by Helen Fielding
267 pages
and
Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason
by Helen Fielding
338 pages
Penguin USA
Recommended for teenagers
Wednesday 5 March
7:08 p.m. Am assured, receptive, responsive woman of substance. My sense of self comes not from other people but from...from...myself? That can't be right.
So says Bridget Jones, the protagonist of Bridget Jones's Diary and Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason. Bridget, a thirty-something Singleton, has made a series of New Year's resolutions: to drink less, to smoke less, to find a more enjoyable job, and to form a functional relationship. In Bridget Jones's Diary, Bridget and her best friends Jude, Tom, and Shazzer set out to keep these resolutions. But just when they seem to have met their goals, a man -- be it Bridget's former boss, Daniel Cleaver, her current boss, Richard Finch, or her parents' friends' son, Mark Darcy -- interferes with Bridget's happiness. Bridget's adventures continue in Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, as Bridget does everything she can to find fulfillment in her life. She finds herself alternately in jail, enraged, and in love, praying all the while that she will not grow old and die alone, to be found three weeks later half-eaten by an Alsatian.
Bridget Jones's Diary and Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason are witty, entertaining page-turners (though younger readers should be aware that both books contain inappropriate language). Readers of all ages will see something of themselves in Bridget Jones, whether it be her self-consciousness, her relationships with family and friends, or her constant rationalizations of her own behavior. Fielding's writing style -- short sentences, often without subjects, and liberal use of slang -- fully conveys Bridget Jones's personality. Though Bridget Jones may be (as my mother argues) an airhead, she offers readers a unique and humorous perspective on life. And even as she obsessively worries about her weight, her alcohol, cigarette, and calorie intake, and her relationships with others, she comes across, in the end, as a woman whose sense of self is very strong indeed.
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Have you read Bridget Jones's Diary or Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason? What did you think? Is Bridget Jones "normal," or is she an unrealistic airhead? Share your thoughts by posting a discussion or by sending me an e-mail.
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