This is the 30th anniversary edition of the bestselling novel of the 1980s: "The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 and 3/4" by comic genius Sue Townsend. Friday January 2nd. I felt rotten today. It's my mother's fault for singing 'My Way' at two o'clock in the morning at the top of the stairs. Just my luck to have a mother like her. There is a chance my parents could be alcoholics. Next year I could be in a children's home. Meet Adrian Mole, a hapless teenager providing an unabashed, pimples-and-all glimpse into adolescent life. Writing candidly about his parents' marital troubles, the dog, his life as a tortured poet and 'misunderstood intellectual', Adrian's painfully honest diary is still hilarious and compelling reading thirty years after it first appeared. "I not only wept, I howled and hooted and had to get up and walk around the room and wipe my eyes so that I could go on reading". (Tom Sharpe). "One of the great comic creations". ("Daily Mirror"). "Marvellous, touching and screamingly funny ...set to become as much a cult book as "The Catcher in the Rye". (Jilly Cooper). Sue Townsend is Britain's favourite comic author. Since the publication of "The Secret Diaries of Adrian Mole Aged 13 and 3/4" in 1982, she has made us weep with laughter and pricked the nation's conscience. Seven further volumes of diaries have followed: "The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole", "The True Confessions of Adrian Albert Mole", "Adrian Mole: The Wilderness Years", "Adrian Mole: The Cappuccino Years", "The Lost Diaries of Adrian Mole", "Adrian Mole and the Weapons of Mass Destruction" and "Adrian Mole: The Prostrate Years". All have been acclaimed bestsellers, some have been adapted for radio and TV, starring Lulu, Julie Walters and Stephen Mangan, among others. She has also written six other popular novels ("The Queen and I", "Queen Camilla", "Number Ten", "Rebuilding Coventry", "Ghost Children" and "The Woman Who Went to Bed for A Year") and penned many well-received plays. She lives in Leicester, where she was born and grew up.
When I was a teenager, this was one of my favourite books. It was funny and even though written from a males perspective I really enjoyed it. I would read it over and over throughout the year and would recommend it to others, although I would never share my copy! It is hard to believe that 2012 is the 30th anniversary for Adrian Mole and Penguin are celebrating this anniversary by re releasing the set. I was sent one of the anniversary edition copies and it was great to see the cover I remembered , with the noddy toothbrush and shaving paraphernalia on, on the inside cover.
Although the diary talks about life in the early 1980's and is a great book for social history and also what growing up in the 1980s was really like - however now, rereading the book today, it appears that Adrian Mole is immature compared to today's 13-4 year old.
I will be looking out for the other books in this series, and I may have to repurchase them all, as my copies have been passed on to others. I must say I love the early books in the series best but the whole series covers my lifetime and includes many historic events of my lifetime. I would love to know what Adrian Mole thinks about the Coalition Government we now have and Prince William and Catherine's wedding this year. I hope Sue Townsend is going to continue this series in years to come.
I received this book from The Amazon Vine Program.
I loved the Adrian Mole books when I was a teenager and still have them, ready to pass onto my 8 year old.
ReplyDeleteI loved this book when I was a teenager! May have to have a little re-read!
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