English language
Published Aug. 8, 2003 by HarperTempest.
A sensitive British teenager records more highs and lows from his life in his diary.
Une lecture amusante sur un jeune adolescent anglais qui grandit au fil des livres. Parfois touchant, souvent juste, toujours drôle !
As the protagonist gets more mature, so do the themes of the book. The humour is now not so much derived from Adrian's naïveté, but from the situation he lives in. Indeed, he is growing up (going on 16) and is much less self-centered: while in the first book, the parents' exasperation was understandable in part, this time they are on a journey of constant, childish self-exploration, and caught in their insecurities and weaknesses. At the same time, Adrian tries his best to help out wherever he can, and so the way he is treated is more aggravating to the reader.
Therefore, it becomes more clear than in the first book that the story is really about life in England in the early nineteen-eighties, and particularly working-class life. It is much less funny, and more grim, quite in tune with the developments of the time. That makes it even more …
As the protagonist gets more mature, so do the themes of the book. The humour is now not so much derived from Adrian's naïveté, but from the situation he lives in. Indeed, he is growing up (going on 16) and is much less self-centered: while in the first book, the parents' exasperation was understandable in part, this time they are on a journey of constant, childish self-exploration, and caught in their insecurities and weaknesses. At the same time, Adrian tries his best to help out wherever he can, and so the way he is treated is more aggravating to the reader.
Therefore, it becomes more clear than in the first book that the story is really about life in England in the early nineteen-eighties, and particularly working-class life. It is much less funny, and more grim, quite in tune with the developments of the time. That makes it even more essential, especially for people that have experienced this period.
