Product Description

From Publishers Weekly

Townsend's hapless nerd (The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole) returns to complete his lengthy and awkward passage from zit-ridden adolescence to angst-ridden manhood. Fans of previous installments will recognize Adrian's familiar provincial funk: still afflicted with literary ambitions as infinite as his accomplishments are infinitesimal, still heartstruck by the frightful Pandora Braithwaite, still laboriously churning out his masterpiece, the vowel-free novel, Lo! The Flat Hills of My Homeland. In fact, even admirers (and newcomers almost certainly) may find the recipe a little too unvarying this time out-particularly since, for an adult, Adrian's obsessions and affectations verge on the desperate or even the pathological. Luckily, Townsend (author also of the deft satire, The Queen and I) eventually seems to realize this too, and in the latter portions of the book adds a few new elements-a real girlfriend or two, sojourns in London, Moscow and Greece, a few unexpected career moves-to her hero's life. It's these scenes that really pay off, for even a comic creation as inspired as Adrian needs the odd change of scene. They also help pave the way for a surprising closing apotheosis that suggests Adrian may yet have some mileage in him as he approaches middle age. Major ad/promo.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

YA?In this sequel to The Adrian Mole Diaries (Grove, 1986; o.p.), Townsend continues her hero's humorous adventures into adulthood, beginning when he is 18 and ending when he is 23. Adrian is a loveable misfit who fancies himself a great intellectual; his aim in life is to become a well-known author. Throughout the book he attempts to get his 700-page novel, Lo! The Flat Hills of My Homeland, published. The first draft was written entirely without vowels. After several refusals, he decides that he needs to add the vowels and more sex to make the book more palatable. He always finds himself on the outside of the mainstream and valiantly tries to fit in, but always encounters an amusing roadblock. This novel in diary form is very funny and entertaining, though some YAs may have difficulty with the British terminology.?Grace Baun, R.E. Lee High School, Springfield, VA
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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16 Reviews

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3.4 out of 5 stars (16 customer reviews)

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4.0 out of 5 stars WITH ADRIAN CHUCKLES ABOUND, April 4 2004

By	Gail Cooke (TX, USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

The wry youth who sometimes signs his diary "Adrian Albert Mole, Unpublished novelist and pedestrian" is back. Those who laughed with this pubescent British philosopher in the 80s will be delighted; those who are meeting him for the first time will find that chuckles abound.

At 16 Adrian is still the miserable victim of unrequited love, at odds with his parents, and celebrating Christmas night with "a desultory game of cards."

Four years later, although still living at home, he has found employment in his local library, and companionship with a girl both bovine and boring. After his manuscripts are rejected by every literary agent and publisher on either side of the Thames, Adrian finds shelter at Oxford and a job studying newts and badgers.

In his spare time Adrian has penned a novel that he believes should be adapted for the stage. However, no one is waiting in line to bring life to his 700 page epic with 144 characters and six live deer.

A new love and a writer's workshop on a Greek island eventually brighten Adrian's life. Reading his eccentrically comic adventures brightened mine.

- Gail Cooke

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5.0 out of 5 stars Adrian Mole: The Dark Side, Feb 1 2004

By	Louis N. Gruber "Author of Jay" (Lexington, SC United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Adrian Mole is a misfit, a loser, under-employed when he works at all, fancies himself a great novelist, and is working on a totally inane master-piece which contains no vowels. His family is wildly dysfunctional, his relationships are disastrous, his therapist gives up, his luck is forever running out. And, when it seems that things couldn't possibly get any worse, well, you guessed it.

Author Sue Townsend is a brilliant comedic writer, but in this work, the comedy is darkly satirical. The hero (or anti-hero) Mole was first introduced in her earlier work, The Secret Diaries, when he was not quite fourteen. Hilarious it was, then, to see him percieve the inconsistencies of the adult world without ever really understanding what was happening. Now that he is older, the humor is darker, with a biting edge. For this young man is now moving into his mid-twenties, without apparently growing or learning anything of value. So, is there hope for poor Mole? Will he ever grow up? Will he ever get a girlfriend? You will just have to read the book and see.

While other reviewers expressed disappointment in the book, I enjoyed it immensely. It is different from the Secret Diaries with a different type of humor. Take it on its own terms and you will laugh yourself silly. Reviewed by Louis N. Gruber.

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3.0 out of 5 stars Oh! Grow up A. Mole!, Aug 19 2001

By	M. Lee "AnnaMisha" (Houston, TX USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

When I read the first book: "The Secret Diaries of Adrian Mole" I was hooked and couldn't wait to read the sequel. The poor lad -- you couldn't help but take a liking to him and really hope that he becomes the intellectual he aspires to be or that he moves on to bigger and better things in life. "The Lost Years", while still quite humourous, makes you feel a little frustrated with Adrian--how he is so blind to the things that go on around him. He is SO wrapped up in himself and writing his novel that he ceases to grow -- socially, personally and in his career. Nonetheless, the book is an easy read and a must if you are a follower of the Mole. The end gives us Mole-lites hope in a new beginning for him in the next book: The Cappucino Years, which I am looking forward to reading.

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Most recent customer reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Disappointed in Adrian!
I loved the Secret Diaries. I loved and empathized with Adrian and also his friends and families. However, in this book, I feel disappointed in what Adrian has become. Read more

Published on Jun 6 2001

3.0 out of 5 stars The funniest diaries ever!
What can I say everytime I hear the name Adrian Mole a big smile comes across my face, the diaries have to be one of the funniest sets of books I have ever read. Read more

Published on April 25 2001 by Sarah