Boekverslag : Sue Townsend - The Secret Diary Of Adrian Mole
De taal ervan is Engels en het aantal woorden bedraagt 893 woorden.

Title

The secret diary of adrian mole, aged 133/4



Author

'The Secret Diary Of Adrian Mole, Aged 133/4' is written by Sue Townsend. Townsend was born in The United Kingdom. She grew up in a working-class family and she left school when she was fifteen. Even after leaving school she read every book that she could lay her hands on. During her childhood she practised writing without anybody knowing it. Sue Townsend started writing with the Phoenix Theatre Writing Group and after six plays the diary entries of Adrian Mole were read by one of the actors, who sent them to the BBC. There the diary was used for a radio-play. When the book was published it was an extraordinary success. It was followed by the sequel 'The growing pains of Adrian Mole'.



Story

'The Secret Diary Of Adrian Mole, Aged 133/4' was first published in 1982 and the copyright is by Sue Townsend. It contains 187 pages. The story takes place in a working-class community in an English town in 1982. The story is told chronologically. The book is written in diary form and it is Adrian who tells what happens, but he is only a young boy and does not understand the implications of everything that goes on about him



Characters

There are three main characters in 'The Secret Diary Of Adrian Mole, Aged 133/4'.

#Adrian Mole: He is thirteen years and nine months old and he is dogged by illness. He is also a worrier. The problems of existence hit him hard, things like spots, bits of him that won't seem to keep still and the relationship between his parents. Adrian strongly believes that he is an intellectual. He buys a lot of stationary on which he can write his poems.



#Pandora: She is a new girl at Adrian his school. Adrian immediately falls in love with her. He isn't pleased with the facts that Pandora is dating his best friend and that she creates scandals at school. But after a while Adrian and Pandora get together.



#Bert Baxter: He is a dirty old man who lives in a house which is in a disgusting state. Adrian has to look after him, because he joins a group called 'The Good Samaritans'. They do all sorts of social work and Adrian gets 89-year-old Bert Baxter, who often makes a nuisance of himself.



Summary

Adrian starts his diary on January 1, when his 133/4 years old. He makes some resolutions for the new year and is worried about a spot on his face. Adrian's parents quarrel between themselves about the flowers his mother has received from their neighbour. After a while he decides to become an intellectual, so he writes a letter to the BBC to ask what to do about this. He also writes his first poem and joins the library.

At school Adrian meets Pandora. Now he is even more worried about his spots. He joins a group called 'The Good Samaritans'. They do social work for old people. Adrian looks after Bert Baxter. Adrian's first visits to Bert Baxter are disappointments, because he is a dirty old man and his house is in a disgusting state. Moreover, he complains about Adrian to the headmaster and Adrian is unjustly reprimanded. When, on top of this, he discovers that his best friend is going out with Pandora.

In March his father tells him that he and mother are splitting up. At the end of the month his mother leaves for Sheffield with the neighbour after his father and the neighbour have had a fight. On June 1 Adrian's father is made redundant and starts smoking and drinking heavily. At school Adrian gets into trouble for wearing red socks, which he has put on because he feels rebellious. Pandora organises a sock protest committee and all the members put on red socks, but they are all sent home by the headmaster.

In October Bert Baxter is taken to an old age pensioner's home because of leg trouble. He hates it there and only one month later, after Adrian has been in hospital to have his tonsils out, he hears Bert has befriended a woman called Queenie. In the meantime Adrian's father is still without a job and he does nothing all day.

Adrian's relationship with Pandora isn't very harmonious anymore. When Pandora finds out that another girl is in love with Adrian she fights her. Adrian has a three-day friendship with a girl called Barbara. On April 2, Adrian's birthday, Pandora ignores him. But the next day they make it up. This day happens to be the day that the Falklands War begins.



Reading experience

The book was recommended to me by a friend. I decided to read the book because he said it was a very funny book. I expected nothing because it wasn't attracting my attention at all. My expectation came true, because the story doesn't interest me. I didn't feel anything while reading the book and finishing it.

The book can be realistic, because it can happen anywhere. You can compare it with other books that Sue Townsend has written. There wasn't any part in the book that impressed me because I don't like reading diaries. All the aspects of the book are unsuccessful. I would advise others to read the book, because it is a very easy one.
Andere boeken van deze auteur:

Home - Contact - Over - ZoekBoekverslag op uw site - Onze Boekverslagen - Boekverslag toevoegen