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Adrian Mole #6
Adrian Mole a zbraně hromadného ničení
Dlouho očekávané nové pokračování světově proslulé řady knih o věčném smolaři Adrianu Moleovi zavádí čtenáře do Velké Británie roku 2002. Adrian nyní dosáhl středního věku, pracuje v knihkupectví, má za sebou dvě nevydařená manželství a je otcem dvou synů. Jeho sen o kariéře úspěšného spisovatele se rozplynul. Obdiv svého okolí se snaží získat alespoň luxusním bydlením, což ho ovšem uvrhne do zlověstné spirály rostoucího zadlužení. Navíc se málem ožení s Marigold, pološílenou vyznavačkou alter-nativního způsobu života. Najde v sobě sílu zrušit zasnoubení a navázat nový vztah s krásnou Daisy?
408 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2004
146 people are currently reading
2222 people want to read
About the author
Sue Townsend
116 books941 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
Susan Lillian "Sue" Townsend was a British novelist, best known as the author of the Adrian Mole series of books. Her writing tended to combine comedy with social commentary, though she has written purely dramatic works as well. She suffered from diabetes for many years, as a result of which she was registered blind in 2001, and had woven this theme into her work.
Susan Lillian "Sue" Townsend was a British novelist, best known as the author of the Adrian Mole series of books. Her writing tended to combine comedy with social commentary, though she has written purely dramatic works as well. She suffered from diabetes for many years, as a result of which she was registered blind in 2001, and had woven this theme into her work.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 344 reviews
June 23, 2024
This is the eighth book about Adrian Mole (don't ask ...) who started his literary life in 1982, at the age of thirteen and three quarters. The series of books has kept pace with his age and it feels as though it is winding down. The running joke about the inept Adrian is wearing a bit thin, and to put him in the idiotic situation of writing letters to the prime minister so that he can get a refund on his upcoming foreign holiday, seems too ludicrously contrived to be funny.
The book was written at the time when Tony Blair warned that Saddam Hussein’s weapons of mass destruction could target the island of Cyprus in 45 minutes. Perhaps you had to "be there". At this distance in time it all seems tiresome and irrelevant. Perhaps it is the sort of flash in the pan book which is wryly amusing just for a few months, and then would disappear without trace - unless it is part of a series.
I do not read books about party politics, nor reviews of them, nor usually comment. But this has made me wonder if there are many such humorous books about Brexit, and what chance there is that any future readers will read them - or even talk about the event - in fifteen years' time. Kind of puts it all in perspective.
I read very little of the book, so hesitate to rate it. However, one star is my default for abandoned books. It would very probably come out at less than one star if I forced myself to plough through the thing, so one star is what I must put. Two stars on Goodreads is an "OK" rating, but there is no way in which this would be OK reading for me. Apologies to those who get their humour from party politics, or depictions of feebly plodding, very English, middle-aged, middle-class men and the women who surround and bemuse them, or those who just love the series. Please do not let my boredom put you off.
The series started on a high note, but for me it has now fizzled out. I have just one more book about Adrian Mole, but my hopes are not high.
The book was written at the time when Tony Blair warned that Saddam Hussein’s weapons of mass destruction could target the island of Cyprus in 45 minutes. Perhaps you had to "be there". At this distance in time it all seems tiresome and irrelevant. Perhaps it is the sort of flash in the pan book which is wryly amusing just for a few months, and then would disappear without trace - unless it is part of a series.
I do not read books about party politics, nor reviews of them, nor usually comment. But this has made me wonder if there are many such humorous books about Brexit, and what chance there is that any future readers will read them - or even talk about the event - in fifteen years' time. Kind of puts it all in perspective.
I read very little of the book, so hesitate to rate it. However, one star is my default for abandoned books. It would very probably come out at less than one star if I forced myself to plough through the thing, so one star is what I must put. Two stars on Goodreads is an "OK" rating, but there is no way in which this would be OK reading for me. Apologies to those who get their humour from party politics, or depictions of feebly plodding, very English, middle-aged, middle-class men and the women who surround and bemuse them, or those who just love the series. Please do not let my boredom put you off.
The series started on a high note, but for me it has now fizzled out. I have just one more book about Adrian Mole, but my hopes are not high.
March 31, 2020
Adrian Mole can be a funny character at times.
Earlier I had read The Cappuccino Years and found it fairly interesting.
I expected this to be a political satire.But it's not really about Bush and Blair's invasion of Iraq on the pretext of Saddam stockpiling weapons of mass destruction.
Adrian Mole writes to Blair to provide some evidence of the existence of the WMDs.He worries that his son could be deployed to Iraq.
But mostly it is about Adrian Mole's life and other things.There is the odd funny line here and there,but is hard work trying to dig it out.
Very disappointing.
Earlier I had read The Cappuccino Years and found it fairly interesting.
I expected this to be a political satire.But it's not really about Bush and Blair's invasion of Iraq on the pretext of Saddam stockpiling weapons of mass destruction.
Adrian Mole writes to Blair to provide some evidence of the existence of the WMDs.He worries that his son could be deployed to Iraq.
But mostly it is about Adrian Mole's life and other things.There is the odd funny line here and there,but is hard work trying to dig it out.
Very disappointing.
November 23, 2016
This is yet another laugh-out-loud Adrian Mole diary. This time he begins the diary at the age of 34, but he is still the same earnest, pedantic, letter-writing Adrian.
He has moved away from his flaky parents’ home into a pricey loft apartment on Rat Wharf, not realizing that there’s a reason for the “rat” appellation. It could also have been called “Aggressive Swan Wharf” for that matter, but we’ll get back to that later.
Adrian is a great admirer of Tony Blair and a staunch believer in the existence of Saddam’s weapons of mass destruction, and is thus a supporter of Britain going to war.
He is a would-be published writer but hasn’t as yet achieved any success in that field; he is working on a book to be entitled “Celebrity and madness” but neither has he yet persuaded any celebrity to allow him to interview him or her on that subject, not surprisingly, considering the title.
Adrian is the arranger of a creative writing group that meets regularly though he does not wholly appreciate the literary efforts of the others. One of the members is the elderly Gladys, who keeps writing soppy poems about cats, such as:
“Poor Blackie’s up in Heaven,
God took her life away,
He said, you’ll go to Devon,
And have a holiday.”
Unfortunately, he has little success in persuading celebrities to visit the group and give a talk; as far as I recall, Cherie Blair doesn't even deign to reply to his letter. Thus, the group rapidly dwindles to only two.
Adrian has two sons, Glenn, 17, who is in basic training in the army, and in danger of being sent off to war in Iraq, and a younger son, William, who now lives with his mother in Nigeria.
Glenn writes frequent letters to Adrian, but unlike his verbally proficient father, Glenn is sadly lacking in basic grammar and spelling skills.
Adrian is still madly in love with his childhood sweetheart, Pandora, who is now a junior minister and a household name. He somehow becomes involved with a woman called Marigold and then with her sister, Daisy, even though Marigold is insisting that he marry her. There are numerous complications.
He furnishes his loft apartment with stylish new furniture not to mention curtains for his glass lavatory, whose see-through walls are extremely irritating for the prudish Adrian; but he does so through the kind services of MasterCard and Barclaycard who insist on forcing him to accept thousands of pounds in credit and sending him blank cheques; this, of course, leads to poor Adrian getting into a pretty pickle as far as his finances are concerned.
It now only remains to mention the aggressive swans that inhabit the canal adjacent to Adrian’s abode. The leader of the pack, Gielgud, is “particularly vicious” and takes an instant dislike to Adrian. The town council member to whom Adrian complains fails to understand the problem; they won’t help him get rid of the swans but will grant him help with conflict resolution work with his supposed neighbour, Mr. Swan, whom they understand to be the source of the problem.
There are many more complications and convolutions in Adrian’s story, including the problems of his parents who can’t find out which romantic partners they wish to have, and those of his gay, blind friend, Nigel.
The book is brilliantly written and uproarious and reminds us of what was going on in Britain and the world in 2002 and 2003. The main theme concerns, of course, Adrian’s obsession with the weapons of mass destruction and the war in Iraq.
He has moved away from his flaky parents’ home into a pricey loft apartment on Rat Wharf, not realizing that there’s a reason for the “rat” appellation. It could also have been called “Aggressive Swan Wharf” for that matter, but we’ll get back to that later.
Adrian is a great admirer of Tony Blair and a staunch believer in the existence of Saddam’s weapons of mass destruction, and is thus a supporter of Britain going to war.
He is a would-be published writer but hasn’t as yet achieved any success in that field; he is working on a book to be entitled “Celebrity and madness” but neither has he yet persuaded any celebrity to allow him to interview him or her on that subject, not surprisingly, considering the title.
Adrian is the arranger of a creative writing group that meets regularly though he does not wholly appreciate the literary efforts of the others. One of the members is the elderly Gladys, who keeps writing soppy poems about cats, such as:
“Poor Blackie’s up in Heaven,
God took her life away,
He said, you’ll go to Devon,
And have a holiday.”
Unfortunately, he has little success in persuading celebrities to visit the group and give a talk; as far as I recall, Cherie Blair doesn't even deign to reply to his letter. Thus, the group rapidly dwindles to only two.
Adrian has two sons, Glenn, 17, who is in basic training in the army, and in danger of being sent off to war in Iraq, and a younger son, William, who now lives with his mother in Nigeria.
Glenn writes frequent letters to Adrian, but unlike his verbally proficient father, Glenn is sadly lacking in basic grammar and spelling skills.
Adrian is still madly in love with his childhood sweetheart, Pandora, who is now a junior minister and a household name. He somehow becomes involved with a woman called Marigold and then with her sister, Daisy, even though Marigold is insisting that he marry her. There are numerous complications.
He furnishes his loft apartment with stylish new furniture not to mention curtains for his glass lavatory, whose see-through walls are extremely irritating for the prudish Adrian; but he does so through the kind services of MasterCard and Barclaycard who insist on forcing him to accept thousands of pounds in credit and sending him blank cheques; this, of course, leads to poor Adrian getting into a pretty pickle as far as his finances are concerned.
It now only remains to mention the aggressive swans that inhabit the canal adjacent to Adrian’s abode. The leader of the pack, Gielgud, is “particularly vicious” and takes an instant dislike to Adrian. The town council member to whom Adrian complains fails to understand the problem; they won’t help him get rid of the swans but will grant him help with conflict resolution work with his supposed neighbour, Mr. Swan, whom they understand to be the source of the problem.
There are many more complications and convolutions in Adrian’s story, including the problems of his parents who can’t find out which romantic partners they wish to have, and those of his gay, blind friend, Nigel.
The book is brilliantly written and uproarious and reminds us of what was going on in Britain and the world in 2002 and 2003. The main theme concerns, of course, Adrian’s obsession with the weapons of mass destruction and the war in Iraq.
July 23, 2014
Quite simply the finest and funniest and most moving skewering of Blair's era and his grand folly.
The shallowness of early 21st century Britain is exposed as even Mole, surely the most unfashionable man on Earth, gets caught up (living a lifestyle, not a life as one character puts it). His love life goes through one of its most tumultuous periods with one of his most appalling partners (which is saying something).
Townsend's skills hit their height here, where she deftly brings the laughs and then the tears together. She hated the Tories, but it seems that her reaction to Blair and his war are harsher still - this is precisely what a Labour Government shouldn't be doing, this is an act of appalling betrayal - and Townsend aimed her pen right into the heart of it.
The shallowness of early 21st century Britain is exposed as even Mole, surely the most unfashionable man on Earth, gets caught up (living a lifestyle, not a life as one character puts it). His love life goes through one of its most tumultuous periods with one of his most appalling partners (which is saying something).
Townsend's skills hit their height here, where she deftly brings the laughs and then the tears together. She hated the Tories, but it seems that her reaction to Blair and his war are harsher still - this is precisely what a Labour Government shouldn't be doing, this is an act of appalling betrayal - and Townsend aimed her pen right into the heart of it.
February 10, 2021
Still a masterpiece after all these years. How I miss Sue Townsend and wish she could report the current shower through Adrian's eyes. Her writing is so witty and her characterisation is so economical but effective: Michael Flowers and his mostly dreadful family are perfectly balanced with the more serious storylines of Adrian's money troubles and Glenn in Basra. Perfect comfort reading while still acerbic. Miss you Sue.
June 5, 2022
I listened to the audio version of this. A funny and easy one to listen to. I love how Adrian often sends nonsense letters to the Prime Minister and celebrities fully expecting that they will reply to him!
June 24, 2023
I enjoyed Adrian Mole #6 quite a lot. Our funny and sometimes sad “hero” continues getting himself in trouble as he incredulously stumbles through life. In his mid-30’s he struggles with 2 sons, 3 women, aging parents, an exploding debt situation, aggressive swans - and the weapons of mass destruction.
The story this time goes in fits and stops in oddly lifelike directions (as in you can’t really see what’s next). I liked this plenty all the way through, but started to worry about what was actually going to be resolved as the pages left got fewer and fewer. My fears were realised when the abrupt ending felt like the author just got tired of writing, did a skip and just stopped.
The story this time goes in fits and stops in oddly lifelike directions (as in you can’t really see what’s next). I liked this plenty all the way through, but started to worry about what was actually going to be resolved as the pages left got fewer and fewer. My fears were realised when the abrupt ending felt like the author just got tired of writing, did a skip and just stopped.
August 31, 2023
I was eight years old when Tony Blair and George Bush declared war on Iraq. I remember my parents gathering my older brother and I in the kitchen and telling us what was happening and that there was no need to be worried or scared.
I first read Weapons of Mass Destruction as a sixteen year old sixth former. At the time of reading I had given up on my geography a-level and my teachers had given up on me in return so they just let me get on with my reading at the back of the classroom. I remember discussing it with my teachers and with my parents as I was reading it and when I finished it I declared it my favourite Mole book.
Almost a decade later, I have re-read it and I'm happy to say that it's still my favourite Mole and I perhaps love it even more.
Obviously the Gielgud the Swan stuff is as funny as it was and Adrian's life makes me groan and cringe just as much but it's all the underlying, yah know, stuff that you don't really get when you're a sixteen year old kid just trying to ignore a lecture on isostatic recovery that makes this book so great and so, so heartbreaking. That "you can't afford a lifestyle, Moley, only a life" is a killer. Everything that happens to Glenn and Robbie. The way we're reminded that a Labour government (supposedly the 'goodies' of the UK parliament) lied to the UK and invaded Iraq.
Aged eight, my parents told me not to be scared or to worry about the war in Iraq. Aged sixteen Sue Townsend told me to be more than that. Be angry. Aged almost 26 - remain angry. And put down the credit card.
I first read Weapons of Mass Destruction as a sixteen year old sixth former. At the time of reading I had given up on my geography a-level and my teachers had given up on me in return so they just let me get on with my reading at the back of the classroom. I remember discussing it with my teachers and with my parents as I was reading it and when I finished it I declared it my favourite Mole book.
Almost a decade later, I have re-read it and I'm happy to say that it's still my favourite Mole and I perhaps love it even more.
Obviously the Gielgud the Swan stuff is as funny as it was and Adrian's life makes me groan and cringe just as much but it's all the underlying, yah know, stuff that you don't really get when you're a sixteen year old kid just trying to ignore a lecture on isostatic recovery that makes this book so great and so, so heartbreaking. That "you can't afford a lifestyle, Moley, only a life" is a killer. Everything that happens to Glenn and Robbie. The way we're reminded that a Labour government (supposedly the 'goodies' of the UK parliament) lied to the UK and invaded Iraq.
Aged eight, my parents told me not to be scared or to worry about the war in Iraq. Aged sixteen Sue Townsend told me to be more than that. Be angry. Aged almost 26 - remain angry. And put down the credit card.
February 22, 2020
Não se deixem enganar pela pontuação Vasco Câmara! Os fãs não ficarão desiludidos.
(Mas aqui há exigências de rigor e uma imagem pública a defender.)
(Mas aqui há exigências de rigor e uma imagem pública a defender.)
September 5, 2012
I feel like I've grown up with Adrian Mole. I've been following his exploits since I was 13 years old, and as a character fixed in time, he's a year or two older than me.
This book chronicles Adrian's life in 2003, age 34, with the backdrop of the war in Iraq. He worries about his 17-year-old son, who has joined the army and has been deployed to Kuwait, he struggles with a debt problem that's spiralling out of control, and still his love life is as disastrous as ever - he's trying to extricate himself from the clutches of a needy, clingy young woman called Marigold, whilst fancying her free-spirited sexy sister Daisy.
Adrian Mole is a comic character, and it's his flaws and foibles that we laugh about. But ultimately his heart is in the right place, and that's why we're fond of him. In a way it's good that as Adrian grows older he growns no wiser, and he retains the ability to make us laugh. And the fact that Adrian's life is always such a disaster is a source of some reassurance - no matter how bad life gets, it's never as bad as Adrian Mole's.
This book chronicles Adrian's life in 2003, age 34, with the backdrop of the war in Iraq. He worries about his 17-year-old son, who has joined the army and has been deployed to Kuwait, he struggles with a debt problem that's spiralling out of control, and still his love life is as disastrous as ever - he's trying to extricate himself from the clutches of a needy, clingy young woman called Marigold, whilst fancying her free-spirited sexy sister Daisy.
Adrian Mole is a comic character, and it's his flaws and foibles that we laugh about. But ultimately his heart is in the right place, and that's why we're fond of him. In a way it's good that as Adrian grows older he growns no wiser, and he retains the ability to make us laugh. And the fact that Adrian's life is always such a disaster is a source of some reassurance - no matter how bad life gets, it's never as bad as Adrian Mole's.
October 12, 2015
As a teenager I loved the Adrian Mole books, and even re-reading the original two again recently I found them still a funny read, more for nostalgia than anything I think.
Moving on to Adrian as an adult, I didn't love the Cappuccino Years, but it was okay. This however tested my patience. Adrian as a teenager was amusing as an adult, down right irritating but it was Marigold that killed it for me. I know she is meant to be an emotional vampire that you hate and that it the point of her character but knowing so many people like this in my past I just couldn't read any more of it. Adrian is such a pathetic woos too, he was actually getting somewhere in the last book, in this it's just regressing to childhood idiocy.
269 pages in and I gave up and won't be following his journey through life any further because frankly Adrian, you are pathetic.
Moving on to Adrian as an adult, I didn't love the Cappuccino Years, but it was okay. This however tested my patience. Adrian as a teenager was amusing as an adult, down right irritating but it was Marigold that killed it for me. I know she is meant to be an emotional vampire that you hate and that it the point of her character but knowing so many people like this in my past I just couldn't read any more of it. Adrian is such a pathetic woos too, he was actually getting somewhere in the last book, in this it's just regressing to childhood idiocy.
269 pages in and I gave up and won't be following his journey through life any further because frankly Adrian, you are pathetic.
January 14, 2020
Entertaining as always!
January 29, 2021
I enjoyed this even more after my second reading of this title. Townsend was such a clever writer, and her stories are just so engaging!
April 5, 2021
Adrian Mole and the Weapons of Mass Destruction Review
I really wanted to enjoy this book but I actually found it quite depressing, do not get me wrong there are funny moment in the book I particularly enjoyed Adrian Waring with the swans, and the letter he revived from the council believing the swan to be human were hilarious. However that could not counter the horror I felt watching Adrian cripple himself in debt, in the rest of the series Adrian is somewhat of a miser so I found his reckless spending very out of character.
I also didn't think Marigold lying about her pregnancy got enough attention, I know it was meant to be funny but I just thought her behavior was manipulative and she needed professional help.
I have a YouTube review of this book avalibel on my channel along with the rest of the Adrian Mole if anyone is interested. https://youtu.be/heOqRdnOsFQ
I really wanted to enjoy this book but I actually found it quite depressing, do not get me wrong there are funny moment in the book I particularly enjoyed Adrian Waring with the swans, and the letter he revived from the council believing the swan to be human were hilarious. However that could not counter the horror I felt watching Adrian cripple himself in debt, in the rest of the series Adrian is somewhat of a miser so I found his reckless spending very out of character.
I also didn't think Marigold lying about her pregnancy got enough attention, I know it was meant to be funny but I just thought her behavior was manipulative and she needed professional help.
I have a YouTube review of this book avalibel on my channel along with the rest of the Adrian Mole if anyone is interested. https://youtu.be/heOqRdnOsFQ
January 16, 2025
Parašymo stilius gal ir neblogas, bet tai - vienintelis geras dalykas, kurį galiu pasakyti apie knygą. Skaityti buvo nuobodu, veikėjai erzino, perskaičiau tik tam, kad būčiau perskaičiusi - vis dar nesuprantu kam tokios knygos išvis reikėjo?
July 27, 2010
Adrian Mole is now 34 3/4 years old and as the story begins he has canceled his holiday in Cyprus because of Tony Blair’s warnings that Saddam Hussein’s weapons of mass destruction could target the island in 45 minutes. Unfortunately, his travel agent won’t refund his deposit until evidence of the WMDs is put forward. Soooo, true to form, Adrian writes a series of letters to Mr. Blair requesting that Mr. Blair provide this proof to said travel agent.
Although the war does bring a sad note to the story (Adrian’s son is called to action), this is still a humorous glimpse into the life of a mostly lovable but clueless character. Despite the fact that he is now in his thirties, Adrian is still touchingly naive and surprisingly gauche. The naivete still works for me but some of his blundering simply isn’t as humorous as it was when he was a teenager. That said, I still enjoyed the book. I love the accounts of Gielgud the Swan and the related correspondence between Adrian and Trixie Meadows of the City Council. I love the relationship between Adrian and his son, Glen. I love the Robbie storyline even though it is heart-wrenching. I was annoyed by the relationship between Adrian and Marigold but c’est la vie.
Others’ reviews of Adrian Mole and the Weapons of Mass Destruction have been mixed as well. There is much praise for Sue Townsend’s flair for satire which is warranted. There is some debate over Adrian’s likeableness this time around, but I don’t think there’s any doubt that he comes across as a very real, human character.
Although the war does bring a sad note to the story (Adrian’s son is called to action), this is still a humorous glimpse into the life of a mostly lovable but clueless character. Despite the fact that he is now in his thirties, Adrian is still touchingly naive and surprisingly gauche. The naivete still works for me but some of his blundering simply isn’t as humorous as it was when he was a teenager. That said, I still enjoyed the book. I love the accounts of Gielgud the Swan and the related correspondence between Adrian and Trixie Meadows of the City Council. I love the relationship between Adrian and his son, Glen. I love the Robbie storyline even though it is heart-wrenching. I was annoyed by the relationship between Adrian and Marigold but c’est la vie.
Others’ reviews of Adrian Mole and the Weapons of Mass Destruction have been mixed as well. There is much praise for Sue Townsend’s flair for satire which is warranted. There is some debate over Adrian’s likeableness this time around, but I don’t think there’s any doubt that he comes across as a very real, human character.
April 25, 2019
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000...
The fifth book in our series of readings from Adrian’s diaries, written by Sue Townsend. It starts in 2002 and covers the controversial period of the Iraq War.
Adrian is 34, working in a bookshop in Leicester and about to become the proud owner of a trendy loft apartment. His single status is about to change too, putting further strain on his already stretched finances. As war looms, Adrian is unwavering in his support for Prime Minister Tony Blair and military action, even though his eldest son Glenn is facing deployment to the Gulf.
Sue Townsend was born in Leicester in 1946. She left school at 15 and was a single parent with three young children by the age of 23. Like Adrian, she wrote in secret for many years, and acknowledged that they often shared the same views - Adrian "C’est moi," she once said.
First published in 1989, Adrian Mole’s diaries were instant bestsellers and Adrian, the remarkably resilient underdog, quickly became a national treasure. While recording the experiences of one individual and showcasing Sue's fearless and razor sharp wit, the diaries also illustrate how socio-political matters of the time affected the lives of ordinary people.
Copyright Siegfried Sassoon by kind permission of the Estate of George Sassoon
Reader: Harry McEntire
Abridger: Sara Davies
Producer: Alexa Moore
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4
December 31, 2020
I have to admire the scope of the series, which now spans three decades. It follows the political and social history of Britain closely all the way, and it's told from a vantage point well outside the normal ones favoured by writers (ie he's not posh and lives in Not London).
Adrian Mole is now well into his thirties and engaged to someone he doesn't love or even like very much. He's still very much himself and, as I said in my reaction to one of the earlier books, adult Adrian is slightly creepier and ickier than teenage Adrian. He's at least less sex-obsessed in this one, which is a relief, but he's taken to writing letters to Geoff Hoon, Radio Four and the Keeper of the Queen's Swans.
The politics are a lot closer to the surface than usual. Even the book's title refers to the Iraq War, which is a constant background to Adrian's personal life, and follows the arc of events from the weapons inspectors' visits through to the early day of the British presence in Basra, cruise missiles going astray and the discovery of what was going on in Guantanamo. His own son is one of the soldiers, aged 18, acting as a reminder of the reality of the war in a way she couldn't do if she were relying in news reports only.
Sue Townsend dictated this book to her husband after she lost her sight to diabetes, so the fact that she's kept up the quality is pretty impressive.
Adrian Mole is now well into his thirties and engaged to someone he doesn't love or even like very much. He's still very much himself and, as I said in my reaction to one of the earlier books, adult Adrian is slightly creepier and ickier than teenage Adrian. He's at least less sex-obsessed in this one, which is a relief, but he's taken to writing letters to Geoff Hoon, Radio Four and the Keeper of the Queen's Swans.
The politics are a lot closer to the surface than usual. Even the book's title refers to the Iraq War, which is a constant background to Adrian's personal life, and follows the arc of events from the weapons inspectors' visits through to the early day of the British presence in Basra, cruise missiles going astray and the discovery of what was going on in Guantanamo. His own son is one of the soldiers, aged 18, acting as a reminder of the reality of the war in a way she couldn't do if she were relying in news reports only.
Sue Townsend dictated this book to her husband after she lost her sight to diabetes, so the fact that she's kept up the quality is pretty impressive.
March 20, 2016
I first read the Adrian Mole diaries when I was at school but soon stopped reading them. However, at my book swap, I noticed this one on the table and thought I would revisit Mole and see how his life had progressed, as it were. Basically, this is an ok book - a standard Adrian Mole story - amusing at times but not laugh-out-loud funny. Adrian has grown-up (sort of) but still takes no responsibility for his life. Some fo the situations he found himself in were frustrating - you just wanted him to take control of his life and stop being such an idiot. The amount of times he found himself doing something or agreeing to something against his better judgement was annoying. If you knew Adrian Mole in real life, you would probably want to slap him. There are a couple of semi-poignant moments during the book, but, on the whole, this is harmless fluff.
December 11, 2014
Sue Townsend did it again with this poignant tale of a grown-up Adrian, working in a seedy second-hand bookshop in London.
I wonder if Adrian was secretly a bit autistic, as some of his behaviour, especially towards his girlfriend, Marigold,seems redolent of Don Tillman in The Rosie Project.
I just read that Sue Townsend had gone blind from diabetes when she wrote this novel. She dictated it to her husband. also, she was working on a sixth Adrian Mole novel when she died, entitled Pandora's Box. She was only 68, 3 year solder than I am now!
I wonder if Adrian was secretly a bit autistic, as some of his behaviour, especially towards his girlfriend, Marigold,seems redolent of Don Tillman in The Rosie Project.
I just read that Sue Townsend had gone blind from diabetes when she wrote this novel. She dictated it to her husband. also, she was working on a sixth Adrian Mole novel when she died, entitled Pandora's Box. She was only 68, 3 year solder than I am now!
April 4, 2017
I did not realize there were several Adrian Mole books and while I did recognize a few references to earlier storylines that I of course did not have the background knowledge on while reading this book, I did not feel in any way lost because I had not started with the first book.
I found this story entertaining and I enjoyed the diary entry format.
With that said, I cannot see myself rushing out to locate the rest of the series. This was a good one off light read.
I found this story entertaining and I enjoyed the diary entry format.
With that said, I cannot see myself rushing out to locate the rest of the series. This was a good one off light read.
December 26, 2024
I liked this one better than the prior one in the series. If it drives you crazy to read about someone who chooses the opposite of what he knows he should do for almost every decision, then you probably shouldn't read it.
July 13, 2024
It was easy to read and fairly funny at times. Overall it was fine
February 8, 2017
I was intrigued to see whether Sue Townsend has let Adrian Mole grow up or if he is still just as gauche as a 33 year old as he was at 13. I also was captivated by the endorsement on the cover of the book from the Guardian suggesting that it make me laugh and laughter is always very welcome!
I quickly discovered that Adrian is still distressingly naive but has now had a string of failed relationships and is the father of two sons, neither of whom live with him. He staggers into a doomed relationship with a strange, controlling and maudlin woman named Marigold Flowers whose family deserves a comedy skit in it’s own right. He gathers debt like my bathroom/laundry gathers dust and I found my throat constricting at the horror of the magnitude and intractable nature of his debt as he applied for and then overdrew on various credit cards to buy ridiculous consumer good that he didn’t really want.
He bought a ridiculous apartment with a hyper-sensitive upstairs neighbour who can’t meditate while he listens to the radio and swans that he claims are nefarious but actually just sound like normal swans. He is still infatuated with Pandora (from his teenage crush) and now she is (rather unbelievably) a politician and published an awful book that detailed her sexual exploits. He runs a creative writing group that implodes, partly because the members are too self-centred to interact nicely with one another but also because none of them have any writing talent.
The most lovely aspect of the book is the book shop that he works in. The shop is run by a delightful older man, Mr Carlton-Hayes, who is kind, thoughtful and empathetic but surprises the reader when he punches Marigold’s father (the awful Mr Flowers). Mr Carlton-Hayes is the kind of man that I would like to be friends with and Adrian is very lucky to be employed by him. Adrian makes several good suggestions for modernising the shop, including a fireplace, seats and a coffee machine and these are so successful in drawing in new custom that Mr Carlton-Hayes can afford to increase Adrian’s pay, but not by enough to overcome his awful debts!
Adrian’s friends are interesting. In fact it’s hard to think that any of them are actually friends, due to their mercenary nature (the accountant that charges him for advice and the IT consultant that charges him to install his home entertainment unit) and how mean they can be to Adrian. His friend Nigel says some cutting things to Adrian but these are perhaps to try to bring some honesty into Adrian’s fantasy world.
I posted a fuller review on my blog: https://strivetoengage.wordpress.com/...
I quickly discovered that Adrian is still distressingly naive but has now had a string of failed relationships and is the father of two sons, neither of whom live with him. He staggers into a doomed relationship with a strange, controlling and maudlin woman named Marigold Flowers whose family deserves a comedy skit in it’s own right. He gathers debt like my bathroom/laundry gathers dust and I found my throat constricting at the horror of the magnitude and intractable nature of his debt as he applied for and then overdrew on various credit cards to buy ridiculous consumer good that he didn’t really want.
He bought a ridiculous apartment with a hyper-sensitive upstairs neighbour who can’t meditate while he listens to the radio and swans that he claims are nefarious but actually just sound like normal swans. He is still infatuated with Pandora (from his teenage crush) and now she is (rather unbelievably) a politician and published an awful book that detailed her sexual exploits. He runs a creative writing group that implodes, partly because the members are too self-centred to interact nicely with one another but also because none of them have any writing talent.
The most lovely aspect of the book is the book shop that he works in. The shop is run by a delightful older man, Mr Carlton-Hayes, who is kind, thoughtful and empathetic but surprises the reader when he punches Marigold’s father (the awful Mr Flowers). Mr Carlton-Hayes is the kind of man that I would like to be friends with and Adrian is very lucky to be employed by him. Adrian makes several good suggestions for modernising the shop, including a fireplace, seats and a coffee machine and these are so successful in drawing in new custom that Mr Carlton-Hayes can afford to increase Adrian’s pay, but not by enough to overcome his awful debts!
Adrian’s friends are interesting. In fact it’s hard to think that any of them are actually friends, due to their mercenary nature (the accountant that charges him for advice and the IT consultant that charges him to install his home entertainment unit) and how mean they can be to Adrian. His friend Nigel says some cutting things to Adrian but these are perhaps to try to bring some honesty into Adrian’s fantasy world.
I posted a fuller review on my blog: https://strivetoengage.wordpress.com/...
January 6, 2022
This is the best of the series so far, for me. It has a version of Adrian which is like distilled Adrian and it works well for the various plotlines. Sue Townsend has really managed to bring out the essence of the various characters, which leads to much comedy, bit also the curling of toes, for various reasons. The ending was unexpectedly moving with one particular character's death.
The vignettes in and of the bookshop were relatable and startlingly similar to situations I'm sure anyone who has worked in a bookshop has encountered.
The only issue I couldn't quite believe is how someone like Daisy would fall for someone like Adrian. It seemed a little bit optimistic, almost like it was a dream, but then again, who's to say he wasn't in a fugue state due to his financial woes? Maybe I will find out in the next and final book in the Mole series.
The vignettes in and of the bookshop were relatable and startlingly similar to situations I'm sure anyone who has worked in a bookshop has encountered.
The only issue I couldn't quite believe is how someone like Daisy would fall for someone like Adrian. It seemed a little bit optimistic, almost like it was a dream, but then again, who's to say he wasn't in a fugue state due to his financial woes? Maybe I will find out in the next and final book in the Mole series.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 25, 2010
I don't know how she does it, but Townsend has kept Adrian Mole fresh, funny, and touching all these years, since The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13 3/4. Here Adrian is in his thirties, with two sons, one in the army, one in Africa with his mother; his relationship with the son in the army is particularly well-done, as Glenn goes to Iraq and Adrian, previously a supporter of the war, becomes uncertain of his feelings about it. As usual, Adrian gets into more messes than he can handle, romantically and financially, and many of the old cast of characters appear: Pandora, Nigel, Adrian's parents, even Barry Kent.
October 15, 2017
This particular book felt contrived to shoehorn in as many of the current news items as possible from the time of writing.
Adrian continues to be irresponsible, immature, stupid with a capital S, and frankly, bloody annoying! In that sense, he is now becoming unrealistic, as most folks would have at least changed a little bit by their mid-thirties. He hasn't, and the novelty's wearing off. I'm not sure whether Sue Townsend was getting fed up with him too by the end of the novel, because the ending was the most disappointing thing I've ever read - a massive buildup prior, then a flat, glossed over solution that makes everything peachy.
Not sure I can stand to read more of Adrian Mole if he doesn't change in the next one...
Adrian continues to be irresponsible, immature, stupid with a capital S, and frankly, bloody annoying! In that sense, he is now becoming unrealistic, as most folks would have at least changed a little bit by their mid-thirties. He hasn't, and the novelty's wearing off. I'm not sure whether Sue Townsend was getting fed up with him too by the end of the novel, because the ending was the most disappointing thing I've ever read - a massive buildup prior, then a flat, glossed over solution that makes everything peachy.
Not sure I can stand to read more of Adrian Mole if he doesn't change in the next one...
August 15, 2020
A clever and witty book. People associate Mole with the eighties but for me he depicted the nineties and never more acutely than in this book. Adrian's naivety about Blair and the frustration when he realises Blair's craven, blinkered solipsism mirrors well the national fall from grace in this era. The narrative pressure comes, as ever, from Mole needing to get away from some bad relationship and though the pay-off here doesn't quite land I still tore through this in a couple of days, which shows how great a writer Townsend was. There are so many subtleties here.
April 23, 2017
I can still remember reading The Secret Diary back in 1986/87 and I've conscientiously read every Adrian Mole since but somehow missed this once. Reading it some 14 years after the WMD events, it was possibly more interesting and pertinent than if I'd read it at the time.
Littered with just great observations on topics as varied as loft-living, book clubs, childhood friendships, communists, swans?!
Laugh out loud moments a plenty but some very poignant narration of how ill-prepared we were for Iraq and Adrian's failings as a father.
Littered with just great observations on topics as varied as loft-living, book clubs, childhood friendships, communists, swans?!
Laugh out loud moments a plenty but some very poignant narration of how ill-prepared we were for Iraq and Adrian's failings as a father.
March 5, 2011
Adrian at 34 & 3 quarters is his usual conflicted self--trying to get out of a pending marriage with Marigold, going madly into debt to buy a lifestyle, supporting Tony Blair in the war on Iraq, fighting off the attacking swans outside his loft on Rat Wharf in Leicester.
Sue Townsend writes really funny books.
Sue Townsend writes really funny books.
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