Rating: 
Summary: Another mountain for Mole
Review: Sequels rarely live up to expectations. This is the 6th book in the series and they are getting better. This book, like the others is in diary form and it follows Adrian through his thirties as he becomes more insecure and his family become more dysfunctional on a daily basis. The book is simply witten and that is it's attraction. Their is no hidden agenda here just the diary of an angst ridden man who is divorced from his Nigerian wife, accidentally becomes a celebrity chef, and his real love Pandora is on her way to becoming an MP. You finish every page wanting to know what happens the following day, but when the book is finished there is a feeling of sadness, as if a friend has gone away and your not sure of their return. Adrian Mole is a true English hero. Buy it but don't read it on the train....you'll miss your stop.
Rating:
Summary: The Blair Project seen from Ashby-de-la-Zouch
Review: Sue Townsend is a marvelous writer. With this character, Adrian Mole, that she has been following since his puberty, we have a funny, and satirical, yet very kind vision of England over the last thirty years. In this volume Adrian Mole suffers a loss of profession, a debut on Cable TV, a debut, with a ghost writer, in publishing, a divorce, a case of DNA-decided new son, and many other adventures, including the burning of his brand-new gift house. But the naivete and the apparent silliness of the character covers a deeper vision of society. The vision is this time very satirical, even if most of the time at a third or fourth level. He witnesses the arrival of Tony Blair and the first year or so of this new English politician. The man is new, the party is not, the solutions are not, just the man and the language, including a certain dimension of sexual innuendo to capture attention and obedience. Through the many pages of this diary, all kinds of typical English traits are presented, always defended, or nearly, but in such a way that we know there must be at least five tongues in ten cheeks. And that is probably the best aspect of this book. It is the tone of Laurence Sterne and his Sentimental Journey, though in this latter case France was at stake. But we have the same style and the same treatment of the matter. Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, Paris Universities II and IX.
Rating: 
Summary: Brilliantly clueless
Review: Sue Townsend's great success in creating the character of Adrian Mole has been to come up with a boy (and eventually, a man) who--despite having gone through the normal trials of growing up, falling in and out of love, fatherhood, divorce, and so on--never, ever really "gets it." Adrian Mole is truly extraordinary in terms of his near-genius talent for cluelessness while still remaining remarkably sympathetic. The reader has a relieved sense of "That could have been me" through much of "Adrian Mole: The Cappucino Years." Adrian has grown into a 30-year old man who is divorced and has a humiliating job as a chef and host of a cooking show by the hilarious title of "Offally Good!" He doesn't understand (or particularly want to understand) his young son William, and he remains appalled at his bad fortune to be born into a family he considers to be beneath him. Adrian is, full on and fully realized, the person any of us could be if we'd stubbornly refused to learn from any of our mistakes.
Rating: 
Summary: witless, humourless, hopeless
Review: The early "Mole" books had some element of originality and wit concerning the perception of Middle Class, Middle England, suburban life. There were even moments of real originality. BUT, in this latest offering, any sign of those edifying features has gone, gone completely. What is left is an extremely lazy listing of trite, unfunny references to Blairous Britain and a dreary descrition of the life of a 30 year old with every cliche-ridden comment on life that any Political Commentator would be ashamed of. Just read Boris Johnson, for example, to get an idea of nos jours as seen with someone with at least some style. A complete waste of money
Rating:
Summary: Comedy at its Very Best
Review: The major difference between British and American comedey is that the former is wry, full of self-loathing and very witty. This book takes you on a journey in the life of life's biggest losers. Someone, you know can't very will exist in this world, but also know that he may very well be your next door neighbor, your cousin or heck maybe you, yourself.Adrian Mole is every person's nightmare. A person you really want to pity, but can't very well waste your emotions on. He goes on with his life, with no motivation and no control but still manages to survive by the skin of his teeth. What is even more incredulous is the fact that he just keeps moving along as if nothing completely happened and there's nothing seriously wrong with things. It's his complete lack of insight that the reader can find quite funny indeed. He lives mainly on dreams of what he wished for himself, the way he thought life should be and the fact that life is completely giving him the backhand on his every endeavour. A lot of the mistakes he moves through seem never to leave a mark on him. He just never learns and continues to live in his fantasy life. This could be completely absurd, but through it all, it is THE most funniest thing anyone can set eyes and is rightfully enjoyful. With regard to the story telling. the book is in diary form and the reader gets to see life in the eyes of Adrian. The narration is simple, witty and at times thought provoking. You see how Adrian sees his life and how life actually sees him. The reader gets to experience different major events and how they affect Adrian's outlook on things. The election of Tony Blair as PM, the Diana tragedy and the funniest of them all, the Clinton scandal. Adrian is very vocal (it's his diary, you know) when it comes to these things and his opinions on them are really worth the whole read. The author, Sue Townsend, seems very capable of handling the life of a guy. At times, when Adrian's losing streak seems to be churning like a choo choo train ahead, a person might actually think, whether this is how women see men's lives. But is that sexism? I guess only a person who reads the book from cover to cover and truly finds the point of it all can answer that very question. Or maybe you're Sue Townsend and know the answer to that. This is quite a good book, with a number of laugh out loud comedey situations (I'm not a person who laughs when reading a book, but this one seemed to manage to get some out of me). It's well-written with good prose. The language has been edited, yet you never lose the essence of the story and its concept. The book is also a fast read, which you just can't put down. I savor my books, taste them when I read, but when it came to this one, I just couldn't get enough of it and truly wanted to know what was going to happen. The book leaves you with a very light heart and good feel in your soul. My finishing of it also coincided with the happy moment of a close relation of mine giving birth. I would like to wish the couple my sincerest congratulations and love with their newborn. What would I give them for a gift? In my happy mood, who knows? It could very well be a copy of Adrian Mole: The Cappuccino Years. Let's just hope the boy doesn't turn out to be like him.
Rating:
Summary: A great comical book
Review: When I was in my early teens, I attempted to read Adrian Mole aged 13 and 1/4 or was it a 1/2. I unfortunately did not understand the humour at that point and found the book rather ummmmmm unsatisfying. I decided to give Adrian's character another chance with the Cappuccino years and I am extremely impressed. There were occasions where I burst out laughing (Ah---tish----shooo). I live in Johannesburg South Africa and still am able to identify with the humour, not only as far as the political situation, but Adrian's character as a whole. This is highly recommended to anyone searching for a lighthearted escape.
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