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Adrian Mole #2
The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole
Monday April 5th
It is the first day of the school holidays and I can't go out because of my gigantic swollen nose. Even my mother is a bit worried about it now... I've begged her to take me to a private nose specialist but she has refused. She says she needs the money for her 'Well Women' test. She is having her primary and secondary sexual organs checked. Yuk!
Mortified by his parents, plagued by spots and tormented by his darling Pandora, Adrian Mole's hilarious struggles with growing up continue...
It is the first day of the school holidays and I can't go out because of my gigantic swollen nose. Even my mother is a bit worried about it now... I've begged her to take me to a private nose specialist but she has refused. She says she needs the money for her 'Well Women' test. She is having her primary and secondary sexual organs checked. Yuk!
Mortified by his parents, plagued by spots and tormented by his darling Pandora, Adrian Mole's hilarious struggles with growing up continue...
278 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1984
325 people are currently reading
7518 people want to read
About the author
Sue Townsend
117 books960 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 646 reviews
July 13, 2020
This volume covers teenage Adrian's thoughts and feelings, this time with more hilarity as the youth now 15 has raging hormones to contend with too!
The majority is set during 1982 with the political landscape the backbone of the entries, Thatchers Britain is entwined through the page.
From the Falklands War and coal miners, while the benefits system also looms large.
Theres even some lighter moments like the World Cup in Spain and the infamous France v Kuwait match being mentioned.
Theres plenty of humor too which is mainly at Adrains expense, his naivety with the opposite sex is clearly played up for laughs.
I can't believe a 15 year old boy doesn't know what Ann Summers is, though the gag that he though it was his mums friend did make me laugh out loud!
The majority is set during 1982 with the political landscape the backbone of the entries, Thatchers Britain is entwined through the page.
From the Falklands War and coal miners, while the benefits system also looms large.
Theres even some lighter moments like the World Cup in Spain and the infamous France v Kuwait match being mentioned.
Theres plenty of humor too which is mainly at Adrains expense, his naivety with the opposite sex is clearly played up for laughs.
I can't believe a 15 year old boy doesn't know what Ann Summers is, though the gag that he though it was his mums friend did make me laugh out loud!
August 4, 2015
HAHAHA! So funny! I may have laughed manically several times (in public) and gained worrying looks from observers but I couldn't help it! Seriously, SO FUNNY.
February 19, 2021
Quarta-feira, 10 de Novembro
O Sr. Brejnev, primeiro-ministro da Rússia, morreu hoje. Os líderes mundiais têm estado a mandar telegramas mentirosos para o Kremlim a dizer como lamentam.
Quinta-feira, 11 de Novembro
A viagem de táxi foi um pesadelo. Fui o caminho todo a lutar para tirar a mão do frasco do esparguete. O motorista só dizia: «Devia ter virado o frasco de cabeça para baixo, meu grande estúpido.»
Adrian Mole, 15 anos, o rapaz que faz um remoque sobre a política internacional mas entala a mão dentro de um frasco porque não teve a astúcia de o virar de cabeça para baixo! :D
Há muitos anos li o Diário de Adrian Mole aos 13 anos e 3/4 e diverti-me muito a ler as peripécias de um adolescente britânico do anos oitenta do século XX e hoje foi igual. O jovem aspirante, num momento a escritor, no momento seguinte a ator, depois a historiador, enfim, a indecisão da adolescência. O engraçado deste livro são as narrações caricatas que o nosso Adrian escreve no seu diário a par com os acontecimentos históricos que iam acontecendo em 1982: o nascimento do príncipe William, a disputas das Falkland, a liderança de Margaret Thatcher, a morte de Brejnev, a falta de empregos, as eleições, o campeonato do mundo, etc...
Uma leitura muito divertida sobre a vida de um rapaz que tem uns pais um pouco descompensados, uma namorada que não quer avançar para a consumação física da relação, a ansiedade dos exames, a ajuda ao vizinho quase nonagenário e, o mais marcante de todos, o surgimento de um novo membro na família.
Sábado, 27 de Novembro
Esta noite mudei a minha primeira fralda.
Amanhã vou tentar com os olhos abertos.
O Sr. Brejnev, primeiro-ministro da Rússia, morreu hoje. Os líderes mundiais têm estado a mandar telegramas mentirosos para o Kremlim a dizer como lamentam.
Quinta-feira, 11 de Novembro
A viagem de táxi foi um pesadelo. Fui o caminho todo a lutar para tirar a mão do frasco do esparguete. O motorista só dizia: «Devia ter virado o frasco de cabeça para baixo, meu grande estúpido.»
Adrian Mole, 15 anos, o rapaz que faz um remoque sobre a política internacional mas entala a mão dentro de um frasco porque não teve a astúcia de o virar de cabeça para baixo! :D
Há muitos anos li o Diário de Adrian Mole aos 13 anos e 3/4 e diverti-me muito a ler as peripécias de um adolescente britânico do anos oitenta do século XX e hoje foi igual. O jovem aspirante, num momento a escritor, no momento seguinte a ator, depois a historiador, enfim, a indecisão da adolescência. O engraçado deste livro são as narrações caricatas que o nosso Adrian escreve no seu diário a par com os acontecimentos históricos que iam acontecendo em 1982: o nascimento do príncipe William, a disputas das Falkland, a liderança de Margaret Thatcher, a morte de Brejnev, a falta de empregos, as eleições, o campeonato do mundo, etc...
Uma leitura muito divertida sobre a vida de um rapaz que tem uns pais um pouco descompensados, uma namorada que não quer avançar para a consumação física da relação, a ansiedade dos exames, a ajuda ao vizinho quase nonagenário e, o mais marcante de todos, o surgimento de um novo membro na família.
Sábado, 27 de Novembro
Esta noite mudei a minha primeira fralda.
Amanhã vou tentar com os olhos abertos.
July 6, 2015
Oh Adrian. You are every bit as funny at 15-1/2 as you were at 13-3/4.
Here are just a few samples of Adrian's diary:
Sunday May 9th
Mother's Day (USA & Canada)
I have just realized that I have never seen a dead body or a real female nipple. This is what comes of living in a cul-de-sac.
Friday August 6th
Sent Pandora a postcard:
Dear Pan,
The sun came out on Wednesday, but it didn't reach into the black despair caused by our separation. It is a cultural desert here.
Thank God I have brought my Nevile Shute books.
Yours unto infinity,
Adrian X
Friday January 14th
Must go see how Bert is getting on. I wish I'd never got involved with him; he is like an Ancient Mariner around my neck.
And the last gem:
Thursday February 3rd
During the month of March 1982 it would seem that both my parents were carrying on clandestine relationships. Yet my diary for that period records my childhood fourteen year old thoughts and preoccupations.
I wonder, did Jack the Ripper's wife innocently write:
10:30 pm: Jack late home. Perhaps he is kept late at the office.
12:10 a.m.: Jack home covered in blood; an offal cart knocked him down.
Pandora is standing by me at this time of crisis. She is a true pillar of salt.
Here are just a few samples of Adrian's diary:
Sunday May 9th
Mother's Day (USA & Canada)
I have just realized that I have never seen a dead body or a real female nipple. This is what comes of living in a cul-de-sac.
Friday August 6th
Sent Pandora a postcard:
Dear Pan,
The sun came out on Wednesday, but it didn't reach into the black despair caused by our separation. It is a cultural desert here.
Thank God I have brought my Nevile Shute books.
Yours unto infinity,
Adrian X
Friday January 14th
Must go see how Bert is getting on. I wish I'd never got involved with him; he is like an Ancient Mariner around my neck.
And the last gem:
Thursday February 3rd
During the month of March 1982 it would seem that both my parents were carrying on clandestine relationships. Yet my diary for that period records my childhood fourteen year old thoughts and preoccupations.
I wonder, did Jack the Ripper's wife innocently write:
10:30 pm: Jack late home. Perhaps he is kept late at the office.
12:10 a.m.: Jack home covered in blood; an offal cart knocked him down.
Pandora is standing by me at this time of crisis. She is a true pillar of salt.
August 25, 2021
Having recently re-read The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13 3/4 and thoroughly enjoyed it, I decided to read the next instalment of Sue Townsend's celebrated series.
I had never read The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole (1984) (Adrian Mole #2) and am delighted to report it is every bit as good as the first book. Adrian's raging teenage hormones are now more troublesome than ever. These diaries are mainly set in 1982 and both Margaret Thatcher and the Falklands conflict are incorporated into the more prosaic events of Adrian's day to day life. The Mole family is every bit as dysfunctional as in the first book, and the same characters recur too.
You probably already know if this is something that works for you. I think it's very amusing and completely delightful.
I'll be reading The True Confessions of Adrian Mole, the third book, soon.
4/5
Here's the blurb....
The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole is the second book in Sue Townsend's brilliantly funny Adrian Mole series.
Sunday July 18th
My father announced at breakfast that he is going to have a vasectomy. I pushed my sausages away untouched.
In this second instalment of teenager Adrian Mole's diaries, the Mole family is in crisis and the country is beating the drum of war. While his parents have reconciled after both embarked on disastrous affairs, Adrian is shocked to learn of his mother's pregnancy.
And even though at the mercy of his rampant hormones and the fickle whims of the divine Pandora, a victim of a broken home and his own tortured (though unrecognised) genius, Adrian continues valiantly to chronicle the pains and pleasures of a misspent adolescence.
Bestselling author Sue Townsend has been Britain's favourite comic writer for over three decades.
'Funny, moving and a poke in the eye for adult morality' Sunday Express
'Written with great verve, and showing an uncanny understanding of the young, Sue Townsend holds the balance between innocence and precocity and the result is both hilarious and salutary' Daily Telegraph
'Life's no fun for an adolescent intellectual. For the reader it's a hoot' New Statesman
Sue Townsend is one of Britain's favourite comic authors. Her hugely successful novels include eight Adrian Mole books, The Public Confessions of a Middle-Aged Woman (Aged 55¾), Number Ten, Ghost Children, The Queen and I, Queen Camilla and The Woman Who Went to Bed for a Year, all of which are highly-acclaimed bestsellers. Sue passed away in 2014 and is survived by her husband, four children, ten grandchildren and millions of avid readers.
I had never read The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole (1984) (Adrian Mole #2) and am delighted to report it is every bit as good as the first book. Adrian's raging teenage hormones are now more troublesome than ever. These diaries are mainly set in 1982 and both Margaret Thatcher and the Falklands conflict are incorporated into the more prosaic events of Adrian's day to day life. The Mole family is every bit as dysfunctional as in the first book, and the same characters recur too.
You probably already know if this is something that works for you. I think it's very amusing and completely delightful.
I'll be reading The True Confessions of Adrian Mole, the third book, soon.
4/5
Here's the blurb....
The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole is the second book in Sue Townsend's brilliantly funny Adrian Mole series.
Sunday July 18th
My father announced at breakfast that he is going to have a vasectomy. I pushed my sausages away untouched.
In this second instalment of teenager Adrian Mole's diaries, the Mole family is in crisis and the country is beating the drum of war. While his parents have reconciled after both embarked on disastrous affairs, Adrian is shocked to learn of his mother's pregnancy.
And even though at the mercy of his rampant hormones and the fickle whims of the divine Pandora, a victim of a broken home and his own tortured (though unrecognised) genius, Adrian continues valiantly to chronicle the pains and pleasures of a misspent adolescence.
Bestselling author Sue Townsend has been Britain's favourite comic writer for over three decades.
'Funny, moving and a poke in the eye for adult morality' Sunday Express
'Written with great verve, and showing an uncanny understanding of the young, Sue Townsend holds the balance between innocence and precocity and the result is both hilarious and salutary' Daily Telegraph
'Life's no fun for an adolescent intellectual. For the reader it's a hoot' New Statesman
Sue Townsend is one of Britain's favourite comic authors. Her hugely successful novels include eight Adrian Mole books, The Public Confessions of a Middle-Aged Woman (Aged 55¾), Number Ten, Ghost Children, The Queen and I, Queen Camilla and The Woman Who Went to Bed for a Year, all of which are highly-acclaimed bestsellers. Sue passed away in 2014 and is survived by her husband, four children, ten grandchildren and millions of avid readers.
November 11, 2024
Sue Townsend's inimitable character, Adrian Mole, again provided me with much amusement. This is his diary circa 1982, 1983. It's wonderful to see the early nineteen eighties through the angst ridden eyes of the neglected tortured soul that is the eponymous Adrian. Okay so, he is not in actuality "a tortured soul", but Sue Townsend's brilliant portrayal of Adrian Mole's overreactions, mixed in with his literary intellect, innocence, inexplicable recesses in knowledge, and accidental humour make for another fantastic read. I simply love how unique and original the Adrian Mole diaries are. I have given it a four rather than a five because I thought the first diary was slightly better. It is still a fantastic read and I would certainly recommend it!
November 14, 2012
But, I actually want to give this book 3.75 stars without rounding it up to four - so three it is.
So, Adrian Mole, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways, but quickly because my laptop is dying and I can't muster the energy to go upstairs and get my charger. Yes, it has come to this. I'm THAT wiped out tonight.
1. You are hysterical. Flat out awkward, whiny, obnoxious, pretension and endearing.
2. Your family-situation is completely effed. I love that your parents show disdain for you. I love that you are so completely polarizing and self-absorbed. Your diary is everything a teenager's reflections should be. Spot on, my friend. I am looking forward to watching your future growth and maturity.
3. Your infatuation with Pandora is adorable <3
4. Your reading habits and frequent mangling of plots and ((frequently incorrect) knowledge about authors and poets is eternally entertaining.
5. through 1,000,000. (My battery is flashing warnings, I've got the yellow danger exclamation point counting down the minutes to my lazy death). I LOVE THE EIGHTIES :) It was a good decade. I mean, '84 was a fine year, if I do say so myself. Adrian is almost to '84 in this novel.
So I leave those '80s lovers with an image from one of the best high school movies ever - The Breakfast Club.
Interlibrary loan - here I come - give me numbers three and four - stat! (I require this series in twos - because there exist enough in the series for me to just read, read, read at this point AND I finished this good read far too quickly. I require more Mole!
So, Adrian Mole, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways, but quickly because my laptop is dying and I can't muster the energy to go upstairs and get my charger. Yes, it has come to this. I'm THAT wiped out tonight.
1. You are hysterical. Flat out awkward, whiny, obnoxious, pretension and endearing.
2. Your family-situation is completely effed. I love that your parents show disdain for you. I love that you are so completely polarizing and self-absorbed. Your diary is everything a teenager's reflections should be. Spot on, my friend. I am looking forward to watching your future growth and maturity.
3. Your infatuation with Pandora is adorable <3
4. Your reading habits and frequent mangling of plots and ((frequently incorrect) knowledge about authors and poets is eternally entertaining.
5. through 1,000,000. (My battery is flashing warnings, I've got the yellow danger exclamation point counting down the minutes to my lazy death). I LOVE THE EIGHTIES :) It was a good decade. I mean, '84 was a fine year, if I do say so myself. Adrian is almost to '84 in this novel.
So I leave those '80s lovers with an image from one of the best high school movies ever - The Breakfast Club.
Interlibrary loan - here I come - give me numbers three and four - stat! (I require this series in twos - because there exist enough in the series for me to just read, read, read at this point AND I finished this good read far too quickly. I require more Mole!
March 13, 2023
I dont need to say much about this the 2/8 diaries of Adrian Mole, I re read the first one last year and decided to re read them all and enjoyed this 2nd one as much as the first
Very interesting though at the end in diary form was Sue Townsend’s life and how she wrote the diaries then put them away for years then how she eventually got published and how many books she sold worldwide, a great added bonus to the book dont need to say much about this the 2/8 diaries of Adrian Mole, I re read the first one last year and decided to re read them all and enjoyed this 2nd one as much as the first
Very interesting though at the end in diary form was Sue Townsend’s life and how she wrote the diaries then put them away for years then how she eventually got published and how many books she sold worldwide, a great added bonus to the book dont need to say much about this the 2/8 diaries of Adrian Mole, I re read the first one last year and decided to re read them all and enjoyed this 2nd one as much as the first
July 20, 2018
From BBC radio 4 - Book at Bedtime:
The second book in the exquisitely funny Adrian Mole series by Sue Townsend, one of our most celebrated comic writers. Read by Harry McEntire.
Adrian continues to battle valiantly against the slings and arrows of growing up and his own family's attempts to scar him for life. Following on from The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole aged 13 3/4, it is now 1982 and Adrian is 15.
Adrian's parents are back together and his mother is pregnant, much to Adrian's surprise and embarrassment. As the summer holidays begin, Adrian is still troubled by his spotty skin, but he continues to feel that his intellectual prowess sets him apart from his peers. His aspirations for poetic fame and fortune are undimmed. While his mother heads off with her women's group to Greenham Common, Adrian's own interest in politics starts to grow, alongside his dislike for Margaret Thatcher. As his parents struggle to make ends meet and sort out their differences, Adrian enjoys a more settled relationship with Pandora but is eager to move things on a stage further.
In this instalment of the diaries, Adrian has his first experiences of birth and death. He soldiers bravely on through the many challenges that life throws at him, and wins a place in our hearts with his charming naivety.
Reader: Harry McEntire
Abridger: Sara Davies
Producer: Alexa Moore
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0b9...
The second book in the exquisitely funny Adrian Mole series by Sue Townsend, one of our most celebrated comic writers. Read by Harry McEntire.
Adrian continues to battle valiantly against the slings and arrows of growing up and his own family's attempts to scar him for life. Following on from The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole aged 13 3/4, it is now 1982 and Adrian is 15.
Adrian's parents are back together and his mother is pregnant, much to Adrian's surprise and embarrassment. As the summer holidays begin, Adrian is still troubled by his spotty skin, but he continues to feel that his intellectual prowess sets him apart from his peers. His aspirations for poetic fame and fortune are undimmed. While his mother heads off with her women's group to Greenham Common, Adrian's own interest in politics starts to grow, alongside his dislike for Margaret Thatcher. As his parents struggle to make ends meet and sort out their differences, Adrian enjoys a more settled relationship with Pandora but is eager to move things on a stage further.
In this instalment of the diaries, Adrian has his first experiences of birth and death. He soldiers bravely on through the many challenges that life throws at him, and wins a place in our hearts with his charming naivety.
Reader: Harry McEntire
Abridger: Sara Davies
Producer: Alexa Moore
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0b9...
May 22, 2023
Adrian is a little bit older and a tiny bit wiser. The world (of 1982 - 1984) still revolves around him. And it goes like a roller-coaster around a mid-teens boy. Just as hilariously funny and heartbreakingly sad as the first one and I enjoyed it just as much.
November 18, 2020
Pročitano u 2 navrata po 2 sata. Lagano, na trenutke se smejem naglas, obrađuje teme bitne za tinejdzere, pošto je ovo već 2. deo uspela sam da se vežem za Adrijana još više, tako da navijam za njega i istovremeno želim da čitam dalje, a i da čuvam nastavke kako mi ne bi "nestali" ako ih sve pročitam.
Još jednom kažem - žao mi je što nisam čitala ranije kao mlađa, žao mi je što su ovo retka izdanja jer ih Laguna više ne izdaje pa sam jurila polovne po celom internetu ne bih li kompletirala nekako kolekciju i zaista preporučujem svim tinejdžerima od srca, kao i drugima koji vole tinejdž knjige iako su ih malo prerasli ako u obzir uzmemo broj godina :)
Još jednom kažem - žao mi je što nisam čitala ranije kao mlađa, žao mi je što su ovo retka izdanja jer ih Laguna više ne izdaje pa sam jurila polovne po celom internetu ne bih li kompletirala nekako kolekciju i zaista preporučujem svim tinejdžerima od srca, kao i drugima koji vole tinejdž knjige iako su ih malo prerasli ako u obzir uzmemo broj godina :)
June 3, 2009
Please see my detailed review at Amazon Graceann's "Growing Pains of Adrian Mole" Review"
Second entry in the hilarious Adrian Mole series. He's coming up on age 16 now, and still as angst-ridden as he was in the first book. This is so accurate. I'm not SO far away from my own teen years that I'm not able to recognize the behavior as my own at that time. Very witty and all the more surprising as it comes from an adult woman writing about the feelings of a teenage boy. Genius. My only caveat is that if you don't have a familiarity with British personalities and humor, you probably won't find this as funny as those of us who live in the UK do. Even though I have been living here for two years, I still had to have my husband explain a few references to me.
Second entry in the hilarious Adrian Mole series. He's coming up on age 16 now, and still as angst-ridden as he was in the first book. This is so accurate. I'm not SO far away from my own teen years that I'm not able to recognize the behavior as my own at that time. Very witty and all the more surprising as it comes from an adult woman writing about the feelings of a teenage boy. Genius. My only caveat is that if you don't have a familiarity with British personalities and humor, you probably won't find this as funny as those of us who live in the UK do. Even though I have been living here for two years, I still had to have my husband explain a few references to me.
July 29, 2011
Fun fun fun. Looking forward to the weekend next book! :-)
July 27, 2017
Saw this in a used book store and just had to buy it, especially as it had the same cover as our original childhood version! Man, what is there not to love about Adrian Mole? Reading it as an adult I was definitely better equipped to understand all the jokes. It's also a really interesting look at 1980's England, definitely not something that interested me as a young'un. Poor Adrian and his struggles to be a literary intellectual.... too funny. I can't wait until enough years pass so that I can re-read this book once again with fresh eyes.
November 10, 2020
amazingly funny book, I first read it when I was about 14 and re read it during lock down and I have to admitted I think I enjoyed it more as an adult. My favorite bit in this book is when he try's to run away from home.
I have made The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Vlog, it is the 1st video is a series talking about the amazingly funny Adrian Mole diary's, I hope this video convinces more people to read them.
https://youtu.be/34XDT7cwYDs
I have made The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Vlog, it is the 1st video is a series talking about the amazingly funny Adrian Mole diary's, I hope this video convinces more people to read them.
https://youtu.be/34XDT7cwYDs
January 12, 2017
Adrian Mole grew on me. I cannot describe this book (and the series in general) more perfectly than New York Times did: The Adrian Mole Diaries is "as sad and devastating as it is laugh-out-loud funny!"
Oh, and I LOVE the audiobook narration by Nicholas Barnes!
Oh, and I LOVE the audiobook narration by Nicholas Barnes!
June 26, 2019
This just popped up and I definatley read this as a young teenager
July 27, 2019
Very funny full review to follow!
February 2, 2020
5 stars ok !
Such a shame this great author has departed this world. Still she lives on !
Such a shame this great author has departed this world. Still she lives on !
August 24, 2023
Poor Adrian. Yes, being 15 is possibly worse than 14. These books are so funny.
April 3, 2026
This was my second time reading The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole, though I think the first time I read it (at around age 13) a lot went over my head. Revisiting it now, I’m struck by how deftly it balances wit with a kind of quiet, persistent misery. I do think that sometimes it can be a little too bleak. I also often see myself in Adrian, back when I was his age, which is pretty worrying.
Once part that I found quite interesting was the entry for April 23rd (St. Georges Day):
This incident eventually develops into a news story about a “proud British citizen” (Barry Kent) being penalised for his patriotism by an overly progressive school. It is difficult not to note the irony that something strikingly similar has, in recent years, played out in reality.
I don't know whether this indicates that the tensions between left and right are really not much worse than they've always been or if a work of hyperbolic satire (at the time of its writing) now reflects the reality we live in.
Regardless, I found it amusing.
Pandora, I must admit, I find rather insufferable, though I am unsure to what extent this is intentional. In truth, most of the characters are grating in their own ways. This is likely by design (and, of course, Adrian himself is an extremely unreliable narrator), yet it creates the unusual experience of reading a novel in which I am, more or less, rooting for no one.
The ending, too, struck me as somewhat abrupt. Nevertheless, I intend to continue with the series. For all its occasional frustrations, it contains moments of genuine comic brilliance, and there is something appealing about following Adrian’s life through to its conclusion. Apparently, it's not very happy.
4 out of 5>
Once part that I found quite interesting was the entry for April 23rd (St. Georges Day):
Barry Kent came to school in a Union Jack tee-shirt today. Ms Fossington-Gore sent him home to change. Barry Kent shouted back, "You're wearing a symbol of fascism, you nasty NF lout!"
This incident eventually develops into a news story about a “proud British citizen” (Barry Kent) being penalised for his patriotism by an overly progressive school. It is difficult not to note the irony that something strikingly similar has, in recent years, played out in reality.
I don't know whether this indicates that the tensions between left and right are really not much worse than they've always been or if a work of hyperbolic satire (at the time of its writing) now reflects the reality we live in.
Regardless, I found it amusing.
Pandora, I must admit, I find rather insufferable, though I am unsure to what extent this is intentional. In truth, most of the characters are grating in their own ways. This is likely by design (and, of course, Adrian himself is an extremely unreliable narrator), yet it creates the unusual experience of reading a novel in which I am, more or less, rooting for no one.
The ending, too, struck me as somewhat abrupt. Nevertheless, I intend to continue with the series. For all its occasional frustrations, it contains moments of genuine comic brilliance, and there is something appealing about following Adrian’s life through to its conclusion. Apparently, it's not very happy.
4 out of 5>
December 4, 2021
Burned through the audiobook in a few days, because I've caught knitting fever again and I need something to occupy my brain in the meantime. The narrator is still brilliant, but I guess the gimmick of a book in the form of a diary of a pretentious British boy has kind of worn off for me in this second entry. Also, I know next to nothing about the British political situation in the 80s to appreciate many of the jokes and references. It still got a few chuckles out of me and I have to give this books props for teaching me about the Falklands war. I don't think I'll continue the series though.
September 15, 2024
I didn’t think this book was anything special but it made me smile at a few parts throughout the book. It made me feel quite content and wholesome
February 21, 2022
Again Sue Townsend provided a great read with her character Adrian Mole. At times I had to really laugh out loud. While I enjoyed this slightly less than the first book in this series, it was still great to read.
May 10, 2024
I love the Adrian Mole books. They’re laugh-out-loud funny in parts, but also sweet and real and heartbreaking in others. I’ve skipped around in this series over the years, so I’m rereading from start to finish.
September 21, 2024
I have simply never laughed out loud so much reading a book. Page 21 made me laugh so much I had to put the back down and come back to it a few minutes later.
November 3, 2012
První dva díly moleovské ságy mám hodně ráda (tenhle víc). Když jsem je četla ve "třinácti a tři čtvrtě", bavila jsem se hlavně lapáliemi hlavního hrdiny, zpětně jsem pak deníky docenila i jako zdroj nejrůznějších humorných poznatků a pozorování z prostředí thatcherovské Británie. Pod jejich vlivem jsem se opakovaně pokoušela nějaké deníky sama psát, první začínal nějak takhle: "Dnes jsem vrátila lístek na oběd a šla si do papírnictví koupit tenhle deník."
January 26, 2019
another great ready, again very funny and easy to read
i think we can all see some of our younger selves in adrian
i think we can all see some of our younger selves in adrian
January 8, 2023
I owe every single comedic bone in my body to this book and how it influenced my sense of humour. An all time great.
March 3, 2020
Livro 📖: Adrian Mole na Crise da Adolescência
5/5⭐️
Adrian Mole é um estranho que sente que a razão pela qual ele não consegue se estabelecer na sociedade "normal" deve-se ao fato de ele ser um intelectual. Isto fica evidente no começo de seu diário onde ele demonstra um interesse precoce pela literatura, pela esquerda política, o desejo de que a sua própria poesia seja apresentada na BBC, seu desgosto pela Primeira-Ministra Margaret Thatcher e suas frequentes críticas aos seus colegas de escola sem cultura e aos seus familiares.
A família desfuncional de Adrian, como em O diário secreto de um adolescente é um dos enfoques do livro. Ao mesmo tempo que as entradas de Adrian são cheias de humor, sarcasmos e ironias, elas também abordam a grande confusão e desilusão com a relação disfuncional entre os seus pais. Às vezes as entradas do diário o mostram como um garoto ingênuo e em outras muito franco; e outras vezes cheio de auto-piedade. Como um filho único (até o começo do livro), Adrian tem a tendência de ver todos os seus problemas de um ponto de vista egoísta, ainda que pareça que ele tenha uma compaixão verdadeira por toda a sua família. Ainda que muitos devam ter a mesma cultura de Adrian e o mesmo nível de disfunção familiar, estas entradas são relembradas de tal maneira que torna-se fácil de serem enfatizadas pelo jovem escritor.
Este livro também dá continuidade as crescentes frustrações de Adrian com o seu corpo. Ele constantemente escreve sobre as espinhas que agravam o seu complexo e sobre sua auto-estima em relação ao seu tamanho e mudanças no corpo.
Embora Adrian pareça um pouco centrado em si mesmo em alguns aspectos da vida (e é difícil não perceber isso em seu diário) ele é mais compassivo do que a maioria dos homens mais jovens.
Adorei o livro pois fala muito sobre os problemas da adolescência em todos os sentidos. Fartei me de rir com algumas partes do livro e isso é que me fez gostar ainda mais dele! É um livro que se lê bem e rápido! É pena que só tenho o livro 2 porque gostava de ler o resto da coleção! 🤩🥰
5/5⭐️
Adrian Mole é um estranho que sente que a razão pela qual ele não consegue se estabelecer na sociedade "normal" deve-se ao fato de ele ser um intelectual. Isto fica evidente no começo de seu diário onde ele demonstra um interesse precoce pela literatura, pela esquerda política, o desejo de que a sua própria poesia seja apresentada na BBC, seu desgosto pela Primeira-Ministra Margaret Thatcher e suas frequentes críticas aos seus colegas de escola sem cultura e aos seus familiares.
A família desfuncional de Adrian, como em O diário secreto de um adolescente é um dos enfoques do livro. Ao mesmo tempo que as entradas de Adrian são cheias de humor, sarcasmos e ironias, elas também abordam a grande confusão e desilusão com a relação disfuncional entre os seus pais. Às vezes as entradas do diário o mostram como um garoto ingênuo e em outras muito franco; e outras vezes cheio de auto-piedade. Como um filho único (até o começo do livro), Adrian tem a tendência de ver todos os seus problemas de um ponto de vista egoísta, ainda que pareça que ele tenha uma compaixão verdadeira por toda a sua família. Ainda que muitos devam ter a mesma cultura de Adrian e o mesmo nível de disfunção familiar, estas entradas são relembradas de tal maneira que torna-se fácil de serem enfatizadas pelo jovem escritor.
Este livro também dá continuidade as crescentes frustrações de Adrian com o seu corpo. Ele constantemente escreve sobre as espinhas que agravam o seu complexo e sobre sua auto-estima em relação ao seu tamanho e mudanças no corpo.
Embora Adrian pareça um pouco centrado em si mesmo em alguns aspectos da vida (e é difícil não perceber isso em seu diário) ele é mais compassivo do que a maioria dos homens mais jovens.
Adorei o livro pois fala muito sobre os problemas da adolescência em todos os sentidos. Fartei me de rir com algumas partes do livro e isso é que me fez gostar ainda mais dele! É um livro que se lê bem e rápido! É pena que só tenho o livro 2 porque gostava de ler o resto da coleção! 🤩🥰
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