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Adrian Mole #5
Adrian Mole: The Cappuccino Years
An accidental celebrity, with a spreading bald patch, despairing of current family values, Mole is still worrying: Is Viagra cheating? Why won't BBC1 produce The White Van, his serial killer comedy? Will the Millennium Wheel ever turn? Will Pandora Braithwaite MP become Blair's favourite babe?
391 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1999
163 people are currently reading
2272 people want to read
About the author
Sue Townsend
116 books951 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 303 reviews
May 3, 2010
Before I picked up this book, I had no idea who Adrian Mole or Sue Townsend were. It just so happened that the novel was sitting on the bookshelf in my office one day and I decided to give it a go.
From page one I fell in love with Adrian Mole. Basically, he is a failure. He means well, he does everything he can to be a success, but it always backfires. His story is a true tragic comedy, which fortunately is light enough on the tragedy to keep us from feeling bad.
The best point about Adrian Mole is that I could see a little bit of myself in him. He is an intensely relatable character, because who among us hasn't looked success directly in the eye and then failed anyway? He is balding, bitter, and unhappy, but still goes through life as best he can, and for that he is a kind of hero.
From page one I fell in love with Adrian Mole. Basically, he is a failure. He means well, he does everything he can to be a success, but it always backfires. His story is a true tragic comedy, which fortunately is light enough on the tragedy to keep us from feeling bad.
The best point about Adrian Mole is that I could see a little bit of myself in him. He is an intensely relatable character, because who among us hasn't looked success directly in the eye and then failed anyway? He is balding, bitter, and unhappy, but still goes through life as best he can, and for that he is a kind of hero.
December 12, 2025
My Adrian Mole collection is complete !!
Towsend's usual hilarious style manages mostly to cover up the absurdity that Adrian Mole retains the naivité of a teenager in middle age. Or else we smirk at ourselves in the mirror inside the rat cage as we race on through a society of illusion and desillusion.
On second reading, even Adrian has grown a lot bitter & a little wiser about his lot in life. At times. Unless he's feeling offally good over his next big prospect.
Towsend's usual hilarious style manages mostly to cover up the absurdity that Adrian Mole retains the naivité of a teenager in middle age. Or else we smirk at ourselves in the mirror inside the rat cage as we race on through a society of illusion and desillusion.
On second reading, even Adrian has grown a lot bitter & a little wiser about his lot in life. At times. Unless he's feeling offally good over his next big prospect.
January 31, 2011
Townsend is a comic genius who presents am unsparing vision of England in all its (fallen) glory, Chavs and Cocaine Socialists alike. Adrian is the post-modern anti-hero, our generation's Holden Caulfield, if Holden Caulfield had been funnier, more human, and even more readable. (I got through Catcher in the Rye on my eleventh birthday in one sitting. The Adrian Mole series is funnier, more original, and a far better satire of society.)
My laughing fits started in the introduction where Townsend has a theatrical summary of the novel's many characters. I started having to read certain entries aloud because I felt it was criminal to keep them to myself. I was reading this just before Christmas sharing a bed with my adult sister, who was somewhere between annoyed at my interruptions and amused with Townsend's lapidary black humor. (Which is a good summary of our relationship: vacillating between annoyance and amusement.)
I hadn't read any Townsend for at least fifteen years, I'd been trying to get my thirteen year old sister to read Adrian Mole but seeing that good bookstores are harder to find than truffles these days, I was SOL until I came to the Frugal Muse in Madison, WI, where I nearly spent all my Christmas money. This bookstore rocked and had everything I wanted, and, if you know me, you know that's just this side of impossible.
In this novel, Adrian is a "chef" at a somehow poncy "Traditional English, No Menu" restaurant run by a (let's run with it) Cocaine Tory who hates virtually everyone. Townsend satirizes the offal-craze that hit London in the late 90's, early 2000's led by Fergus Henderson and his St. John. (Lovely place, by the way. I mean, who else's clout could get a former vegetarian to try the bone marrow?) Adrian briefly stars in a cooking show, Offally Good, but is eclipsed by a better looking Asian (Indian) co-star, because even if we haven't read Adrian for many years, the one thing he lacks for certain is star power. That's why we read his diaries. And star power is where the love of Adrian's life, Pandora Braithwaite, MP, comes in.
Where Pandora's competency and success foil Adrian's lack thereof, it is in this book where Adrian shows himself to be more selfless than in other periods (though that's not exactly saying too much). Townsend shows the humanity of the Mole family through their commitment to each other, in light of betrayals, divorce, death, the dole and separation. At 30, Adrian is a father, as he finds out, of not just one but two boys, one bi-racial and one from the council estates, whom he meets in the course of the novel. Adrian's exploits in fatherhood are most explored in this novel; in the next both of his boys are overseas.
That's all the synopsis I'll do. This book is THE funniest book I have ever read, and it's got trenchant social commentary as well from Britain's best living satirist.
My laughing fits started in the introduction where Townsend has a theatrical summary of the novel's many characters. I started having to read certain entries aloud because I felt it was criminal to keep them to myself. I was reading this just before Christmas sharing a bed with my adult sister, who was somewhere between annoyed at my interruptions and amused with Townsend's lapidary black humor. (Which is a good summary of our relationship: vacillating between annoyance and amusement.)
I hadn't read any Townsend for at least fifteen years, I'd been trying to get my thirteen year old sister to read Adrian Mole but seeing that good bookstores are harder to find than truffles these days, I was SOL until I came to the Frugal Muse in Madison, WI, where I nearly spent all my Christmas money. This bookstore rocked and had everything I wanted, and, if you know me, you know that's just this side of impossible.
In this novel, Adrian is a "chef" at a somehow poncy "Traditional English, No Menu" restaurant run by a (let's run with it) Cocaine Tory who hates virtually everyone. Townsend satirizes the offal-craze that hit London in the late 90's, early 2000's led by Fergus Henderson and his St. John. (Lovely place, by the way. I mean, who else's clout could get a former vegetarian to try the bone marrow?) Adrian briefly stars in a cooking show, Offally Good, but is eclipsed by a better looking Asian (Indian) co-star, because even if we haven't read Adrian for many years, the one thing he lacks for certain is star power. That's why we read his diaries. And star power is where the love of Adrian's life, Pandora Braithwaite, MP, comes in.
Where Pandora's competency and success foil Adrian's lack thereof, it is in this book where Adrian shows himself to be more selfless than in other periods (though that's not exactly saying too much). Townsend shows the humanity of the Mole family through their commitment to each other, in light of betrayals, divorce, death, the dole and separation. At 30, Adrian is a father, as he finds out, of not just one but two boys, one bi-racial and one from the council estates, whom he meets in the course of the novel. Adrian's exploits in fatherhood are most explored in this novel; in the next both of his boys are overseas.
That's all the synopsis I'll do. This book is THE funniest book I have ever read, and it's got trenchant social commentary as well from Britain's best living satirist.
June 11, 2023
Mostly very enjoyable reading, seemed to idle and wondering where to go at times though. I guess the non-obvious evolving storylines and fizzling out of some developments makes it a bit more life-like. It’s often hilariously funny though to follow the sometimes frustratingly thick and narcissistic Adrian on his “adventures” with a somewhat chaotic family situation and a very complicated relationship with realities of life.
January 23, 2021
It's like reading The Great Millennial Burnout except Adrian is not technically a millennial. He's still the pretentious failure we love to love, but he's now entered his 30s and his boring lackluster life is all too real and relatable. He struggles with "adulting", job insecurity, money problems, housing costs, a failed marriage, parental responsibilities, ageing parents who unfortunately insist on unapologetically enjoying their sex lives (in a scandalous manner too 😂), being tantalized by possibilities of success yet still failing to make the grade, etc. etc.
I don't know about you but reading this made me ask several times: “Is this me and my friends??”
It's satirical but a depressing read. I didn't laugh so much at / with Adrian in this one as I did with his teenage diaries. Instead, I sympathized. Even though Adrian is annoying and seriously needs to do some emotional growing up, I noted that like the rest of us normal folks he's simply overwhelmed by life. And as much as he's a brilliant comic creation meant to reflect our internalized everyday bigotry, he's also human and capable of caring for others even while he grumbles about it.
Adrian's best moment in this book, to me, was when he emotionally supported his teenage sister Rosie throughout her pregnancy crisis. He even rented a Babygro doll for her (they're faux babies meant to be used for sex education) to help her make an informed decision despite having to dip into his savings for the cost (he was jobless at the time). For all his internal bitching / diary entries about women and the evils of feminism, he actually wants the women in his life to succeed. That's… very much like real life, isn't it? People we love are imperfect and problematic, and so is Adrian.
I don't know about you but reading this made me ask several times: “Is this me and my friends??”
It's satirical but a depressing read. I didn't laugh so much at / with Adrian in this one as I did with his teenage diaries. Instead, I sympathized. Even though Adrian is annoying and seriously needs to do some emotional growing up, I noted that like the rest of us normal folks he's simply overwhelmed by life. And as much as he's a brilliant comic creation meant to reflect our internalized everyday bigotry, he's also human and capable of caring for others even while he grumbles about it.
Adrian's best moment in this book, to me, was when he emotionally supported his teenage sister Rosie throughout her pregnancy crisis. He even rented a Babygro doll for her (they're faux babies meant to be used for sex education) to help her make an informed decision despite having to dip into his savings for the cost (he was jobless at the time). For all his internal bitching / diary entries about women and the evils of feminism, he actually wants the women in his life to succeed. That's… very much like real life, isn't it? People we love are imperfect and problematic, and so is Adrian.
April 14, 2023
Great book. Love all the Adrian Mole books
Read
January 30, 2009"I expect that by tomorrow I will have embellished the story and given myself a heroic status I do not deserve, but all the same, on this night at this hour, I am pleased to record that i acquitted myself well."
December 29, 2024
Kol lietuviškai perleidžiamos pirmos dvi Adriano Moulo serijos knygos (dvi vienoje), aš pagaliau sudorojau penktąją.
Keistuolis paauglys jau užaugęs vyras. Turintis vaiką, bet žmona, aišku, su šiuo “pasaulio nesuprastu intelektualu” neištvėrė nė trupučio, ir vaiką tenka auginti Moulo tėvams. Moulas dirba keistos reputacijos restorane, vis dar bando išgarsėti, nuolat jaučiasi nemylimas, nors moterų šalia šio keistuolio atsiranda nuolat. Knygoje vėl sutinkame gerai pažįstamus veikėjus iš senesnių dienoraščių, įskaitant ir jo pirmąją meilę. Knyga skaitosi greitai, lengvai ir su gera nuotaika. Nei viena vėlesnė knyga neprilygsta pirmosioms 2 serijos knygoms. Bet ši dalis atsilieka nesmarkiai. Socialinė satyra vis dar aukštame lygyje, o britiškas humoras priverčia šyptelėti ne kartą ir ne du.
Slaptas Adriano Moulo dienoraštis (pirma ir antra serijos dalys) lietuviškai pirmą kartą išleistas beveik prieš 30 metų, 1997 metais. Prieš porą savaičių nustebau pamatęs, kad knyga perleidžiama. Nežinau, kiek ji bus aktuali šių dienų skaitytojams, bet jei reikia rekomendacijos, iš manęs ją neabejotinai gaunate.
Keistuolis paauglys jau užaugęs vyras. Turintis vaiką, bet žmona, aišku, su šiuo “pasaulio nesuprastu intelektualu” neištvėrė nė trupučio, ir vaiką tenka auginti Moulo tėvams. Moulas dirba keistos reputacijos restorane, vis dar bando išgarsėti, nuolat jaučiasi nemylimas, nors moterų šalia šio keistuolio atsiranda nuolat. Knygoje vėl sutinkame gerai pažįstamus veikėjus iš senesnių dienoraščių, įskaitant ir jo pirmąją meilę. Knyga skaitosi greitai, lengvai ir su gera nuotaika. Nei viena vėlesnė knyga neprilygsta pirmosioms 2 serijos knygoms. Bet ši dalis atsilieka nesmarkiai. Socialinė satyra vis dar aukštame lygyje, o britiškas humoras priverčia šyptelėti ne kartą ir ne du.
Slaptas Adriano Moulo dienoraštis (pirma ir antra serijos dalys) lietuviškai pirmą kartą išleistas beveik prieš 30 metų, 1997 metais. Prieš porą savaičių nustebau pamatęs, kad knyga perleidžiama. Nežinau, kiek ji bus aktuali šių dienų skaitytojams, bet jei reikia rekomendacijos, iš manęs ją neabejotinai gaunate.
January 14, 2024
Another laugh-out-loud book from the great Sue Townsend. Our Adrian is at his comic best, along with his family and friends. Townsend is masterfully at showing that, when he doesnt notice, Adrian is actually a good writer. I have always found his love for his kids very touching, and Townsend is again adept at showing that, beneath all the bluster and faux intellectualism, he is a kind a caring man at the mercy of the world. One of my favourite series
July 29, 2013
Must say my opinion is completely different to the other reviewers! I read the teenage Adrian mole books as a teenager and enjoyed them. Now as an adult I decided to read the adult ones but read the teen ones again first I didn't find them half as amusing as I did as a teenager but I loved the wilderness and the cappuccino years. I find Adrian's distress at becoming a single parent to not one but two children hilarious. His continuous failure to become some kind of celebrity or hold down a steady job despite being 'an intellectual' and the fact he still writes to the bbc on a regular basis is great! The only disappointment I do have with the books is they skip a lot between books for example book number 4 the wilderness years tells of Adrian meeting Jojo that's it he just meets her the book 5 the cappuccino years he's already married her had a three year old child with her and she now lives in Africa and is divorcing him I think the book could have done with a little trip down memory lane to satisfy the reader on how what where why and when all this happened other than that a great book!
March 11, 2024
Adrian Mole continues to be terrible and oblivious and now he's breeding. This was still pretty damn funny, but an adult man's naive stupidity is more alarming than a 13 and a half year old's stupidity. Adrian thinks that he should not have to parent, he should have an unpaid woman, a wife, to do this. He does keep landing peanut butter side up more than he should. People like Adrian Mole don't get book deals, people Sue Townsend knows get book deals. His mom, when she writes it, and he demands credit, repeatedly. And Rosie. Woe to the people who have an Adrian Mole in their lives. This was so dark, but fun.
November 28, 2013
OK, so I didn't finish this. I've read all the others in this series, and Adrian never fails to make me laugh, but he is such a frigging narcissist. Dunno--it doesn't play well at age 30. Then again, I know a few people who would make him look pretty other-centered!
We find him, in this book, working as a chef in an upscale trendy restaurant in London, in spite of not being able to cook. His young son is living with his parents in Leicestershire. He is hired to do a TV show on cooking, at which point I tossed in the towel.
We find him, in this book, working as a chef in an upscale trendy restaurant in London, in spite of not being able to cook. His young son is living with his parents in Leicestershire. He is hired to do a TV show on cooking, at which point I tossed in the towel.
February 16, 2019
Adrian Mole is always enjoyable. The only reason I knocked off a star was because I had hoped for more Pandora, a Mole/Braithwaite reunion and Adrian's treatment of his son William broke my heart. (The teletubbie dolls 3).
July 18, 2017
It's always hilarious spending some time with neurotic, failing, sanctimonious Adrian Mole. RIP Sue Townsend - a comic genius.
April 27, 2023
Somehow didn’t expect to like this book so much - written in the form of diary entries over the course of ~a year (+ being the 5th book in a series I haven’t read before). Was really very entertaining with lots of funny (and sad?) twists throughout. (Had to look up a lot of names/terms throughout as my late 90s British pop culture references are not „perfect“) - a fun and interesting book!
January 13, 2024
Reading these books is a fascinating time capsule as well as a troubling glimpse into the mind of an incredibly self absorbed pedant born in 1967
I take up my pen once again to record a momentous time in the affairs of men (and, thank God, because this is intended to be a secret diary, I am not required to add 'and women').
This oaf was driving a truck full of mineral water from Cornwall to Derbyshire.
Why? Derbyshire consists of mineral water. You can't move without falling into a beck, tarn or raging river.
'Freud wrote, in the Reader's Digest,
Intriguing cameo from “somebody called Boris from the Daily Telegraph.”
Sir Arnold Tufton's wife - a marsupial-like woman in a silk two-piece, and what looked like Marks & Spencer's wide-fitting shoes,
I took my mobile phone from its hip holder
All eyes were turned towards the upstairs balcony, where Pandora was expected to show herself, Evita-like, to the peons of Ashby-de-la-Zouch.
(I feel an affinity with Van Gogh: both of us were rejected in our lifetimes by the metropolitan élite.)
I am always aware when we are low on carrots because I use the stacked tins as my bedside tables.
I am surrounded night and day by the sex industry of Soho and by people whose lives are ruled by sex.
Yet I am myself as chaste as a sea-horse.
It must have been great when women did all the work, and men just lolled about reading the paper.
I opened it and found a bottle of anti-freeze and a mitt for scraping ice off a car windscreen. I was very touched.
I take up my pen once again to record a momentous time in the affairs of men (and, thank God, because this is intended to be a secret diary, I am not required to add 'and women').
This oaf was driving a truck full of mineral water from Cornwall to Derbyshire.
Why? Derbyshire consists of mineral water. You can't move without falling into a beck, tarn or raging river.
'Freud wrote, in the Reader's Digest,
Intriguing cameo from “somebody called Boris from the Daily Telegraph.”
Sir Arnold Tufton's wife - a marsupial-like woman in a silk two-piece, and what looked like Marks & Spencer's wide-fitting shoes,
I took my mobile phone from its hip holder
All eyes were turned towards the upstairs balcony, where Pandora was expected to show herself, Evita-like, to the peons of Ashby-de-la-Zouch.
(I feel an affinity with Van Gogh: both of us were rejected in our lifetimes by the metropolitan élite.)
I am always aware when we are low on carrots because I use the stacked tins as my bedside tables.
I am surrounded night and day by the sex industry of Soho and by people whose lives are ruled by sex.
Yet I am myself as chaste as a sea-horse.
It must have been great when women did all the work, and men just lolled about reading the paper.
I opened it and found a bottle of anti-freeze and a mitt for scraping ice off a car windscreen. I was very touched.
October 8, 2023
Adrian is now a full-fledged 30-year-old adult, but he's still hapless as ever. His career consists of working as a chef at an improbably trendy restaurant that serves "institutional food"—i.e., gross-sounding British stuff like grey pork chops and pudding with skin. This leads to a gig presenting a cooking show about offal and writing (or not writing) an accompanying cookbook. Adrian is also about to be divorced and ends up living back at home with his parents and young son William. The return home provides opportunity for new stories for the series's mainstays: Adrian's parents' infidelity drama, Rosie's teen angst, Pandora being elected Member of Parliament for the area, and the reemergence of Adrian's suspected older son Glenn. The jokes and diary format actually obscure how well-plotted these books are, and I found myself quite engrossed in the story.
The "Cappuccino Years" correspond to the late '90s, and I enjoyed the fact that I was actually familiar with many of the cultural touchstones of that time: Tony Blair, Teletubbies, Spice Girls, cell phones, Bridget Jones. I remember these! I also found Adrian's relationship with his sons to be genuinely moving and appreciated Townsend giving him a talent for fatherhood if nothing else. If there's a moral to the Adrian Mole stories, it's that success is overrated.
A few things that made me laugh:
The "Cappuccino Years" correspond to the late '90s, and I enjoyed the fact that I was actually familiar with many of the cultural touchstones of that time: Tony Blair, Teletubbies, Spice Girls, cell phones, Bridget Jones. I remember these! I also found Adrian's relationship with his sons to be genuinely moving and appreciated Townsend giving him a talent for fatherhood if nothing else. If there's a moral to the Adrian Mole stories, it's that success is overrated.
A few things that made me laugh:
Mr. Blair is a committed Christian, and I forecast that a religious revival will sweep the land. I long for the day that I wake up in the morning and realize that, Hallelujah! I too believe in God!
She is a skillful actress. Few who were there will ever forget her harrowing performance as Mary in Manger!, the Neil Armstrong Comprehensive School nativity play. Miss Elf, the director, said at the end, 'It was Pandora's decision to give Jesus a forceps delivery.'
What I want is to live with Pandora, to work in the day at something interesting (novel-writing preferably) and then to have cocktails in the bath with her at seven before we go out to eat at eight. This is what I want! Why can't I have it?
January 14, 2018
Poor Adrian Is As Thwarted, and Funny, As Ever
I followed Adrian Mole's teenage years in the first two books in the Adrian Mole series, but then sort of drifted away. I thought this book, the fifth in the eight book series, would offer an excellent opportunity to catch up with Adrian, and that was a good choice.
By this time Adrian has a few marriages behind him and a few children as well. He still is hopelessly in love with Pandora, which is complicated by the fact that his parents and her parents have engaged in a bit of spouse swapping. All of the old characters make appearances, but of course there are many new characters and all sorts of new travails in this volume. (If you need a refresher, there is a very nice summary of this book on Wikipedia that will bring you up to speed on the story-to-date and will remind you who all the players are).
As before, Adrian's life is "just one damn thing after another", and he takes great care in his diary to lay it out for us in all its stupendous and frustrating complexity. There is the trademark Mole humor, again equally balanced between lines he intends as humor and observations that are, to him, unintentionally funny. We address family life, parenthood, growing pains, parents, the politics and culture of the day, marriage, sex, work, and existential angst with Adrian's usual combination of hope, self-delusion, optimism, and sardonic wit. On the plus side, while the author apparently delights in tormenting Mole, there are many bits of brightness and goodwill in Adrian's life, such that one never gives up hope for him and he never totally gives in to despair.
And so it goes, as Adrian Mole drives on along the path we all must follow. It was good to visit with him again, and I finished this book wishing him well.
(Please note that I secured a free advance ecopy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)
I followed Adrian Mole's teenage years in the first two books in the Adrian Mole series, but then sort of drifted away. I thought this book, the fifth in the eight book series, would offer an excellent opportunity to catch up with Adrian, and that was a good choice.
By this time Adrian has a few marriages behind him and a few children as well. He still is hopelessly in love with Pandora, which is complicated by the fact that his parents and her parents have engaged in a bit of spouse swapping. All of the old characters make appearances, but of course there are many new characters and all sorts of new travails in this volume. (If you need a refresher, there is a very nice summary of this book on Wikipedia that will bring you up to speed on the story-to-date and will remind you who all the players are).
As before, Adrian's life is "just one damn thing after another", and he takes great care in his diary to lay it out for us in all its stupendous and frustrating complexity. There is the trademark Mole humor, again equally balanced between lines he intends as humor and observations that are, to him, unintentionally funny. We address family life, parenthood, growing pains, parents, the politics and culture of the day, marriage, sex, work, and existential angst with Adrian's usual combination of hope, self-delusion, optimism, and sardonic wit. On the plus side, while the author apparently delights in tormenting Mole, there are many bits of brightness and goodwill in Adrian's life, such that one never gives up hope for him and he never totally gives in to despair.
And so it goes, as Adrian Mole drives on along the path we all must follow. It was good to visit with him again, and I finished this book wishing him well.
(Please note that I secured a free advance ecopy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)
March 29, 2018
This is another brilliant Adrian Mole diary reflecting the times we live in. Adrian is now 30 ¼ and is working as the Head Chef at Hoi Polloi, which has a “Traditional English, No Choice Menu”. A typical menu is “Heinz Tomato Soup (with white bread floaters), Grey lamb chops, Boiled cabbage avec Dan Quayle potatoes, Dark brown onion gravy, Spotted Dick à la Clinton, Bird’s custard, Cheddar cheese, Nescafé, After Eight mint. Two types of wine, white and red.” He is still in love with Pandora, who is now a prominent M.P., often in the news.
Adrian has a three-year-old son called William by a Nigerian woman who has moved back to Nigeria leaving the boy with him. Later, after Adrian undergoes a DNA test, it turns out he is also the father of 12-year-old Glenn. The mother, Sharon, with whom Adrian once had a short affair, writes painfully bad English, and Glenn is practically illiterate. Adrian senses that the boy doesn’t have “a single strand of intellectual DNA in his body”.
Adrian’s mother, Pauline, gets engaged to Ivan Braithwaite, Pandora’s father, while his father, George, gets together with Tania, Pandora’s mother.
Adrian gets a TV programme called “Offaly Good!” In the first episode he makes sheep’s head broth. (I’m glad I didn’t have to watch the programme.) A group of Oxford undergraduates gives it the thumbs up – they found it great comedy. But the Times reviewer does not agree: “’Offaly good!’ is offally bad.”
Adrian has a contract to write a book of the same name, but can’t even get started. However, Mum comes to the rescue.
William is obsessed with Teletubbies and Jeremy Clarkson. Adrian is addicted to Opal Fruits and obsessed with his rapidly balding head.
In short, this as another enjoyable parody of British life, and I found it to be one of the best of the Adrian diaries
Adrian has a three-year-old son called William by a Nigerian woman who has moved back to Nigeria leaving the boy with him. Later, after Adrian undergoes a DNA test, it turns out he is also the father of 12-year-old Glenn. The mother, Sharon, with whom Adrian once had a short affair, writes painfully bad English, and Glenn is practically illiterate. Adrian senses that the boy doesn’t have “a single strand of intellectual DNA in his body”.
Adrian’s mother, Pauline, gets engaged to Ivan Braithwaite, Pandora’s father, while his father, George, gets together with Tania, Pandora’s mother.
Adrian gets a TV programme called “Offaly Good!” In the first episode he makes sheep’s head broth. (I’m glad I didn’t have to watch the programme.) A group of Oxford undergraduates gives it the thumbs up – they found it great comedy. But the Times reviewer does not agree: “’Offaly good!’ is offally bad.”
Adrian has a contract to write a book of the same name, but can’t even get started. However, Mum comes to the rescue.
William is obsessed with Teletubbies and Jeremy Clarkson. Adrian is addicted to Opal Fruits and obsessed with his rapidly balding head.
In short, this as another enjoyable parody of British life, and I found it to be one of the best of the Adrian diaries
October 17, 2007
I first met Adrian Mole when I was in high school and I was introduced to the young adult novel, The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13 3/4, soon thereafter followed by The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole. Adrian lives outside of London and fancies himself somewhat of an intellectual. Unfortunately, life doesn't always go so well for Adrian - his parents' marriage is always on the rocks, he has issues with his teachers (and all sorts of authority), and he never ever seems to get the girl. But, along the way, he kept a humourous and sometimes depressing daily journal of his journey through adolescence. Years later, I've grown up - and so has Adrian. In this one, he's a 31 year old whose wife has just left him to raise his two year old son, he's a chef who doesn't really know how to cook, and he's in-love with a politician who sends Adrian constituent form letters that he reads far too much into. His parents are still on the rocks and he battles constantly with his life as somewhat of a loser. In a cute turn of events, Bridgett Jones makes an off-page cameo (as a real life Britain whose diaries are doing quite well). This isn't the most riveting story - but in diary format, it's a fast read - and really fun to see how a guy I liked as a kid is doing for himself these days.
December 4, 2019
I really enjoyed the Adrian Mole books when they first came out, but I've forgotten which ones I've read and so am making my way back through them. This is one I think I missed first time round, set in the wake of Blair's election victory. Elements that were topical at the time - celebrity chefs, Alistair Campbell's use of spin - are given the affectionately mocking Townsend treatment. Meanwhile Adrian's crazy dysfunctional family continue their outrageous behaviour, much to his despair.
This was a joy to read, Sue Townsend was such a gifted and intelligent writer who instantly recognised the absurd in modern life and used it brilliantly. Her characters are outrageously over the top, yet we still relate to them and become engaged in their world. Some of the political references may now be lost on those who can't remember the early Blair years, but there are plenty of amusing moments to make this insignificant.
I'm so pleased that this series is not disappointing on a second reading, and look forward to following Adrian's adventures as he stumbles into middle age.
This was a joy to read, Sue Townsend was such a gifted and intelligent writer who instantly recognised the absurd in modern life and used it brilliantly. Her characters are outrageously over the top, yet we still relate to them and become engaged in their world. Some of the political references may now be lost on those who can't remember the early Blair years, but there are plenty of amusing moments to make this insignificant.
I'm so pleased that this series is not disappointing on a second reading, and look forward to following Adrian's adventures as he stumbles into middle age.
April 26, 2008
an interesting read. one of those books that i wonder how different it would be if i were reading it myself instead of having someone read it to me. it’s a diary-format book of a british guy who has lots of mostly bad things happen to him and who’s life seems inherently tragic anyway. this isn’t the first book in the series, but it’s the only one our library has on audio. so, maybe if i had begun reading them at the beginning i would care more deeply for adrian. as it was, i just kept getting irritated with him for being such a jerk–and especially for ruining the bits of his life that were going somewhat well.
May 23, 2018
Adrian Mole is older, supposedly wiser, and even more boring. I cringed through some of this. What was once a loveable, snobby teenager, is now a pathetic character who can't seem to evolve much. The depth is clearly lacking as Sue Townsend struggles to let go of Mole's Teenage self and allow him to develop.
I was far more interested in the side characters and what they are doing in their lives. The little cameos of characters from previous books is what makes it so interesting at times that you force yourself to read on.
The political elements of the time are funny, but Adrian Mole's career as a failing chef-cum-TV Cook are borderline chore territory.
I was far more interested in the side characters and what they are doing in their lives. The little cameos of characters from previous books is what makes it so interesting at times that you force yourself to read on.
The political elements of the time are funny, but Adrian Mole's career as a failing chef-cum-TV Cook are borderline chore territory.
January 21, 2021
Adrian Mole the Cappuccino Years
A Very funny book and a great addition to the series. The humor in this book is a bit more grounded than in the last two books, but some how it makes the gormless Mr Mole even more funnier. I really love the addition in this book of Adrian's 2 sons William and Glen and how Adrian is now a struggling single father with very little in common with his two boys.
Adrian's small run as a TV chef is also hilarious, as is his parents wife swap with the Braithwait's.
If any body is interested I have a YouTube review of this book on my channel https://youtu.be/-wkx9W40EKI
A Very funny book and a great addition to the series. The humor in this book is a bit more grounded than in the last two books, but some how it makes the gormless Mr Mole even more funnier. I really love the addition in this book of Adrian's 2 sons William and Glen and how Adrian is now a struggling single father with very little in common with his two boys.
Adrian's small run as a TV chef is also hilarious, as is his parents wife swap with the Braithwait's.
If any body is interested I have a YouTube review of this book on my channel https://youtu.be/-wkx9W40EKI
February 22, 2023
Having only read the original diary of Adrian Mole in the 80’s and finding the 13 3/4 year olds take on life quite amusing I had hoped to enjoy this rather more than I did. Adrian seems to now be a 30 year old with the same views on life as a 13 year old which doesn’t quite cut it in the comedy stakes. There were some amusing sections and a few sympathetic ones, mainly around his newly discovered 12 year old son Glenn but otherwise I’d say he should have stayed in the 80’s.
October 6, 2008
I still re-read the earlier adrian mole books and they always make me laugh. This wasn't as entertaining - not as funny when an oblivious character is 30+ instead of a hapless teenager.
Pandora is still much the same - seems only natural she'd become a Labor MP now that I think of it.
Overall entertaining, but sadly no poems about spawning salmon or letters to the BBC.
Pandora is still much the same - seems only natural she'd become a Labor MP now that I think of it.
Overall entertaining, but sadly no poems about spawning salmon or letters to the BBC.
October 11, 2015
This one is not quite there. It is slightly too surreal for its own good in places. The highlights remain Adrian's hilarious attempts at writing, and the sad fact that when he is finally commissioned to write a real, actual book he makes virtually no attempt to do it.
May 3, 2022
I am rereading this series to enjoy a walk down memory lane. I loved it the first few times I read it, ages ago. It is just as funny and clever to me now as when I first read it.
Another reread. Such easy and humorous listening with this audiobook.
Another reread. Such easy and humorous listening with this audiobook.
June 29, 2016
From here onwards I lost interest in Adrian Mole - a very dull repetitive novel which focuses on Mole adapting to Britain's newly elected labour government.
avoid
avoid
January 13, 2012
Oh, Adrian Mole...just when you think life is going to work out, someone comes and pulls the rug right out from under you!
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