This year, Bridget has a plan: lose weight, stop smoking, and develop grace. Sounds easy, right? But when life, and love, get in the way, Bridget’s commitments to eating healthy and putting down the cigarettes go out the window. Will she at least show grace even in her most embarrassing moments?
Helen Fielding’s sophomore release Bridget Jones’s Diary follows the namesake heroine through a year of life’s ups and downs. Developed into the 2001 Renee Zellweger movie of the same name, this book gave voice to the single working woman looking for love and a purpose in their professional life. Pulling on her own experience as a journalist with the BBC, Fielding delivers a cautionary tale about dating in the workplace and the dangers of miscommunication. This is a book about the value of friendship and embracing the imperfections of life.
I give Bridget Jones’s diary 3 out of 5 stars. I struggled with the chapter structure, or lack thereof. Fielding structured the book with sections by month and subsections by day like a journal, but that meant longer chapters and divisions that made it hard to find a stopping point while reading. I also found it difficult to get around the heavy focus on weight in this book – I wouldn’t call a 125-pound woman fat by any means! It felt like Fielding was saying that Bridget’s value in society was based on her weight. I understand that this does mimic society to a certain extent, but the book felt like the author was glorifying slim weight as perfection. I did like the character development from mindless flirt to woman of substance and relationships, but Bridget’s overall character felt lacking and non-substantive.
I have heard many people have really enjoyed this book and it’s correlating movie – it even gets a 3.8-Star rating on Goodreads with 63% of the reviews coming in at 4-Star or above. I would caution readers against this book if they have eating disorders – the heavy focus on weight could be triggering. It is a great choice for readers who might have been in their 20’s in the 1990’s when this book is set. It is a great “chick lit” book with a cute slow burn romance if that’s up your alley!
I chose Bridget Jones’s Diary for the Read With Lindsey 2025 Reading Challenge prompt “New Years”. This book was on several lists I found online for the holiday, which, honestly, I find interesting now that I’ve read it. It’s not necessarily set at New Years, but does begin and end then. Last year, I read quite a few books set at the New Year holiday. What are you reading for this prompt?
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What I’m Reading
- Current print book: Designated Survivor, John H. Matthews
- Current audio book: Head Cases, John McMahon
- Book I’m most looking forward to: A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, Holly Jackson
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