The Queen and I- Sue Townsend

If you love Adrian Mole, then you will certainly love The Queen and I- and I am certainly one for that! Definitely has uplifted my weekend after reading that dreadful The Picture of Dorian Gray.

Synopsis:
It's 1992 and election time in April. The Republicans have won the majority of places in Parliament and have elected their PM, Jack Barker. As an anti-royalist party, their first action is to disband the Royal family, kick them out of Buckingham Palace, and move them into a council estate- from the sounds of it probably in Yorkshire from the way people talk! A story into how they deal with settling in to their new lives. Absolutely hilarious.

I love how so many references are made to the family members. The two I know most about are Diana and Charles (or Diana and Charlie Teck) so I find it brilliant when certain references, ie appearances (Charlies large ears) and their affairs, are made.

Definetely one to recommend and will certainly look into reading more of her books.

Books I must read

The Queen and I
The God Delusion
The Cider House Rules
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Captain Corelli's Mandolin
Empire of the Sun
Enduring Cuba
The Book Thief
The Long Walk
The Road
The White Tiger
Small Island
Dissolution
The Lovely Bones
The Olive Grove- Travels in Greece
Second Chance- Jodi Piccoult
Choke
Sacred Hearts
Lord of the Flies
Dying to Please
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas
Her Fearful Symmetry
The Secret Diary of Anne Frank- would like to read again
Catch 22
Pride and Prejudice
Catcher in the Rye
War & Peace
The Bell Jar
Harry Potter Series
Great Expectations
True Blood series
Alice in Wonderland
Through the Looking Glass
A Brief Guide to Greek Myths
The Iliad and the Odyssey



Updated on the 22nd March 2010

The Picture of Dorian Gray- Oscar Wilde

Well after all of the books that I have read thus far since September, this was certainly the most disappointing one to date. I'd seen the adverts for the film on tv at the end of last year and it looked quite good. Really, I prefer to read the book than watch the film, but this was the most boring book I've had to plough through since Life of Pi and I had to give up on that one by the third chapter. I think this will be one film I will be renting out, if I can brave myself to sit through something I fear could be just as relentless as the book!

Speaking to my mom about the book, she didn't like it either, though by this point I was 5 chapters off the end of it.

Though I do have to say I did enjoy the last few chapters. Probably because I knew I was near the end anyway. However, the ending didn't provide such a predictable one, well for me anyway.

It was probably for the best that this was Wilde's only novel. I don't think I could really endure anymore!




Now for a bit of Sue Townsend...