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A review by colinlusk
Adrian Mole and the Weapons of Mass Destruction by Sue Townsend
4.0
I have to admire the scope of the series, which now spans three decades. It follows the political and social history of Britain closely all the way, and it's told from a vantage point well outside the normal ones favoured by writers (ie he's not posh and lives in Not London).
Adrian Mole is now well into his thirties and engaged to someone he doesn't love or even like very much. He's still very much himself and, as I said in my reaction to one of the earlier books, adult Adrian is slightly creepier and ickier than teenage Adrian. He's at least less sex-obsessed in this one, which is a relief, but he's taken to writing letters to Geoff Hoon, Radio Four and the Keeper of the Queen's Swans.
The politics are a lot closer to the surface than usual. Even the book's title refers to the Iraq War, which is a constant background to Adrian's personal life, and follows the arc of events from the weapons inspectors' visits through to the early day of the British presence in Basra, cruise missiles going astray and the discovery of what was going on in Guantanamo. His own son is one of the soldiers, aged 18, acting as a reminder of the reality of the war in a way she couldn't do if she were relying in news reports only.
Sue Townsend dictated this book to her husband after she lost her sight to diabetes, so the fact that she's kept up the quality is pretty impressive.
Adrian Mole is now well into his thirties and engaged to someone he doesn't love or even like very much. He's still very much himself and, as I said in my reaction to one of the earlier books, adult Adrian is slightly creepier and ickier than teenage Adrian. He's at least less sex-obsessed in this one, which is a relief, but he's taken to writing letters to Geoff Hoon, Radio Four and the Keeper of the Queen's Swans.
The politics are a lot closer to the surface than usual. Even the book's title refers to the Iraq War, which is a constant background to Adrian's personal life, and follows the arc of events from the weapons inspectors' visits through to the early day of the British presence in Basra, cruise missiles going astray and the discovery of what was going on in Guantanamo. His own son is one of the soldiers, aged 18, acting as a reminder of the reality of the war in a way she couldn't do if she were relying in news reports only.
Sue Townsend dictated this book to her husband after she lost her sight to diabetes, so the fact that she's kept up the quality is pretty impressive.