The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 ¾
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Product Description
Review
One of literature's most endearing figures. Mole is an excellent guide for all of us (Observer )
Marvellous, touching and screamingly funny . . . set to become as much a cult book as The Catcher in the Rye (Jilly Cooper )
A satire of our times. Very funny indeed (Sunday Times ) --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
Marvellous, touching and screamingly funny . . . set to become as much a cult book as The Catcher in the Rye (Jilly Cooper )
A satire of our times. Very funny indeed (Sunday Times ) --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
Product Description
The wry, hilarious journal of Adrian Mole, who at 13 years old has more than his fair share of problems: spots, ill-health, parents threatening divorce, the belief that he's an undiscovered intellectual - and rejection of his poetry by the BBC.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I was 12 3/4 when I first read this book, soon after it was first published. I wondered what all the fuss was about as I didn't find it funny at all. That's because I was just as naive as Adrian Mole. A couple of years later I read it again and found it much funnier. Then, a couple of years later, funnier still. Adults growing up in the eighties will love this for the references (Falklands, Thatcher, Hitler diaries etc) but the teenage angst is timeless. My original is now much dog-eared, selotaped and, yes, loved. Buy the Growing Pains as well, it is equally as good. I must go now and update my Norwegian Leather Industry chart...
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review
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I first read this book when I was ten years old and absolutely loved it so when I was given the chance to read it again coming up twenty years later I was excited and nervous at the same time. I didn't want my rose tinted thoughts shattered. I needn't have worried. Instead of thinking "oh god, is this what I've got to look forward to", the diary style of writing opens you up to memories of what you used to do instead. It's still laugh out loud funny but for the reasons of fond remembrance of your own youth and school life and relating to being in similar stupid situations yourself. The account of the school trip is priceless. Great observational comedy in diary form. Timeless.
30 of 34 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This novel is a very simple idea. 13 year old Adrian starts his diary on January 1st in the early 80's. He writes an entry every day for nearly two years. He reflects on his school, his unrequited love (Pandora Baithwaite), and his parents (including his hilariously awful feminist mother). Adrian decides that he is an "undiscovered intellectual" and tries desperately to improve his brain by reading as many books as he can. He usually misses the point in all the books he reads but is confident about his wrong assertions. Here lies the some of the humour - we see the world through Adrian's eyes and we can understand what is really going on between his mother and Mr "Creep" Lucus, and also the symbolism of the worthy books he reads like Animal Farm. But Adrian doesn't quite understand it all yet.
This book is also hugely touching. We always understand and feel for Adrian's emotional problems and the physical changes he goes through. Adrian is like any other teenager - he has spots and he reads pornography. This book is very effective at communicating the confusion that adolescence can often be. It's even more amazing when you consider that the author is a middle-aged woman. You feel so sorry for Adrian when his parents argue or when he is bullied, but the next laugh is always just round the corner. I first read this wonderful little novel when I was actually about 13 and three quarters old. At the time I thought it was an interesting and perceptive read but not in the least bit funny. I made the same mistakes Adrian did having not read Animal Farm or really lived yet. Rereading it a few years later I finally saw the humour and I realised it was actually hilarious.
Don't be put off by the 1980's setting of the book. The references to the Royal Wedding, Abba, Punks, Margaret Thatcher and Toyah Willcox may be confusing to some younger readers. However teenagers will always be teenagers, and all the ideas and feelings are still valid. It makes you realise how little things change. The Sun, bad city schools, spots, school plays and Marmite are all part of everyday British life and will probably always be with us. One thing I would say is that there are so many references to uniquely British objects in this book that overseas readers might get confused. There are numerous references to PE shorts, Marmite, Spotted Dick, the PDSA, the Sunday Mirror and so on. (I seem to remember that a later volume of the Mole diaries even mentions this when Adrian lends his dairy to his America Pen Pal.)
I would recommend this book to anyone. The diary format makes it very easy to read, but there is also a great deal of depth and thought to the book. There are so many memorable and funny characters in this book: Deeply Conservative headmaster "pop eye" Scrunton in his hairy green suit. The tough but loving old Grandma. Mr and Mrs Singh and all the little Singhs who live down the Road. John Tydeman at the BBC who rejects Adrian's poems. Bullying skinhead Barry Kent and his gang drunk on two cans of Tartan bitter at the youth club disco. There are also so many great moments. The book is sensitive but also deeply funny. When you finish this book you'll want to read the other volumes of Adrian's Diary. None are quite as good as this one (although "Growing Pains" comes very close). Read this book now. It's thoroughly enjoyable.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Never too late!
I'm not sure the value of a 30th anniversary edition (for the reader) except it gives a chance to read a book you've know about for 30 years but never actually read! Read more
Published 4 days ago by stevieby
Ageless
I read this when I was probably about 14 and got it for my ten year old son with a slight concern that it might be a little old for him bearing in mind its a 1980s book concerning... Read more
Published 4 days ago by J. S. Meins
Very funny and still relevant today
The book is written in a diary style by the main character, Adrian Mole. Adrian has to deal with things like his parents' unstable marriage, falling out with his spoiled best... Read more
Published 20 days ago by I. Mcintosh
As good as ever
I remember reading the original book as a boy - I enjoyed it and thought I 'got it'. Yet now, delightedly re-reading this new edition, I realise how little I 'got it' back then,... Read more
Published 21 days ago by Max
Decent read
`The Secret Diary of Adrien Mole,' follows the teenager each day for over a year as he struggles with his parents separation, spots, school and being `an intellectual. Read more
Published 1 month ago by K. Wright
A fondly remembered classic, as good as ever.
I've read this book many times over the years and I never fail to be amused. I see a lot of my teenage self in Adrian as I'm sure many men do. Read more
Published 1 month ago by William Barber
Old School Classic!
Got this book for my son who just started secondary school.
Was one of my favourites back in the day.
My son loved it! Oldie but goodie!!
Was one of my favourites back in the day.
My son loved it! Oldie but goodie!!
Published 1 month ago by Yummy Mummy
Blast From The Past
I must have read this book a couple of years after it was published, probably when I was around 13 and 3/4 myself. Read more
Published 2 months ago by T. SMEDLEY
One of the pillars of 80s pop culture
Sue Townsend is an institution. Adrian Mole is one of the great characters in literary history. And the ostensible simplicity of the novel's language actually belies a good amount... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Chintan Nanavati
A 12 year old boys view
I enjoyed this as a boy when it first came out and suggested my son read it as he is the same sort of age, but he didn't love it. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Ian Davis
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