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niori_1709I’ll admit right away that Helen Fielding’s Bridget Jones’s Diary is not a book I would have ever read of my own free will. If it hadn’t been assigned reading for my first year English literature class, I never would have read it. I didn’t expect to enjoy Bridget Jones’s Diary because there are a lot of things I dislike about ‘Chick Lit’. I hate stereotypes in general, and one that has me cringing is the clingy, dependent, and obsessed with finding a boyfriend/husband woman. What I hate more than that are characters who are under the impression that the only thing women think about are men and then nag a woman if they don’t have a boyfriend. Bridget Jones’s Diary had both these things I hate, but the funny thing is, is I still enjoyed the book.
Bridget Jones is a thirty something woman obsessed with her weight, the amount of alcohol she drinks, and the cigarettes she smokes. She’s neurotic, obsessive compulsive, and has very low impulse control. She’s torn between the two expectations that women face- one, that she’s supposed to be out living this crazy social life. Two, that if you’re not married by the time you’re thirty, you’re a spinster who will never get a man. Everyone in her life seems to be insistent in reminding Bridget of these things. She’s a working woman who has a weird love triangle going on. One guy is a jerk and the other a decent guy. The book is basically the crazy, downright hilarious hijinks in Bridget’s life as she tries to lose weight, stop smoking, get a boyfriend, and figure out her life.
Bridget Jones’s Diary was funny, and that’s the saving grace for me. There were parts that had me laughing out loud because the situations were so ridiculous. Another factor was that Bridget Jones’s Diary takes inspiration from Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. It’s not even close when it comes to plot, but you really see it as a (very) loose adaptation of Austen’s book when you look at the characters. A lot of characters mirror those in Pride and Prejudice and it’s interesting to see how these personality types fit into a modern setting. That said, Bridget Jones is no Elizabeth Bennet. I enjoyed this book because it was a fun, easy read. There were times when the feminist in me shuddered and where I almost threw the book across the room, but I liked it for what it was. It’s Chick Lit, but there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that, and honestly? I enjoyed reading it more than quite a few critically acclaimed classics I’ve read.
Bridget Jones is a thirty something woman obsessed with her weight, the amount of alcohol she drinks, and the cigarettes she smokes. She’s neurotic, obsessive compulsive, and has very low impulse control. She’s torn between the two expectations that women face- one, that she’s supposed to be out living this crazy social life. Two, that if you’re not married by the time you’re thirty, you’re a spinster who will never get a man. Everyone in her life seems to be insistent in reminding Bridget of these things. She’s a working woman who has a weird love triangle going on. One guy is a jerk and the other a decent guy. The book is basically the crazy, downright hilarious hijinks in Bridget’s life as she tries to lose weight, stop smoking, get a boyfriend, and figure out her life.
Bridget Jones’s Diary was funny, and that’s the saving grace for me. There were parts that had me laughing out loud because the situations were so ridiculous. Another factor was that Bridget Jones’s Diary takes inspiration from Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. It’s not even close when it comes to plot, but you really see it as a (very) loose adaptation of Austen’s book when you look at the characters. A lot of characters mirror those in Pride and Prejudice and it’s interesting to see how these personality types fit into a modern setting. That said, Bridget Jones is no Elizabeth Bennet. I enjoyed this book because it was a fun, easy read. There were times when the feminist in me shuddered and where I almost threw the book across the room, but I liked it for what it was. It’s Chick Lit, but there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that, and honestly? I enjoyed reading it more than quite a few critically acclaimed classics I’ve read.
