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16th out of 95 books
—
7 voters
Adrian Mole and the Weapons of Mass Destruction (Adrian Mole #6)
by
Sue Townsend
“Townsend’s wickedly funny novels are another reason to be grateful for the right of free speech.”—San Francisco Chronicle
“Townsend is [a] comic genius.”—The Village Voice (a Top Shelf selection)
“The latest careening satire to emerge from Sue Townsend’s wickedly literary rocket launcher, combining love, politics and credit-card debacle into a not-to-be-missed novel.”—T...more
“Townsend is [a] comic genius.”—The Village Voice (a Top Shelf selection)
“The latest careening satire to emerge from Sue Townsend’s wickedly literary rocket launcher, combining love, politics and credit-card debacle into a not-to-be-missed novel.”—T...more
Paperback, 332 pages
Published
November 1st 2006
by Soho Press
(first published November 1st 2004)
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I enjoyed Weapons of Mass Destruction more than the next volume, The Prostrate Years. It featured Adrian at his obtuse best, from writing to Tony Blair for proof of WMDs so he can get his holiday deposit back from his travel agent, to buying and completely outfitting a new condo with a succession of store credit cards, to falling haplessly into a romance with no idea how to extricate himself, this is the Adrian Mole I've always enjoyed reading.
It may come from a smug sense of superiority that I'...more
It may come from a smug sense of superiority that I'...more
Adrian Mole is now 34 3/4 years old and as the story begins he has canceled his holiday in Cyprus because of Tony Blair’s warnings that Saddam Hussein’s weapons of mass destruction could target the island in 45 minutes. Unfortunately, his travel agent won’t refund his deposit until evidence of the WMDs is put forward. Soooo, true to form, Adrian writes a series of letters to Mr. Blair requesting that Mr. Blair provide this proof to said travel agent.
Although the war does bring a sad note to the...more
Although the war does bring a sad note to the...more
I remember reading the original Adrian Mole books when I was younger, starting with The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole; when I realised that the title said "Diary", and that Adrian Mole was a person, and the book was not about a mole who owned a secret dairy, I was a little disappointed but I found them nonetheless compelling.
It has been a while since I last read a book in this series, and realise I am somewhat behind in my reading of them; this book is set between 2002 and 2004, and as the title s...more
I liked the book but some things I really didn't like. Firstly the book seems to have skipped alot since the last one. William has gone to live with his mum and Adrian only mentioned him a handful of times. This really annoyed me becuase I loved William in the last book and Adrian seemed to as well and now he doesn't seem bothered that he is out of his life. He seems more focused on Glenn. The whole Marigold thing really wound me up. I just wanted to scream at him 'dump her'. She was very irrita...more
Oct 25, 2010
Margaret
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
general-fiction,
authors-tu
I don't know how she does it, but Townsend has kept Adrian Mole fresh, funny, and touching all these years, since The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13 3/4. Here Adrian is in his thirties, with two sons, one in the army, one in Africa with his mother; his relationship with the son in the army is particularly well-done, as Glenn goes to Iraq and Adrian, previously a supporter of the war, becomes uncertain of his feelings about it. As usual, Adrian gets into more messes than he can handle, roma...more
An elderly woman wearing a rabbit's paw brooch came in and complained that I had sold her Trainspotting by Irving Welsh as a Christmas present for her 76-year-old railway enthusiast husband.
She said, 'It's nothing but filth and Scottish words. My husband had to double his blood pressure tablets after reading it.'
I swapped it for Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie.
Much more enjoyable than the last couple of Adrian Mole books. Adrian is now 34, working in a bookshop and no longer encu...more
She said, 'It's nothing but filth and Scottish words. My husband had to double his blood pressure tablets after reading it.'
I swapped it for Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie.
Much more enjoyable than the last couple of Adrian Mole books. Adrian is now 34, working in a bookshop and no longer encu...more
Maybe it's because I'm much older now. Perhaps I've grown to be such a cynic. Maybe I'm just sooo jaded with age.
But I don't find this instalment of Adrian Mole's diary anything near hilarious. Not even of the snigger-to-yourself variety. This Adrian Mole is just sad.
Don't get me wrong, I read the first two diaries when I was 16 - which is ages ago. I found those two horrendously funny. Now that I am (according to Mole) past middle-age, I find Adrian Mole akin to Mr. Bean, albeit a talking, writ...more
But I don't find this instalment of Adrian Mole's diary anything near hilarious. Not even of the snigger-to-yourself variety. This Adrian Mole is just sad.
Don't get me wrong, I read the first two diaries when I was 16 - which is ages ago. I found those two horrendously funny. Now that I am (according to Mole) past middle-age, I find Adrian Mole akin to Mr. Bean, albeit a talking, writ...more
I feel like I've grown up with Adrian Mole. I've been following his exploits since I was 13 years old, and as a character fixed in time, he's a year or two older than me.
This book chronicles Adrian's life in 2003, age 34, with the backdrop of the war in Iraq. He worries about his 17-year-old son, who has joined the army and has been deployed to Kuwait, he struggles with a debt problem that's spiralling out of control, and still his love life is as disastrous as ever - he's trying to extricate hi...more
This book chronicles Adrian's life in 2003, age 34, with the backdrop of the war in Iraq. He worries about his 17-year-old son, who has joined the army and has been deployed to Kuwait, he struggles with a debt problem that's spiralling out of control, and still his love life is as disastrous as ever - he's trying to extricate hi...more
Jul 26, 2011
Matti Karjalainen
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
favorites,
kotikirjasto,
huumori,
ihmissuhteet,
aikuiset,
2000-luku,
päiväkirjat,
nyt-on-mies,
gbr-kans
Sue Townsendin ""Adrian Mole ja järisyttävät joukkotuhoaseet"" (WSOY, 2008) jatkaa hersyvän humorististen päiväkirjojen sarjaa, jotka tulivat suomalaisillekin lukijoille tutuksi 1980-luvulla ("Mikä tsäkä, Hadrianus" ja niin edespäin).
Teinipojasta on kasvanut kirjasarjan myötä vähän yli kolmikymppinen mies. Adrianin elämässä oikein mikään ei tunnu toimivan niin kuin pitäisi, olipa kyse sitten dysfunktionaalisesta lukupiiristä tai uuden loft-asunnon äänieristyksestä. Suhteet niin entisiin kuin nyk...more
Teinipojasta on kasvanut kirjasarjan myötä vähän yli kolmikymppinen mies. Adrianin elämässä oikein mikään ei tunnu toimivan niin kuin pitäisi, olipa kyse sitten dysfunktionaalisesta lukupiiristä tai uuden loft-asunnon äänieristyksestä. Suhteet niin entisiin kuin nyk...more
A friend from whom I was asking some advice said, seeing as I keep a diary and am incredibly self-examinatory, I should read the Adrian Mole books. I never read them as a child, but I thought I'd give them a go, however the only one at Newtown Library was this, the most recent one. Seeing as in it the protagonist was about my age I thought that perhaps it was a sign that this would, despite not being the beginning, be a good place for me to start, so I did.
It's ok - light, and surprisingly conse...more
It's ok - light, and surprisingly conse...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
This installment is not a standout or even close to being my favourite of the Adrian Mole books.
To be fair, there are some great moments of pure Adrian hilarity. "A swan can break a man's arm. y'know." There are also moments of sweetness and tenderness that aren't really in the first few books.
As with The Wilderness Years, Townsend leaves us with the feeling, that maybe, just this once, Adrian might have found happiness at the end.
Adrian Albert Mole maybe a grownup. but he still hasn't truly gr...more
To be fair, there are some great moments of pure Adrian hilarity. "A swan can break a man's arm. y'know." There are also moments of sweetness and tenderness that aren't really in the first few books.
As with The Wilderness Years, Townsend leaves us with the feeling, that maybe, just this once, Adrian might have found happiness at the end.
Adrian Albert Mole maybe a grownup. but he still hasn't truly gr...more
A fitting wrap-up of the life of Adrian Mole, British Diarist. One could almost believe he may become happy at some time in the future. The problems plaguing Mr. Mole in this volume are slightly more age-appropriate and believable. The book is heavier than previous editions, owing to the fact that Adrian's son, Glenn is in the British armed forces, stationed in Iraq. This is a true weight on Adrian, one that was not caused by his own bumbling ineffectualness, but that of someone much more culpab...more
After the first book, a huge disappointment. While the secret diary of the 13 1/2 year-old kept a constant grin on my face, this diary of a middle-aged loser didn't draw as much as a faint smile. Lots of awkward situations, which seems to be a staple of British humor, but not too much beyond that. I might go back to reading the "Growing Pains of A.M." or another earlier one.
These are always good for a laugh. Read most of them over the years, but missed this one. Have been reading about Adrian Mole since I was in school myself, so kind of grown up with him.
This one seems better than the previous one I read - he winds up in debt and with a lightly unhinged fiancé named Marigold. I found her character amusing. Actually a pretty good match for him as he's pretty questionable himself at times.
This one seems better than the previous one I read - he winds up in debt and with a lightly unhinged fiancé named Marigold. I found her character amusing. Actually a pretty good match for him as he's pretty questionable himself at times.
If number 5 was proof that Adrian Mole should of been left in the 80's then this confirms it. It lacks the humour of the other books and is quite poorley written the characters have not evolved over the twenty year gap from number one and what charactistics are endearing in the first few instalments just are not in this one.
Adrian at 34 & 3 quarters is his usual conflicted self--trying to get out of a pending marriage with Marigold, going madly into debt to buy a lifestyle, supporting Tony Blair in the war on Iraq, fighting off the attacking swans outside his loft on Rat Wharf in Leicester.
Sue Townsend writes really funny books.
Sue Townsend writes really funny books.
Leave it to Adrian Mole to have the most definitive, hilarious, and poignant final word on life in the first half of the first decade of the 21st century. From unrequited Tony Blair love, to Iraq, to mass real-estate & consumer debt...social issues have never been dealt with quite so brilliantly.
okay book. Easy read. Idea behind the Title is a novel one. Crap finish though. As though the author suddenly decided right enoughs enough. I still marvel at how one person can have so much go wrong with their life. If nothing else made me feel a little happier about where I am.
I have loved all the Adrian mole books...Adrian is like the slightly odd cousin whom you don't see very often but absolutely love it on the occasions you do meet up! Sue Townsend writes it them so cleverly .i always look Forward to the next instalment.
Once again, I have started a series backwards. Take Bridgit Jones Diary add a little Alexander McCall-Smith and a pinch of Christopher Moore and you have Adrian Mole. I can hardly wait to read the next-to-last book in this series. Clever and funny.
I've loved these books. One of the few comic authors that makes me guffaw (loudly and embarrassingly
I've found it very addictive, in fact, i think the same about every other Adrian Mole diaries that I've read so far. It also refers, along all the extension of it's pages, to a lot of personalities related to literature, politics, etc
I'm really happy to have discovered Sue Townsend. (Thanks Haven!) Adrian Mole is a sort of literary misfit, but you just can't help loving him and all his crazy faults. I'd recommend this book to everyone. It is a great read and I had a lot of fun laughing while reading it.
A welcome revisit to Adrian Mole - now in his thirties but still reaping the results of his lack of assertiveness and naivety. Funny and rather poignant in parts, with some strong political points made.
A beautiful addition to the series. I find I'm relating more strongly to Adrian as he grows older I(imagine that!). Not ashamed to say that I teared up at the end of this one. Long live Adrian Mole!
Jul 30, 2011
Rachel
added it
I really really enjoyed this. It's years since I read a Mole book! I loved the ending, how nice.
It made me chuckle - not laugh out loud except for one bit (can't remember which.) Great fun.
It made me chuckle - not laugh out loud except for one bit (can't remember which.) Great fun.
Adrian is a poxy, neurotic, and hilarious as ever. Glenn's in the army. William's in Nigeria with JoJo and Adrian's back living with his parents and working at a used book store. He buys a loft apartment with a convenience check from his credit card that sends him into a debt spiral that only Adrian could ignore. Somehow (this is Adrian) he's been talked into marrying a manipulative hypochondriac, even though he's in love with her sister.
Oh, and there's a war going on! Could Blair be mistaken ab...more
Oh, and there's a war going on! Could Blair be mistaken ab...more
Definitely back on form with this one. Some very funny moments in the bookshop (the "Trainspotting" incident - very funny), and his son Glen's letters from Iraq are very touching.
I didn't think these books could get any better but Adrian's battle with the swan he calls Gielgud is as funny as his hopeless handling of women. Sue Townsend is a genius.
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Susan Lillian "Sue" Townsend is a British novelist, best known as the author of the Adrian Mole series of books. Her writing tends to combine comedy with social commentary, though she has written purely dramatic works as well. She has suffered from diabetes for many years, a...more
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Susan Lillian "Sue" Townsend is a British novelist, best known as the author of the Adrian Mole series of books. Her writing tends to combine comedy with social commentary, though she has written purely dramatic works as well. She has suffered from diabetes for many years, a...more
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