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Bridget Jones' Diary by: Helen Fielding

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Rating: - Oh the hilarity of this book (!!!)

This book is HILARIOUS!

You begin to read it and suddenly you've read 2 chapters.

It can make you feel happy when you're down (which, lets face it - is what you really want from a book isn't it? eh?)

I should probably write something about imagery etc etc, but I was never very good with words, and this is to all of you who can't be doing with imagery etc... go on.. give it a go... read it today!!!!

Rating: - a gazillion times better than the film

Please do NOT read this book in a public place! I read the whole book on atrain journey from London to Carlisle, and I warn you, I was not the bestpassenger to be sat next to. In the end, I gave up trying to stifle snortsand giggles and the occasional guffaw, it's impossible not to laugh yourway through the entire book. Also, I found, in amongst the chuckles that Iwas a 19 year old girl who could very easily relate to the thirtysomething Bridget, which was quite scary. Nevertheless, this book is agazillion times better than the film, even though there are no pictures ofthe handsome Mr Darcy to ogle at...shame.

Rating: - 30 years out of date

When reading this book, I had to keep checking the inside front cover to see when it was first published. It HAS to have been written in the early 1970's, at the very, very latest. It's set women back at least 30 years.

Rating: - This is one diary you have permission to read

Try as you might, it is impossible to ignore Bridget Jones’ diary: Not only is (seemingly) everyone talking about it, but since it was votes into the BBC’s Top One-Hundred Books list, it is on display in virtually every bookshop in the country. This is highly unusual, not least because it was originally published seven years ago, yet still the hype refuses to die down. For this reason alone, I must resort to the well-used saying, ‘If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.’

The warmth and wit contained within the story got me more than a few funny looks as I read the book in public. It is incredibly rare for books described as ‘laugh-out-loud funny’ to live up to their promise, but this is an exception to the rule. I did not expect a book so frequently recognised as a ‘chick-lit’ novel to achieve so much, and I believe that it is all to often dismissed for exactly that reason. The book – quite obviously from its title – is in diary form and follows a miserable single, diet fanatic, thirty plus woman named Bridget Jones. We are let into Ms. Jones’ most intimate thoughts and hopes as she longs for a boyfriend, a productive career and a total body weight of eight stone seven. With each diary entry, she records her current weight, units of alcohol and number of cigarettes consumed that day. Bridget herself is a wonderfully colourful character, but I believe the real star of the novel is her mother. “I was beginning to suspect that I would open the Sunday People to see my mother sporting dyed blonde hair and a leopard-skin top, sitting on a sofa with someone in stone-washed jeans named Gonzales and explaining that, if you really love someone, a forty-six year age gap really doesn’t matter.” As I recall several reviewers have previously mentioned, the mother’s escapades are hugely amusing whilst at the same time inducing the thought, ‘thank God I don’t have a mother like Bridget’s.’ Much of the story does, in fact, follow Mrs. Jones as she appears to have an end-of-life crisis and befriends a loathsome (to Bridget, anyway) Latin man named Julio. Indeed such is the twist involving the couple’s friendship that during the last quarter of the book I was utterly gripped by the unfolding story.

I have read several books of this style and can honestly say that I whole-heartedly agree with others who have pointed out that Helen Fielding is one of the leaders in writing this particular genre. Anyone who has enjoyed reading about Bridget would most probably enjoy the books of Irish author Marian Keyes (‘Rachel’s Holiday’ being one of her greatest novels). One thing that I did not like about Bridget Jones’ Diary however, was Bridget’s relentless insistence that she simply must lose weight in order to achieve happiness. Bridget’s relationship with love-interest Mark, too, had its predictable moments. However, there were some superbly entertaining lines exchanged between the two: “If you ask me once more if I’ve read any good books lately I’m going to eat my head.”

I have not yet read the sequel, entitled Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, but have heard good things about it. There is also, of course, the big-screen version to look out for as well as the follow-up (currently in production). This is a rare women’s novel that men, too, have read and enjoyed (Salman Rushdie is quoted on the back cover singing its praises). The author splendidly manages to create a character able to appeal to both sexes. Utterly wonderful… I urge you to set aside a day or two and read it immediately.

Rating: - Hilarious

This book is hilarious, the trials and tribulations of bridget jones and her calorie counting are enough to keep you on the edge of your pillow screaming with laughter let alone the daniel daydreams and 1471 calls! this book is for anyone who has ever been single for more than a week, the lust, the friends, the habits and of coarse the parents all make an exceptional story highly recommended!

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