Diary of an Ordinary Man ((Bestselling Bilingual Color Illustration Book) / Joy Reading Shelf)

Author: George Grossmith
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-01-01
Features: George and Weedon completed The Diary of a Nobody, and Weedon also illustrated the book with wonderful drawings. The book was first serialized in the British magazine Punch, and was officially published in 1892, causing a sensation and being reprinted numerous times. The name of the diary's protagonist, Poter, entered everyday English, used to refer to a certain type of conservative middle-class person living in the suburbs. "The ingenuity of imagination can encompass all the truths of the world" — one of Mr. Qian Zhongshu's favorite books. This book tells the truly happy life of the earnest man Potter. The petty details of the small-town household life make many people feel familiar. Compared to the Chinese worker Zhang Daming, the lower-middle-class Mr. Potter of the Victorian era had much more material wealth. However, the snobbish mindset of "climbing the social ladder" contrasts sharply with the cramped, dim, and awkward life he lived. The sharp yet fitting satire of Mr. Potter is full of British flavor, largely expressing a deep self-reflection and self-mockery of a social group. Charles Potter is a small office clerk, diligent and conscientious, yet content: he moved to 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, Mr. Potter begins to keep a diary, of course, filled with trivial matters like daily chores and household expenses—nothing new under the sun. Occasionally, he gets the chance to attend a gathering of the upper class, where he makes a fool of himself, but Mr. Potter doesn’t mind. His life goal is to become a decent gentleman, and of course, he did achieve it—his efforts were not in vain.