El diari de Bridget Jones (1996)

This is an iconic chick lit novel. It concerns a thirty-something British working woman. Bridget is constantly worrying about men, her weight, being single, men, her weight, how hung-over she is, being single, men, her weight, her clothes, being single… well you get the idea. It details her life over the course of one year in the form of, as the title indicates, her diary. Actually Bridget’s story is less interesting than her mom’s story which has much more drama. I read this novel for my literary exploration challenge, but I had always planned on reading it since it was made into a movie (which I’ve never seen). I thought that surely it had a little more to it than the typical chick lit story since it was made into a movie. Wrong. It was very typical – entertaining and a light, easy read when you want that kind of thing. I know that there are two sequels to BJD but since this genre is not really my thing, I’m pretty sure I’ll give them a pass. ( )

I re-read this for a little lighthearted break after having read an emotionally harder book. I read it first around the time it was first released, and it struck me that times have changed even in that short expanse of time, as some of the attitudes in the book are already ones we have moved on from. It was still fun to revisit Bridget et al, and it was the light relief I was seeking. ( )

Review dated 05/21/14. Book read 02/03/08.

I've been going back and commenting on books I've rated but did not actually review at the time. Prior to Goodreads, my books were on spreadsheets and I did give them a rating but usually didn't say much about what I thought.

This is my problem with this book. At the time I read it, I gave this book 2 stars. But why? I remember nothing of this book. Absolutely nothing. Nada. Zip. I actually forgot I had even read it.

So - I guess the 2 stars stands for - it was all right, but a forgettable read. ( )

Maybe it is just that I was expecting too much, but there's not much story here - Bridget obsesses about her single-ness and the biggest plot line is her parents' failing marriage. There is hardly anything at all about the notorious Mark Darcy - very little interaction at all. Also, because there are a fair number of cultural references, the book feels a bit dated. ( )

An easy read, the concept was fairly unique when it came out. ( )