What Would Bridget Do? • Bridget Jones's Diary

Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding

Series: Bridget Jones #1

Publisher: Penguin Book
Publication Date: June 1, 1999

Source/Format: Bought || Paperback

Bridget Jones's Diary is the devastatingly self-aware, laugh-out-loud account of a year in the life of a thirty-something Singleton on a permanent doomed quest for self-improvement. Caught between the joys of Singleton fun, and the fear of dying alone and being found three weeks later half eaten by an Alsatian; tortured by Smug Married friends asking, "How's your love life" with lascivious, yet patronizing leers, Bridget resolves to reduce the circumference of each thigh by 1.5 inches, visit the gym three times a week not just to buy a sandwich, form a functional relationship with a responsible adult and learn to program the VCR. With a blend of flighty charm, existential gloom, and endearing self-deprecation, the diary has touched a raw nerve with millions of readers the world round. Read it, laugh and crash your head onto the table before you cry, "Bridget Jones is me!" 

I had a tremendous amount of fun reading Bridget Jones's Diary, mostly because of the star of the show herself Ms. Bridget Jones. As the title hints, the book is basically a well-written tome containing the diary of a woman in her thirties who is trying to live her life in the best possible way - a concept that any of us, no matter what age we are, can probably relate to.

Bridget was a character that was easy to love because she's just so darn ordinary. I found her range of experiences to be of an interesting variety - one day she could be excited about a date with her boss; the next she was a mopping, sobbing mess of a girl. Her thoughts were also quite entertaining, especially the ones injected with a bit of humor and sarcasm. It was a pleasure to read her thoughts because I could easily relate to them and connect with the emotions that she herself experienced.

Because I watched the movie before I read the book, I obviously knew how the romance aspect was going to end. It didn't stop me from feeling all warm and fuzzy at certain points (especially towards the end). I always will be on Mark Darcy's team and though he only appeared in the book in short increments, that still holds true.

The secondary characters - Bridget's mom and dad, her friends Sharon, Jude and Tom, to list a few - were all fun additions to Bridget's already interesting day-to-day life. They added some color and a certain level of depth to Bridget's diary, wisely turning the book into a novel that wasn't only about romance, but also about family and friendship. I'd definitely recommend that fans of chick lit pick this one up! It's a nice, quick read.