To begin with I loved this book. There is a kind of easy nonchalance in the humor used by Sue Townsend. I liked the way Adrian, his love life, his people, his finance, his work, his existence and the Weapons of Mass destruction are woven together to give an out an out good book. Robbie’s death brings us face to face to the grave reality of war.
Adrian is adorable. He is a middle-aged man with multiple problems, is naive, not career oriented, always seems to be following the dictum of opposites attract when it comes to his women, restricts his thoughts to his diary, reads boring books, has contrasting natured friends, is bit of a timid person who is afraid of sins and the Flowers, he is a recluse who still grapples with the situation of being a child to his parents and a single father to his children. He seriously lacks rational behavior when it comes to shopping and expenses. He writes weird letters to public figures for his own concerns and suggestions for their betterment. Sue has essayed his character wonderfully. His non-appearance as a larger than life character only makes him more human. And even more interesting. Most of us will be able relate to him or his mistakes. I absolutely loved his contradicting nature. The book has an undercurrent of humor which doesn’t go towards slapstick. Though I agree it has a sarcastic tone to it. At a point you feel there is too much going on but then you slowly start to absorb Adrian’s life as it comes. One of the two reasons for his interest in WMD is hilarious while the other spells the genuine concern of a responsible father. What I liked is the end, the author has not ended the book with him realizing his mistakes and being a superstar of his life. He remains as he was but now has a happy family too.
When I started to read this book I was not aware there was a series of books and I had started with the Last one. Nevertheless, better late than sorry, I plan to read them all! If not for Sue then for Adrian! Coz you can love him or hate him but you can’t ignore him!
Adrian is adorable. He is a middle-aged man with multiple problems, is naive, not career oriented, always seems to be following the dictum of opposites attract when it comes to his women, restricts his thoughts to his diary, reads boring books, has contrasting natured friends, is bit of a timid person who is afraid of sins and the Flowers, he is a recluse who still grapples with the situation of being a child to his parents and a single father to his children. He seriously lacks rational behavior when it comes to shopping and expenses. He writes weird letters to public figures for his own concerns and suggestions for their betterment. Sue has essayed his character wonderfully. His non-appearance as a larger than life character only makes him more human. And even more interesting. Most of us will be able relate to him or his mistakes. I absolutely loved his contradicting nature. The book has an undercurrent of humor which doesn’t go towards slapstick. Though I agree it has a sarcastic tone to it. At a point you feel there is too much going on but then you slowly start to absorb Adrian’s life as it comes. One of the two reasons for his interest in WMD is hilarious while the other spells the genuine concern of a responsible father. What I liked is the end, the author has not ended the book with him realizing his mistakes and being a superstar of his life. He remains as he was but now has a happy family too.
When I started to read this book I was not aware there was a series of books and I had started with the Last one. Nevertheless, better late than sorry, I plan to read them all! If not for Sue then for Adrian! Coz you can love him or hate him but you can’t ignore him!
