Adrian Mole and the Weapons of Mass Destruction

By Sue Townsend

'Dear Mr Blair,'

'You may remember me -- we met at a Norwegian Leather Industry reception at the House of Commons in 1999.'

Funny, funny, funny! An extremely easy read perfect for travelling.

The diary opens in September 2002 when Adrian Mole has reached the ripe old age of 34. However, he is still not quite connecting with the realities of life. The story starts with Adrian cancelling his holiday to Cyprus when he learns that Saddam Hussein has weapons of mass destruction that can reach Cyprus is 45 minutes. When the travel agent will not refund his deposit, he begins writing to Tony Blair telling him he needs proof of the weapons of mass destruction to show his travel agent in order to get a refund.

From there it is uphill in true Adrian Mole style. He now works in a second-hand bookshop run by an amiable old gent called Mr. Carlton-Hayes. Pandora is still in Adrian's life, of course, although not in the capacity he would choose.

In his spare time he is acting as chairman of a creative-writing group with only one other member apart from himself. During the nearly two years covered in this diary Adrian buys a home where he is locked in mortal combat with a vicious swan called Gielgud, faces financial ruin, endures the romance from hell with the ghastly Marigold, confronts the ageing of his parents, takes responsibility for a child, lets go of some long-held dreams and becomes romantically involved with Marigold’s sister, Daisy. Then, when his 17-year old son joins the army and is sent to Iraq, reality hits too close to home. Fearful for his son, we see a new empathic side of Adrian.

It is hard sometimes to know whether to laugh or cry at Adrian and the choices he makes, but for the most part it kept me smiling and chuckling, shaking my head at his lack of financial and romantic sense.