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amyheap's review against another edition
Mildly amusing, I feel like I have enjoyed what is essentially the same joke as much as I am going to, and do not need to get to the end. Charles Pooter is a bank clerk who wishes to be thought well of. He has minor social aspirations and is thwarted at every turn. I don't tend to enjoy books or films where the humour comes from everything going wrong.
greentea2007's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
shanham's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
qwelling4's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
sbones's review against another edition
3.0
As the character Charles Pooter says right at the beginning "because I do not happen to be a somebody why my diary should not be interesting" And so the everyday occurrences of lower-middle class life is written out in diary form with little incidences of life in London with family and friends. It made me chuckle with its little observations and was a gentle book on a look of social history of the time. It's a shame this book is not so well known in the classic genre.
isualum12's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 stars- I thought it was really funny. I wasn’t sure about it at first but quickly found humor in the silly internal thought. Laughed out loud a couple of times.
sue_reilly's review against another edition
3.0
The narrator, Charles Pooter, is a middle-class clerk who is very concerned with keeping up appearances. He is somewhat of a boor: he repeats his jokes, he reveres those he perceives as higher-class even if they are jerks, he is unkind to his servants. His son Lupin is an independent thinker who is interested in the theater and speaking his mind, which vexes Pooter. Pooter is the opposite of Bertie Wooster. Wooster lives a rich internal life and is very witty and imaginative, which makes him great to read but makes the film adaptations somewhat lacking. The inside of Pooter's head is incredibly boring and drab, but he would be hilarious on film because the things that are funniest about him are in other people's perceptions. As the 1001 Books book mentions, Basil Fawlty is the type.
It was not all that funny. I warmed up to it toward the end, though. I much prefer Wodehouse's humor, since it is not as mean. I felt sorry for Pooter because I disliked him so much!
It was not all that funny. I warmed up to it toward the end, though. I much prefer Wodehouse's humor, since it is not as mean. I felt sorry for Pooter because I disliked him so much!
bigjuicybumhole's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0