The True Confessions of Adrian Albert Mole, Margaret Hilda Roberts and Susan Lilian Townsend

I had the feeling, as I settled in to reading True Confessions of Adrian Albert Mole, that Sue Townsend had a number of ideas for sequences, but none of them quite fit into a full-length novel. Thus this entry. That's not a complaint, but the book is not entirely Adrian, and Adrian's sequences skip spaces of time. The book starts just about where the second one left off, and then segues into essays set up as radio broadcasts, permeated with Adrian's trademark self-delusion. Then Sue Townsend offers several pieces based on her own life, the most amusing being about her love of England. The final segment consists of a "newly-discovered" set of diary pages from one Margaret Hilda Roberts. The conceit is that they are undated, but are suspected to be from the early years of WWII. This is the weakest portion of the book, because Margaret is tremendously unlikeable and the writing lacks the humor that infuses Adrian's sequences.

The Mole section takes up the bulk of the book and covers a five-year period. It begins in December 1984, when he's 16years old and is studying for his A-Levels. (He's obviously been reasonably successful in his O-Levels and CSEs, then). However, it's a little different in style to the 'The Secret Diary' and 'The Growing Pains' - it's only partly written in diary format, and it also includes a spot of poetry, his talks given on radio and a couple of letters between Adrian and Barry Kent. (Barry is, for a spell, residing at Her Majesty's Pleasure and has now learnt how to read and write. He's now writing some poetry and - unlike the crap Adrian produces - it's actually quite promising. He's even known as Baz the Skinhead Poet in certain circles). Adrian is also still corresponding with his American penpal, Hamish Mancini - at one point, he has ask Hamish for the return of his diaries. While the book sees some big changes in Adrian 's life, some things have remain constant : he still enjoys reading 'The Beano', is still obsessed with the Norwegian Leather Industry and his love for Pandora Braithwaite. (Pandora, on the other hand, is possibly starting to catch herself about Adrian . Where Adrian deludes himself that he's an intellectual, Pandora is academically gifted...so, the pair's post A-Level life might just prove a little strained). The Sue Townsend and Margaret Roberts sections are much shorter than the Mole section - though the Sue Townsend section follows a similar format to what has come before. There's a diary from a two week holiday in Majorca, a brief report covering a trip to Russia with a group of other writers and a couple of pages on why she likes England. The Margaret Roberts slot, on the other hand, follows the 'traditional' Mole diary format. (While nothing is officially known of what happened to Ms Roberts, it can only be a coincidence that Margaret Thatcher's maiden name was Roberts). Our heroine is obscenely hard working at school and - like her father, a hard working grocer - she frowns upon socialists. (She particularly despises two disgusting working-class oiks called Ginger Shinnock and Roy Batterfree). She doesn't have many friends - only, really, a renegade boyfriend called Cecil Parkhurst - and she frowns upon Edwina Slurry, her main rival at school. (She also has some trouble with a horrible, working class cyclist with shifty eyes called Tebbit). While a fortune teller claims Margaret is going to be most powerful woman in the land, there is also trouble ahead. I've slightly mixed feelings about this book...more from Adrian Mole is always a good thing, but somehow cramming five years into half a book seems a bit of a waste. I also would have preferred another Adrian Mole diary - the change in style didn't really work so well for me. (The Margaret Roberts diary, on the other hand, I did enjoy a great deal). Strangely, it was Townsend's own section I liked the least, although I'm not entirely sure why...Recommended over

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.