Mr Bean's Diary

by Robin Driscoll, Rowan Atkinson

The silent TV character, in the tradition of Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton, finally expresses his innermost thoughts. And they are as bizarre as we expected in this ridiculous narrative of a weirdly funny year.

Genres: Fiction, Humor, Comedy, Diary, Childrens

Paperback

First published October 29, 1992

Reviews

[Leigh Collazo · Rating 4 out of 5]

HUH-LAR-EE-YUS! Laugh-out-loud funny! Like Diary of a Wimpy Kid for adults. Language is clean and nothing obscene. Might be a good addition to the library, but I don't know if my students know who Mr. Bean is or if they like him.

[Angie Fehl · Rating 4 out of 5]

*This review is based on my 1993 edition of this book. A second edition was released in 2010

First published in the UK in 1993, Mr. Bean's Diary is the result of teamwork between Robin Driscoll (British actor / writer for the Mr. Bean show) and Mr. Bean himself, Rowan Atkinson. Here, fans of the show will get a peek into Bean's daily scheduler, which offers hilarious insight into his wacky psyche (not to mention his wild inventions!).

Sometimes there's some cutesy humor -- Bean having a brief flirtation with the idea of marriage, so he decides to stalk a librarian who catches his eye. Then there's a darker vein of humor, almost in the style of the Ace Ventura "LACES OUT!" bit. There's also some trouble with the police thrown in. One of my favorites was Bean's trip to a psychic medium, where he tries to connect with his mother to ask her where the plunger is so he can unclog the sink (funny, but in a way also rings a little sad). He also mentions posing a question to Charles Dickens regarding his novel Edwin Drood, to which the apparent reply was "Haven't made up my mind yet." :-P Longtime fans of the show will also see plenty of nods to classic content, such as Bean's love of Shirley Bassey and of course regularly avoiding interaction with the landlord Mrs. Wicket.

The attention to detail on each individual page is quite impressive. It's fun to spot things such as tea stains, blood splatters, passport photos of the back of Bean's head LOL, pressed insects. There's even one page layout that features a pressed flower on one side with faint flower residue on the other!

Some of my favorite entries:

* His telephone directory in the front: "God -- Everywhere (Literally, apparently)"

* Has a bad day, writes "Whiskey is lovely" in squiggly, run-off cursive.
* Jan. 19th: "12:15 Lunch in park. 12:25 Left park (too much poo)"
* Feb 15-23 blank entries, Feb 24th "FOUND DIARY!"
* July 27th: "Scream ---> Pull Self Together"
* "Christmas Day, 1992: "3pm -- The Queen"

Also be sure to check out the bonus flip book in the upper right hand corner featuring Bean's car!

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

Far more intriguing than a book called 'Mr Bean's Diary' deserves to be.

[Jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am torn on this book. I get it's a diary and it's not meant to be much of a storyline - but I almost thought it would be funnier if that makes sense? Still a cool read though.

[Jonathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

After reading this, I can only conclude that Mr. Bean is a psychopath.

[Claude · Rating 5 out of 5]

Genuinely, the funniest book I have ever read. I actually got worried I’d wake up my family with how loud I was laughing when I was reading this late at night.
Everyone should read this if they manage to stumble across a copy.

[Laura · Rating 1 out of 5]

There isn't much to say about this book. It didn't hit the high points I was looking forward to. I had 2 moments of a giggle and that was it. Half the time I couldn't read the his writing as it was written in handwriting.
It was built up to me to be the funniest book and I was really disappointed. I wouldn't recommend it. If you do decide to give it a go I hope you find more pages than I to create the giggles.

[JeanieR · Rating 4 out of 5]

Diary with typical Mr. Bean's hilarious ideas and jokes.

[Anna]

I love this book but I don't know how to read them

[Pontiki · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gobs of fun, from the entries to the drawings at the top to the letters from the city council and other paraphernalia.

Mr. Bean is an institute to himself, brilliantly made and played by Rowan Atkinson. Even in this written piece, his character comes through, with his HATE HATE and scribbles, and his crossing out of exercise routines, and even losing his journal for a few days.

Great fun, easy read, Bean all the way.

[Gerald Matzke · Rating 4 out of 5]

While this a basically silly book, Mr. Bean is a basically silly character. For those who have enjoyed the Mr. Bean TV series, this diary is hilarious. There are several story lines in this desk calendar format including several drawings that illustrate his sometimes devious plans. The top margin also includes a flip-pix of a familiar scene from the old series. Fans of Mr. Bean will have fun paging through this little book.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my fave books as a kid, and picking this up again 30ish years later didn't disappoint. Why is this high art, to me??? Bean reflecting "nagging thoughts (re: my origins)" on 15 Sep and then a week later "I've a funny feeling my birthday was last Wednesday". And back in March he's ripped out a newspaper clipping for his Virgo horoscope; further evidence. The mixed media, the doodles, the little narrative threads... I fear it's a comedic masterpiece.

[Joe Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Mr Bean!

[Lisbeth Mizula · Rating 5 out of 5]

Something silly for the dreary homebound. Best read with a large pile of cookies.

[Sanket Samant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilarious!

[Eleonora Zaupa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Altre avventure dell'iconico personaggio comico.

[Kajol (faeries.alley) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Will share review shortly.

[Dan Avalon]

raffle ticket joke is genius

[Calum Galasso · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like it it's funny when he says oops sorry I spilled my coffee on the book and it actually has like a color of coffee but dry on the paper four stars it's four stars because

[Craig Group · Rating 4 out of 5]

This guys is a psychopath

[Alex Clarke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilarious book!

[Nowni · Rating 5 out of 5]

No notes. Pure hysteriaaa. He's a mad man.

[Jerry]

review text for 4392

[JD Waggy · Rating 2 out of 5]

...what in hell did I just read?

A coworker loaned this to me, singing its praises about it being so incredibly hilarious I wouldn't be able to put it down. It's literally a year's agenda, covered over and scribbled in in a style that reminded me of Amelia's Notebook, but for adults. And it was funny; there are some outrageous poems in here and the ongoing feud with the Man in No. 3 is quite entertaining. The thing that knocked it down from three stars to two for me is the violence. I never in a million years thought that would be something I would balk at, but there were several "entries" of maiming and murdering and stabbing and such that weren't funny anymore, they were just sad.

That said, the layout of the book and the graphics to make it seem as though there were truly pressed flowers in the pages and various other pieces stuck in were incredibly well done. It was a quick, entertaining read--but I'm not sure I can return my coworker's enthusiasm about it.

[Haruhi Hyodo · Rating 4 out of 5]

1. Penguin readers
2. 24/06/2016: 40min
29/06/2016: 40min
3. stupid, crazy, silent, America, gallery, funny, strange
4. The man who called by everyone "Mr. Bean is very strange and unique. He went to America, and he caused a lot of accidents. For example, at the airport he pretended to get a gun to a police. Police said to him get off your gun with police's gun. However, he did not have it. He made fun of them. A lot of police were angry. He do not speak but is very interesting.
5. This is comedy and strange. I recommend this book because it is attractive and exciting. You must not be attracted this book.

[MisterFweem · Rating 5 out of 5]

A long-time fan of Mr. Bean steps up to say this book is brilliant, even if it weren't by Mr. Bean. What a fun way to tell an odd story of an odd man having what appears to be a typical year. Who is the mysterious Man in No. 3? Will G. Gummer get the beating he so richly deserves? And will anyone ever do anything about all that poo in the park? Well, probably not. But we can have fun along the way as Mr. Bean keeps us up to date with his bizarre little world.

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Haha, I wouldn't mind having a sequel to this; I loved his vendetta against the "Man in No. 3". Some parts made me laugh out loud as I was reading them. Very short and entertaining to read, especially his "poetry". Even now I'm still laughing thinking of it. Good old Rowan Atkinson.

[Lahni Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Funny guy.

[Ben · Rating 5 out of 5]

I remember laughing my ass off when I picked this up a few years ago. Then again, Imma huge Bean fan

[Rajas · Rating 5 out of 5]

I THINK THIS BOOK IS NEW AND I ONE THIS BOOK