About book Adrian Mole: The Cappuccino Years (2003)
Adrian’s latest adventure is set in 1997-1998; the longest gap between instalments but coming at an ideal time to read Mr. Mole’s diary. Not only is he now at the landmark age of 30, but this is the year of the New Labour landslide and the death of Princess Diana, among others.As “together” as Adrian’s life seemed to be after the Wilderness Years, we join him now not. He’s divorced, living alone, a semi-absent father working as a ‘head chef’ in a nightmare kitchen. His own father is depressed, his mother’s knocking off Pandora’s and his sister is now a teenage tear away. All in all, it’s thoroughly entertaining.Adrian is told old now to carry the air of an idealistic teenager who misunderstands adults, but r. he’s now a socially illiterate, pretentious (wannabe?) snob. Townsend has managed to retain the same voice for Mole throughout his adolescence and into adulthood, keeping the continuity of character that is so important to a diary-based, character-centric series.The major events of the year are nicely integrated into the storyline, with Pandora becoming one of Blair’s babes and Diana’s death having an unlikely impact on Mole’s writing career. Though Mole did pass comment on Michael Hutchence’s death a day early.The schadenfreude of Mole’s perpetually misfortune is in no way reduced, with the constant battering of his life by belief-suspending misery. As always, it’s almost too bizarre to be believable, which sort of makes it true to life, but more importantly it’s the relentless onslaught of disaster that provides much of the humour. The Mole and Braithwaite families play central roles, and George and Pauline are much more rounded. Perhaps it’s Mole’s age and own fatherhood that adjusts his portrayal of them, but they and the book benefit greatly from seeing the couple fleshed out. As ever, self-contained and part of the larger Mole arc at once, The a Cappuccino Years is a fabulous entry in the series.
I liked this one a lot more than the previous part. Adrian, while still totally oblivious to so many things happening around him, seems more mature here than in any of the previous books. (view spoiler)[He tries to take care of his sons William and Glenn (I really adore both boys!) and to be a good father. For once, the book focuses mainly on Adrian's family, rather than his writing or his love life (which is pretty much non-existent in this book *lol*). I must admit that I missed Adrian's letters to the BBC though and his continuous efforts to sell his absurd pieces of "literature". I hope we'll get back to this in the next part.Pandora has become a bit of a b****, I'm sorry to say, due to her career as a MP but I'm glad to see that Adrian is still in touch with her and Nigel. The story of Adrian's parents "swapping partners" with Pandora's parents was amusing, but it felt a bit like "been there, done that". I wish they'd just stay together for a while :-/I kept rolling my eyes at Adrian's complete cluelessness towards who his secret admirer might be. I mean, how STUPID can you be not to notice the obvious? This woman was giving me the creeps though and I thought that the ending was pretty harsh. Doesn't the man deserve a bit of happiness? *sigh*I'm curious to see where life takes him from here though... (hide spoiler)]
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Before I picked up this book, I had no idea who Adrian Mole or Sue Townsend were. It just so happened that the novel was sitting on the bookshelf in my office one day and I decided to give it a go. From page one I fell in love with Adrian Mole. Basically, he is a failure. He means well, he does everything he can to be a success, but it always backfires. His story is a true tragic comedy, which fortunately is light enough on the tragedy to keep us from feeling bad.The best point about Adrian Mole is that I could see a little bit of myself in him. He is an intensely relatable character, because who among us hasn't looked success directly in the eye and then failed anyway? He is balding, bitter, and unhappy, but still goes through life as best he can, and for that he is a kind of hero.
—Andrew Lasher
I first met Adrian Mole when I was in high school and I was introduced to the young adult novel, The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13 3/4, soon thereafter followed by The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole. Adrian lives outside of London and fancies himself somewhat of an intellectual. Unfortunately, life doesn't always go so well for Adrian - his parents' marriage is always on the rocks, he has issues with his teachers (and all sorts of authority), and he never ever seems to get the girl. But, along the way, he kept a humourous and sometimes depressing daily journal of his journey through adolescence. Years later, I've grown up - and so has Adrian. In this one, he's a 31 year old whose wife has just left him to raise his two year old son, he's a chef who doesn't really know how to cook, and he's in-love with a politician who sends Adrian constituent form letters that he reads far too much into. His parents are still on the rocks and he battles constantly with his life as somewhat of a loser. In a cute turn of events, Bridgett Jones makes an off-page cameo (as a real life Britain whose diaries are doing quite well). This isn't the most riveting story - but in diary format, it's a fast read - and really fun to see how a guy I liked as a kid is doing for himself these days.
—Anne
I decided I should read more contemporary fiction and found this on a friend's bookshelf. I wasn't looking for anything difficult and was told it was a quick easy read. Perhaps I should have started with earlier books in the series, I don't know. But I found this to be bane and not nearly as good as I needed it to be. I struggled to get into it (but had nothing to substitute it with, so I kept it on). I wouldn't re-read it, though in my non-failing optimism, I may try and get my hands on one of the other books in the series, to see if there are any redeeming qualities. The best thing I can say at this point, is that the banter about then (1997) current events was refreshing.
—brandnewcycle
