The Sacred Diary of Adrian Plass (aged 37 3/4) by Adrian Plass

(Amazon UK link)

I love re-reading my collection of books by Adrian Plass. I don’t really do ‘favourites’, but he’s certainly in my top five living Christian writers. I first came across ‘The Sacred Diary of Adrian Plass (aged 37 ¾)' in the late 1980s when it was published, after starting life (I understand) as a magazine column. I loved it then, and I still love it now when I read it, as I aim to do at least once per decade. 

The last time I read this book was in 2016, which doesn’t feel all that long ago… but it’s nearly eight years, so it was definitely time for a re-read. I remembered a lot of the content, but not all. Once again I found myself laughing out loud every few pages.

The book is written in diary format, written by someone who, a tad confusingly, has the same name as the author although his family is different. The real Adrian Plass - author of the book - is married to Bridget and they have three sons and a daughter. The fictional Adrian Plass, supposed writer of the diary, is married to Anne and they have just one son, the teenage Gerald. Apparently this has led to many misunderstandings over the years.

The Adrian in the book (the one I will refer to for the rest of the review) comes across as likeable and intelligent, but somewhat caught up in his own estimation; and frequently making blunders. Right from the start it’s clear that he’s writing about his life, his family, his church and his faith. The book is written satirically, with a lot of self-deprecating humour.To give one example, he makes the claim that Christmas is getting too commercial and that he’s only going to send 10 cards, then a few pages later finds himself absentmindedly buying large numbers of multi-packs.

Adrian is by turns a buffoon, somewhat pompous and entirely naive. He misses what’s going on with his son and a girl who Adrian thinks is going out with someone else. He ignores his family’s demands while spending a lot of time giving practical help to members of his house group. He is asked to take on a position of responsibility and takes it far too seriously… 

That might not sound remotely amusing out of context, and the humour won’t appeal to everyone. But if you are - or ever have been - part of a church, or indeed any other religious group, and if you’re willing to have your ideals and principles turned inside out at times, this is a light-hearted book which manages to make some excellent, thought-provoking points about the nature of the real Christian life. 

And there are some serious entries in the diary. Unexpected people decide they are interested in following Jesus, partly due to Adrian even if things didn’t work out quite as he planned. And there’s a lovely, elderly couple whose story makes a very poignant background to some of the more light-hearted anecdotes.

There are many ‘in’ jokes which might not mean much to today’s younger folk, or indeed to those who have never been in a church or Christian group. But I think there’s enough in this that this could still appeal to a modern generation, if only to show the value of not taking oneself too seriously. 

It’s a wonderful book which I’m sure I will continue to read regularly. 

Note that there are several sequels to this book, some with similar titles. But this one, where the fictional Adrian is aged 37 (and three-quarters) is the first and, in my view, the best. 

Review copyright 2024 Sue's Book Reviews