Weedon Grossmith's 1892
book presents the details of English suburban life through the anxious
and accident-prone character of Charles Pooter. Pooter's diary
chronicles his daily routine, which includes small parties, minor
embarrassments, home improvements, and his relationship with a
troublesome son. The small minded but essentially decent suburban world
he inhabits is both hilarious and painfully familiar. This edition
features Weedon Grossmith's illustrations and an introduction which
discusses the story's social context.
Disappointing.
I heard this was very funny, but the humour mostly fell flat. Basically, a modest clerk from a bank write about his modest life in a diary. He thinks that since many people published their diaries and became famous, so can he !
If I tell you that Pooter's friends, Cummings and Gowing, are always "coming and going", you'll have a rough idea of the type of humour I'm talking about. It's not always boring, I laughed sometimes, but I expected better than that.
On the other hand, if you want to learn more about 1892 London suburban life in the middle class, you can read this under the historical angle (I bet Pooter would have said "hysterical"...).
❤️
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