Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding - Book Review

“Bridget Jones’s Diary” is a novel about a single woman facing every day life in Britain. There’s the not very inspiring job (brightened a bit by an attractive boss), the benefits and occasional annoyances of friends, and the struggle with the scales. On top of all that, after all these years of marriage it looks like her parents are about to split up.

Bridget’s life starts to look a bit more exciting when some flirtations with her boss seem to pay off. That is, until things start going horribly wrong. And then there’s that annoying Mark Darcy to deal with…

This book is Bridget’s story of one year of her life. What makes it so fascinating is that it reads like a diary – you could almost believe it’s real. There are accounts of the good days and the bad days, brief entries, lengthier entries, and all are written in an extremely entertaining and endearing manner.

I think that the real strength of the book is that the character of Bridget is very recognisable. She’s a reflection of many 30-something women. She is looking for love, critical of her looks and figure, struggles to climb the career ladder, has her hopes and dreams that sometimes seem within reach but often feel so far away… Other fictional characters sometimes feel too perfect. Bridget isn’t perfect. Bad hair days happen to her.

Because of all this, the reader wants her to do well. I wanted a happy ending and for her to find love and everything she hoped for. Throughout the book, you can’t help but journey along with her and feel involved.

I would recommend this book to anyone. It makes for a lovely read when curling up in bed, or to take along with you to the beach. If you have seen the film, you will find the book is even better. There’s something in Helen Fielding’s writing style that kept me smiling and giggling all the way. It sure made it hard to close the book before I had finished it.

According to the author’s bio, Helen Fielding was born in Yorkshire and lives in London. She worked for several years for the BBC, where she produced documentaries in Africa for Comic Relief, and now writes for various newspapers. Her first novel, Cause Celeb, was published by Picador in 1994, as was her sequel to “Bridget Jones’s Diary”, “Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason”, in 1999.

“Bridget Jones’s Diary” was first published by Picador in 1996. The ISBN is 0-330-33277-5.

Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding - Book Review