Title: Diary of a Wimpy Kid
Author: Jeff Kinney
Publisher: PuffinPublished: 2008 (2007 in USA)
Format: Paperback
Source: My own copy
In
light of recent comments that Anthony Horowitz made about today’s
books, I thought I would re-read the first Diary Of A Wimpy Kid
book. In contrast to what Horowitz said, I feel that it is not an
example of “dumbed down” literature and there is a lot more to it
than might first appear.
The
first instalment of the series concentrates on our protagonist Greg
Heffley arriving at his new school with his best friend Rowley and
the hijinks that he gets up to both there and at home with his
blissfully unaware mother, his apathetic father, his grumpy older
brother Roderick and his brattish young brother Manny. There are
plenty of humorous moments in the book, with the “cheese touch”
being a big focus. However, unlike several of the books that have
been published in order to capitalize on its success, Diary Of A
Wimpy Kid makes no attempts at sentimentalism and instead comes
off as a satire of typical school life as well as clichés such as
the embarrassing family (there is a strong amount of favouritism
going on in the Heffley family that does not appear in other books of
the same genre). Greg himself is not always perfect and therefore, he
comes across as a flawed yet well-meaning individual that you’ll
end up sympathising with. As he is not the type of person who likes
to keep in touch with his emotions, the story is written in a
straightforward, honest manner that heightens the humour of several
scenes. In addition, the cartoons are hilarious and will appeal to
anyone, with funny captions and speech bubbles to go along with them.
In
my opinion, Diary Of A Wimpy Kid isn’t just a comedy with
what people refer to as “boy’s” humour in it. It’s also a
brilliant satire of school life as well as the clichés that tend to
pop up in other stories. This is what makes it a worthwhile book to
read for both boys and girls as well as one of our best comedy books
of today.
