Little Man's Diary

Author: Goresmith (English) Goresmith Qiu Yi
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2005-05-01
Features: In the summer of 1936, I traveled to Paris and did not carry any English novels in my luggage. By chance, I found The Diary of a Nobody in an old bookstore and bought it to read. I was amazed by its uniqueness. Sister Jiang also has the same interest. Recently, a young lady took it to read, so I reread it and was even more amazed by its clever imagination. Real-life situations in the world cannot go beyond its scope—Qian Zhongshu
Charles Pooter is a small company clerk, diligent and conscientious, yet content with his life: he has settled into a new home in the suburbs; his boss treats him well; his wife is also deeply in love with him; and he has two "not-so-good" neighborhood friends. With his ambitions fulfilled, old Pooter begins to keep a diary, naturally filled with trivial matters like daily routines and household chores—nothing new under the sun. Occasionally, he gets the chance to attend gatherings of the upper class, where he makes a fool of himself, yet he doesn’t mind. His goal in life is to become a dignified gentleman, and of course, he does achieve it—his efforts were not in vain.
Since the diary was published, old Pooter became a famous figure in Britain, and his name "pooter" entered everyday English, giving rise to the word "pooterish," used to describe a certain type of conservative middle-class person living in the suburbs. The diary is also considered an "annal of suburban life during the height of the Victorian era." Of course, old Pooter is a fictional "typical" character—his stereotype, dull vanity, easy satisfaction, and lack of humor are both laughable and pitiable. The brilliance of British satirical art is fully demonstrated here. Mr. Qian Zhongshu praised the book as a "wonderful work" and admired its "clever imagination," believing that "no real-life situations in the world can go beyond its scope."
The Pooter, the fictional British old gentleman by the Goresmith brothers, has become a celebrity, and his name has even entered everyday English, giving rise to the word "pooterish." The Diary of a Nobody tells the story of old Pooter’s happy life. The trivial details of a small-town life make it feel familiar, and the satire of old Pooter contains a certain depth of self-reflection and self-deprecation.