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As with the other ‘Diary’ books, there can be a slight confusion between the real Adrian Plass (who wrote the books, and who does go on tour and give talks…) and the fictional one whom he writes about. The real one is married to Bridget and they have four adult children. The fictional Adrian is married to Anne, and they have just one son, Gerald. In this book, which takes place some years after the previous one, Gerald has been ordained as an Anglican minister, and is taking a week off to be with his parents on tour.
The speaking tour has been funded (or, at least, backed) by a member of Adrian’s local congregation called Barry. Barry is a very keen Christian, familiar with the entire Bible, and regularly quotes from it. He doesn’t seem to have much of a sense of humour, and would like Adrian’s presentations to be straightforward expositions of the Gospel message. So it’s a bit of a shock when they learn that Barry is to join them on tour.
Leonard Thynn is also accompanying them, as is his new girlfriend who has the unusual name of Angels Twitten. We meet Angels in one of the early chapters, when Leonard brings her to meet Adrian and Anne. At least, that’s the theory. There’s a wonderfully convoluted and amusing scene where Leonard is in a call box apologising that he’s going to be late…
Angels is not a believer, and has a lot of pain in her past. But she and Leonard seem to have clicked. Neither of them can quite believe in their good fortune at finding each other. Angels is a dancer, and there’s quite a poignant scene where Adrian goes to watch her dancing in an old people’s home. He is suspicious of floaty, meaningless dance and a bit concerned at Anne’s suggestion that Angels join their tour as a dancer.
Angels turns out to have a lot of talent, and Leonard agrees to look after the slides and screen. As with the call box, these technological features definitely date the book. It’s only twenty years old, but nobody is carrying a mobile phone, and there’s no computer technology to show images at the events. It doesn’t matter: people don’t change, after all. And, as with most of Adrian Plass’s books there are some deep issues that come to light alongside the humour.
I have always appreciated the way that Adrian Plass uses anecdotes to show his quirks and failings without spelling them out. He does it in a positive way, that made me smile several times. There’s one time, for instance, when he doesn’t respond positively to someone he meets, and then finds them in his audience. But the way he deals with this is inspiring.
I loved the story about the man who was expecting an audience of 600 and had booked a large hall, only to let the team know, when he collect them from their guest house, that actually there weren’t as many tickets sold as he expected, and he’d had to cancel the venue, and move the event to somewhere smaller. The conversation that ensues reminded me somewhat of Abraham’s negotiations with God about the city of Sodom.
I particularly liked Gerald in this book. He’s still frivolous at times, but he’s matured a lot since the earlier books. He has a depth of compassion and understanding that helps a lot of people. Anne continues to demonstrate insight and wisdom, and Adrian himself has his serious side. Angels learns a lot and loves being part of the team, and Barry gradually relaxes and starts to show a somewhat more human side.
All in all, I thought this an excellent addition to the Plass diaries, and am pleased to have read it again. Although it stands alone, and has only the six ‘main’ characters, there are so many allusions to earlier events that I think it would be confusing to read as an introduction to Adrian Plass.
Definitely recommended to anyone who has read the earlier books in the series.
Review copyright 2024 Sue's Book Reviews
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