Bridget Jones's Diary
by Helen Fielding
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Book Reviews of Bridget Jones's Diary
Book Review: does not speak for me or any other single woman I know
Summary: 1 Stars
I have to say I found this book rather disappointing (the movie was a little better). I picked it up because it was about a single woman like myself, but after I got about halfway into the book I started to feel very alienated. I just couldn't relate to Bridget at all.
I guess this book disturbed me because no one seemed to notice - least of all the author - that Bridget might be an alcoholic and compulsive overeater. Of course, I don't blame her for wanting a man in her life. But I did not find the way Bridget seemed to deal with it by drinking, eating lots of junk food (her diary records the number of calories and "alcohol units" she consumed each day in nauseatingly tedious detail), and reading trashy self-help books amusing. Instead, it depressed me.
The thing that bothered me most about Bridget was that she appeared to have very little sense of herself. Everybody's opinion of her seemed to count much more than her own; whether they were her corny, busybody Smug Married friends, her idiotic interfering mother, her smarmy, cliche-ishly "player" boss she was foolish enough to sleep with, or his bitchy yuppie girlfriend.
Normally I'm not a violent person, but I found all those characters so insufferable that I found myself wanting to punch them in the mouth and/or flush them down a toilet. I also felt grateul that these people don't exist in real life, because I was afraid of what I might do to them if they did, and I came across them.
I also kept waiting for Bridget to "see the light," realize her own self-worth, and come to the same conclusion about these cretins; maybe at a 12-step meeting or something like that. But it didn't happen, even when she found a boyfriend.
One thing I did like about this book was the British slang and humor. I loved the terms like "emotional f*ckwittage."
No doubt I come across as this uptight prude to a lot of people who luuuuv and "identify with" Bridget. Well, I'm sorry, but I've never found shallow, dysfunctional, stereotypical people interesting.
Book Review: Hapless Single Girl Looking for Love
Summary: 4 Stars
Bridget Jones is hapless, pathetic, sad, lonely, funny, endearing and very believable. Her rambling journal entries depict a young woman obsessed with her weight and alcohol consumption and cigarette habit. Her diary each day begins with her weight, and includes references to how many units of alcohol she consumed the prior day, plus caloric intake and cigarettes. When she's happy all of the above are declining, when she's not, the opposite occurs. Even her family life is falling apart, because her Mum has left her Dad and is seeing someone else, and her Dad is miserable and crying on her shoulder incessantly. Bridget is a publisher's assistant in a London publishing house, and begins an affair with her boss, Daniel Cleaver. But he's a scoundrel and only seems to be interested in her when he wants sex, and the rest of the time, forgets about her. She keeps hoping that the relationship will turn into something else. She eventually discovers that he's seeing someone else, and is devastated by the failure of yet another relationship. Her family is always asking her why she's not married yet, and it seems that everyone in the world is part of a couple except her.
Her family keeps trying to set her up with Mark Darcy, a divorced successful, boring barrister, but sparks fly whenever she meets him and they don't seem to have anything in common.
She decides to change careers in order to get away from Daniel, and to take control of her life. She becomes a tv reporter for an independent cable station, but isn't particularly successful at that either. Mark Darcy gives her an exclusive interview after a highly publicized trial, and she achieves instant recognition and respect in her field.
Her attempts at self-improvement (feng shui, gourmet cooking, exercising, etc.) are hilarious and short-lived. Her friends are all equally frustrated and misdirected. In spite of her many flaws, she will eventually find someone who loves her just the way she is. If she had known that all along, maybe she wouldn't have tormented herself in the pursuit of perfection.
Book Review: Bridget Jones's Diary: A review
Summary: 4 Stars
I really admire the way Bridget keeps control (mostly) through this whole book. Every time she writes an entery to her diary she always lists the amount of alcohol she has consumed, ciggarates she has smoked and how much weight she has gained. Keeping up with this, is true dedication to quitting her nasty habbits. Although she never completely quits all of them. I really have never read any other books in this type of genre, it really sits in a class all by itself. It kept me reading throughout most of the book because of the constant comedy it provided. This is a very good book to model after if you are trying to write a personal narrative. It's easier to keep track of events as you go rather than trying to remember them all as they happened to you. This is accomplished by using the diary theme. I feel that this way Bridgets character is brought to life more by being able to reveal her inner-most thoughts on herself and on the others around her. My favorite parts of the book are her confrontations with her mother. I know that if I am ever thirty something and single, my mother would act the same way. This also points out Helen Fieldings use of dialoge to bring comedy throughout the piece. "OH hello darling. I was just ringing to see what you wanted for Christmas." "Christmas?" "Would you like a surprise darling?" "NO!" I bellowed. "Sorry, I mean.." "I wondered if you'd like a set of wheels for your suitcase." "But I haven't got a suitcase." "Why dont I get you a little suitcase with wheels attached. You know like air hostesses have." "I've already got a bag" This scene in the book provided comedy and a way to relate to the character. Everyone in their life has had a conversation like this with their mother. Situations with her mother provides comedy through the whole book. I really enjoyed reading this book, for the comic relief. I really think this book is more for women. Men really wouldn't be able to relate to the more female humor.Book Review: funny yet strangely depressing
Summary: 3 Stars
Maybe it's just me, but I really don't know any single woman (or anyone else) who's quite as pathetic as Bridget. It's not that she smokes and drinks too much, obsesses over her weight and her love life, is incompetent at both her jobs, and allows her mother to manipulate her -- it's that she obviously hates the fact that she does all these things, and yet she never manages to change her ways in the slightest. She's forever running in circles, trying to learn feng shui or become a gourmet cook, but her interest peters out after a few days and she's on to something new. If there was just one thing she was good at or really enjoyed (other than self-destructive pursuits like the aforementioned drinking and obsessing), she would have been a much more likable character.(...)The book's failings are made even more obvious by the fact that the plot draws on "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen. Austen's novel has exactly what this book lacks -- a heroine we can respect, who makes mistakes but who learns from them, and who is actually a very good "match," personality-wise, for her "prince." The borrowing from Austen becomes painful towards the end of the book, when the whole mom-on-the-lam complication arises -- obviously nothing more than an attempt to parellel Lydia's elopement in "Pride and Prejudice." While the plot twist in "P&P" works because the whole book has been preparing the reader for it to occur, it comes out of nowhere in "Bridget Jones" and makes no sense whatsoever.
I was actually reminded of another Jane Austen "update" -- the movie "Clueless," which was really pretty good. The difference between that movie and this book/movie is that the girl in "Clueless" actually learns something during the course of the movie, and comes out with a better understanding of herself and, basically, becomes a better person. That's something that's totally lacking here.
In spite of my obvious problems with this book, I'm giving it 3 stars because it IS funny and because I'm sure most people won't have the problems with it that I have.
Book Review: Very funny for both sexes
Summary: 5 Stars
Bridget Jones is a 30-ish cog in the corporate machine who feels unappreciated, unheard, and unloved. This novel is a year in her life, written as a diary, wherein we learn the details of her alcohol intake, party meltdowns, and sexual adventures. It is all so absurdly funny that the average reader is likely to find it difficult to put the book down.There are a few basic threads that run through the book and intertwine - conflict with her immediate boss (Perpetua!), flirtation with her boss's boss, and her mother's middle-aged crisis (she runs off with a Portugese con artist). Naturally, the amount of events taking place in Bridget's life do not leave much time for career, so she does little at work except flirt with her boss's boss, then quits to take a job at a Hard Copy type show that sensationalises trivial news. Through it all, Mark Darcy keeps popping up, acting mysteriously like his namesake from Pride and Prejudice (in fact, the end of the story reads very much like a modern-day remake of that Jane Austin book).
This is obviously a very British book, and there are some parts that are slightly confusing for a North American. For example, what we call "*69" in Canada (and the U.S.?) is called "1671" - i.e. dialback numbers of people that have called while you were out. However, a couple of pages will reveal the context and you can figure out the North American equivalent.
The book is written in a very choppy style, as journal entries by Bridget after an event. As such, the writing is not very dense, and it's easy to breeze through pages just taking a few minutes here and there - a great book to carry in the briefcase. Men and women are likely to thoroughly enjoy the book - all the characters are slightly stereotyped, and we've all met people like them - the sleazy womaniser, the ditsy blonde, the rabid feminist, the flightly mother, etc. I would worry if you identify too closely with any of the characters! =) Therefore, it's highly recommended as a lightweight farce of life for the modern (single) professional.