Adrian Mole and The Weapons of Mass Destruction – Comments by Nurton

This book is the perfect publication for which to start our club with. Not only does the concept of a readers group feature throughout the second half of the book, but Adrian Mole, by his own admission is an Intellectual.

This was the second time that I had had the opportunity to read this superbly entertaining book. I first read it when it was published soon after the beginning of the Iraq war. If you are familiar with Sue Townend’s other books in the Adrian Mole series then you will soon realise that this book has been written with a massive political sub agenda which is something she has never done before to such an extent. You certainly get the feeling that she resurrected the character because she felt that it was the best way that she could express her distain for the current state of the nation.

Amazingly despite this obvious political message overhanging the book, it still remains a book that makes you look like a crazed idiot when reading it in public places. I don’t know why, but people look at you in a very strange way when you burst into spontaneous laughter in the middle of a packed commuter train 15 times within 15 minutes on the commute into work. It really is that funny in places!

A few of my favourite bits are:

- Gielgud the swan
- Daisy
- Pandora being humble (slightly)
- The piggery
- The comedy aspect of huge personal debt.

For an Adrian Mole diary I really can’t think of anything that could have been better about it. The best bit by far is that it manages to extract real emotion from you at the end. If you read it you will know why!