Adrian Mole, the Lost Years

Firstly I wanted to clarify for people that might want to know, exactly how this series runs. I have bought and read all the books in the Adrian Mole series and I was dissappointed not to find anywhere to tell me which ones to get. So as a result I have them all. US Versions The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 3/4 The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole Adrian Mole: The Lost Years Adrian Mole: The Cappuccino Years Adrian Mole and the Weapons of Mass Destruction British Versions The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 3/4 The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole True Confessions of Adrian Albert Mole Adrian Mole: From Minor To Major Adrian Mole: The Wilderness Years Adrian Mole: The Cappuccino Years Adrian Mole and the Weapons of Mass Destruction So, as for the review these books are great. I love the entire series and I just couldn't stop reading them all the way to the end. The one thing I might suggest is to keep in mind that with most series of books the first is always the best, which is probably the case here too, but if you like it and are a fan of Adrian Mole, there is no reason why you wouldn't want to read the rest. I like the fact that is it written in diary form for easy reading and it is very clever how the story is told from the point of view of Adrian himself but you can see things about his life that he cannot. Overall an excellent read for all ages from teen to adult.

The wry youth who sometimes signs his diary "Adrian Albert Mole, Unpublished novelist and pedestrian" is back.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

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.

This is my favoriute of the Mole books,(so far)!I have raed every one besides Cappochino Years.I think this is a cool book because Adrian has grown up and become more independent. Even though this is in a series if you are a newcomer to the series, it is written well enough so that you will be able to follow.But, still check out the other Mole books!

The only reason that I am giving this book 4 stars instead of 5 is because I feel that only the original Secret Diary, being a cult classic, is worthy of that honor. With that said, I would urge anyone reading this review to read the Lost Years, particularly if they are familiar with the original Secret Diary. I grew up in the United Kingdom at about the same time period as the original diaries were set, and being a teenager myself then, I found the original work inspiring and insightful. Moreover, when read years later, one sees humor revealed that would have been unappreciated when originally read as a teenager. Having moved to the United States and having gone through high school and college, I lost touch with the works of Sue Townsend, and it was only by chance that I happened to spot the Lost Years at a bookstore, and decided to give it a read. The character Adrian Mole, now a single 20-something struggling with his role in society and his own personal failures and quirks, has grown up with me, remaining a reflection on my hopes and dreams as well as that of other "Gen X-ers." In the Lost Years, there is certainly a darker tone than in the Secret Diary or the Growing Pains, but this is more an accurate reflection of the character growing up. Throughout the novel, Adrian Mole struggles with his past, unrealistic expectations of himself, as well as the constantly shifting and evolving relationships he has with characters from his teenage years, such as Pandora, Barry Kent, and his parents. Throughout, Adrian's Peter Pan complex, where he refuses to let go of this past and refuses to grow and change, is the source of virtually all the conflict and tension in the book. The ending was in effect the symbolic death of Adrian's past, and was genuinely moving and hopeful. My only (very minor) complaint is with the ending, since it is Adrian's personality which gives the book its humor as well as its conflict, and it will thus be interesting to see if future Diaries will be able to maintain this humor while allowing Adrian Mole to grow as a person in light of the apparant, final change at the end. Still, a smashing novel.