Book Review: Eve's Diary And Others

No it is not a new release. The short story by Mark Twain was first published back in 1905.

What is it about? Well, the title pretty much says it all really. It is the first few days of creation as told by Eve in her diary. But, and it is an important but, it is written with a certain tongue-in-cheek style where Eve does everything and Adam does nothing. There are a few points taken out of the Bible, and then Twain flips them upside-down and re-writes Biblical history.

Whether it was written last year or 108 years ago is really irrelevant. It is pure comedic genius.

And while you are reading short stories from Twain you may as well read Extracts From Adam's Diary, another short from Mark Twain. Written in 1904 it actually precedes Eve's Diary - although I, personally, didn't really lose anything from reading it in the order I did. As you may have guessed it is Adam's side of things and how he saw it.

While we are on about diaries that have a comedic value. All the Adrian Mole diaries are well worth reading. It might make a bit more sense sometimes if you grew up in England when Mole makes reference to the BBC and the British politicians. But on the whole anyone, from any country, should be able to pick up these great books by Sue Townsend and get a great deal of enjoyment from them.

If possible, for the Adrian Mole series, they should be read in order so that you can follow Mole from his adolescence to adulthood. The series in order is:

• The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13¾ (1982)
• The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole (1985)
• The True Confessions of Adrian Albert Mole (1989)
• Adrian Mole: The Wilderness Years (1993)
• Adrian Mole: The Cappuccino Years (1999)
• Adrian Mole and the Weapons of Mass Destruction (2004)
• The Lost Diaries of Adrian Mole, 1999-2001 (2008)
• Adrian Mole: The Prostrate Years (2009)

As a last recommendation. There was a series on ITV in Britain, back in the eighties, which covered the first two books. Amazon sells a 2-Disc DVD of the series although it is stated it is for REGION 1 DVD players only (UK). Failing that option you can catch some clips over at Youtube just searching for Adrian Mole.

Anybody knows any other diaries which are fun to read drop a comment. Thanks.