Adrian Mole and the Weapons of Mass Destruction
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| Author | Sue Townsend |
|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Series | Adrian Mole |
| Genre(s) | adult novel |
| Publisher | Michael Joseph |
| Released | 7 October 2004 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 352 pp (first edition, hardback) |
| ISBN | ISBN 0718146891 (first edition, hardback) |
| Preceded by | Adrian Mole: The Cappuccino Years |
| Followed by | none |
Published in 2004 by Penguin Books, Adrian Mole and the Weapons of Mass Destruction is the sixth and most recent Adrian Mole novel by Sue Townsend. It is set in 2002 and Adrian is 33¾ years of age. The life of the protagonist is covered for one year, with a short epilogue that jumps to a time one year later (to 2004). The title of the book refers to Iraq's apparently non-existent weapons of mass destruction that were used as justification for the Iraq War. This is a recurring theme throughout the book, and bears true to the series' penchant for satire of contemporary social and political issues.
Contents |
[edit] Plot summary
The story also deals with an issue that has affected Sue Townsend directly: a long-term diabetic, she was registered blind in 2001. Adrian Mole and the Weapons of Mass Destruction was typed by Townsend's husband from dictation.
The novel is a bestseller due to the series' dedicated fan base, and has met with critical acclaim. Critics have praised the novel for its fine combination of sitcom-style humour with an underlying element of tragedy and pathos. Some consider it less comical and darker than the previous installment, Adrian Mole: The Cappuccino Years. It has been suggested that the character of Adrian Mole is becoming stale as he approaches middle age. Critics claim that his immature and angst-ridden personality has lost its appeal as he approaches middle-age, where it was endearing in a younger man.
The character of Adrian Mole arguably matures as this novel progresses. He seems to become more realistic about his life and concentrates on his present problems, rather than half-realised aspirations of fame and literary success. Sue Townsend has confirmed that this is the last installment of the Adrian Mole series. The book thus concludes the Adrian Mole universe.
Adrian Mole works in a book shop and he likes his job. His son Glen entered the army and was sent at his eighteen birhtday to Iraq. William lives now with his mother in Nigeria, Adrian somteimes called William, both miss each other. At the beginning of the book, Adrian had an affair with Marigold,but their realtionship was only based on sexual feelings. Later Adrain felt in love with Marigolds elder sister Daisy,they love each other and at the end of the book they were married and had a daughter. Their realtionship wasn´t always quite good, because they quarrel often about their political opinions. There is no doubt that Adrian is still in love with his first love Pandora, but the faith had now future for them. Pandora write an autobiographie about her life and Adrian had to arrange a autogram hour for her in his book shop. There Daisy and Pandora met for the first time.
[edit] Characters
[edit] Bruce "Brainbox" Henderson
Bruce was Adrian's old schoolmate in the the first book. He was very clever although he couldn't grasp more philosophical concepts and dealt mainly with numbers. He never seemed to have many friends and was always seen with a calculator in his hand. He later worked for Idio Tech, who specialize in 'technology for idiots'. He was attracted to Marigold and seemed to really like her. At the end of the book they got married.
[edit] Nigel
Nigel is Adrian's best friend. During the course of the novel he becomes blind, which is interesting because Sue Townsend was blind at the time of writing the book. Unfortunately he has to give up working as a media analyst due to his condition, since this job essentially involves reading newspapers. Due to this and his situation in general, he becomes depressed and short-tempered. He often snaps at Adrian and is rude and contemptuous to him, despite Adrian's attempts to involve him in his writer's workshop and cheer him up. He is awarded a guide dog due to his condition.
[edit] Robbie Dobbie
The best friend of Adrian's son Glenn and in the British army. He serves in Iraq and enjoys reading. He becomes friends with Adrian by exchanging letters. Adrian is keen to further his interest and sends him several books to read. He is killed in a bomb explosion near the end of the book, which upsets Adrian greatly.
[edit] Marigold Flowers
For a while she is Adrian's girlfriend and later "supposed" fiance, but in reality he loves her less each day. Adrian became engaged to her was because of her forceful Dad. Marigold is described as needy, hysterical, mentally and emotionally unstable and a hypochondriac. She seems to always expect to get what she wants and proves to be manipulate Adrian. She is also very safety conscious. She even lies that she is pregnant with Adrian's child as a final attempt to marry him. At the end, she marries Bruce "Brainbox" Henderson.
[edit] Daisy Flowers
Marigold's attractive sister, said to resemble Nigella Lawson. Although briefly attached to her sister when they meet, Adrian soon realizes all the terrible qualities of Marigold. Adrian seemed to like Daisy at first sight and thought of her as a lot more beautiful than Marigold and eventually forms a serious relationship with Daisy, and the short epilogue at the end of the book indicates that they have married and had a daughter, Gracie.
[edit] Pandora Braithwaite
Adrian's childhood sweetheart. There are some indications in the scattered through the novel that Adrian is still in love with her, as he was throughout most of the books. Pandora also sent text messages to him saying she loved him but did that only when she was "drunk." Pandora, since The Cappuccino Years has been the New Labour MP for Ashby-de-la-Zouch, and in this installment resigns her role as a prominent Parliamentary Private Secretary due to her disagreement with the government's invasion of Iraq in 2003, though she remains an MP.
