelling book, slightly wordy. Overall worth the time it takes to read, and deserves praise from anyone willing to read it!