Bridget Jones's Diary - Helen Fielding

With the possible exception of J. K. Rowling’s “Harry Potter” series, very few books of recent times have had quite the impact on popular reading habits as the original “Bridget Jones’s Diary”. Although chick-lit did exist prior to it’s publication in 1996, it wasn’t a genre that has the acceptance in quite the same way it does now. Whilst Helen Fielding cannot be credited with the creation of chick-lit, she can certainly be held accountable for its explosion into the mainstream and, indeed, for that of bloke-lit, which followed swiftly behind. We men don’t like to be left behind when a bandwagon rolls out. Bridget Jones first came to my attention when one ...  Read the complete review

Many books have been brought to my awareness whilst watching the Big Read over the last few months. Not only the final 21, but also the top 100. When I saw Bridget Jones coming in at around 79, I must admit I was extremely shocked. Not only did I think it would be in the top 21, but I also thought it would be in the final 10, at least. So, the other day at the library, I set out to find the Diary of the woman called Bridget Jones; also known as Bridget Jones’ Diary. I’ve wanted to read Bridget Jones for quite a while now. Ever since I saw the film, I was interested to see how it would be put out in the book. Would it actually be a diary? Or would it ...  Read the complete review

I saw the film first, which I loved, and which set up certain expectations of the book. Furthermore, everyone has been raving about this for ages. So, how good was it for me? The plot of the book is somewhat more farfetched than the film, with police, fraud, prison and plastic surgery! It's stll believable, but it is quite utterly mad. What we have is a year in the life of Bridget Jones, during which time she has an affair with her boss, changes job, worries about her parents who are splitting up, tries to find a good bloke and tries, with little sucess to sort her life out. To be honest, I was totaly perplexed by many elements of this book. I have ...  Read the complete review

This is a book I came to with great expectations. "You must read it" trilled my female friends, indicating that perhaps I didn't know as much as I should about the fairer sex. "An instant classic" screamed almost every newspaper that looked at it. But somehow I've managed to miss it in the 5 years (or so) since it was first printed - until now, bought in a 3 for 2 offer from Blackwells. As you all probably know Bridget Jones' Diary covers the scribblings of a (mostly) single thirtysomething, and her struggles with her weight/men/fags/booze/etc. This she records in her daily diary, along with the other disasters or triumphs in her ...  Read the complete review

If you haven't read Bridget Jones's Diary, you're in a fast decreasing minority. You might even wonder if the world is full of Bridgets, constantly struggling with life, lard, love and lewd bosses, given the number of people who enjoy empathising with this unfortunate heroine. The epitome of early thirties angst, Bridget Jones is a lovable character, and all the more fun for her many flaws and obsessive weighing. The plot in this book is almost incidental to all the weighing, attempting not to smoke, calorie counting and fears of being found dead, alone, and eaten by a pack of Alsations. However, there is one, and a pretty good one at that. Based ...  Read the complete review