“When someone leaves you, apart from missing them, apart from the fact that the whole little world you've created together collapses, and that everything you see or do reminds you of them, the worst is the thought that they tried you out and, in the end, the whole sum of parts adds up to you got stamped REJECT by the one you love. How can you not be left with the personal confidence of a passed over British Rail sandwich?”
The
Bridget Jones Diary, by Helen Fielding, is a brilliant and funny novel. It is about a thirty-something and self-involved singleton, living in London, that documents every bits of her life in a twelve month span--including her tumultuous love life; each of the chapters represent the twelve months of the year. At the beginning of the book, it starts off with with Bridget devising her New Year's Resolution, which is to: lose weight, drink less, quit smoking, find a soulmate, advance in her career, and to not allow herself to date "emotionally unavailable men."
"It is a truth universally acknowledged that when one part of your life starts going okay, another falls spectacularly to pieces.”
This singleton deplores male "fucktwittage" while also in search of a steady and dependable boyfriend. She finds herself judged by the fact that she is thirty, not married with children, and is stuck in a dead-end job; Bridget is lost and in a sense, is a hopeless romantic--she's searching for love. She finds herself attached to an aloof fella, aka her boss named Daniel, who is a "sexy" and extremely charming character. But Daniel is the perfect example of male "fuckwittage;" he uses his sex appeal, charm, and looks to lure women for sex, while being emotionally detached, then after he has his fun--he abandons them. In my opinion, he is the definition of a sex-crazed jerk. Of course, Bridget is in total awe of Daniel--her lifelong crush; she pushes aside his evident imperfections and suppresses the inevitable. There's also smart, recently divorced,
very rich, and perfect lawyer, Mr. Mark Darcy--the man that her parents tried fixing her up with. At first he came off a bit snobbish, but as the story unravels we see that Mr. Darcy is a caring and benevolent man.
“I will not fall for any of the following: alcoholics, workaholics, commitment phobics, people with girlfriends or wives, misogynists, megalomanics, chauvists, emotional fuckwits or freeloaders, perverts.”
I shall not spoil the rest of this amusing novel; I really enjoyed reading this book by Fielding. It was first published nearly 20 years-ago and is practically based, with a touch of modernity, on the Jane Austin novel,
Pride and Prejudice. There are times when this book really screams the 90's, but regardless of its time period, it still attains its sense of humor and relatable nature. This book basically centers on Bridget's journey to self-improvement. She becomes very concerned and obsessed with improving her physical looks, in order for her to look more attractive to potential male suitors; she counts every bit of calories she consumes on a daily basis, measures the circumference of her thighs, and weighs herself everyday. Meanwhile, as she is on this insane and obsessive journey for self-improvement, she also adopts a new style of self-improvement--inner-poise.
“I will not get upset over men, but instead be poised and cool ice-queen.”
This book exposes Bridget's thoughts, feelings, desires, dreams, and wishes--from her point of view. There are times when I couldn't help laughing out loud, and also there were times that I found myself understanding the character on a deep and emotional level. I emphasized with her, understood her, and found myself remembering encountering the same situations that Bridget encountered herself--especially when it came to the feeling of helplessness, the whole low self-esteem issue, and having zero confidence. I resonated with Bridget and because of that, I grew to have a fond love and attachment to the character. Everything that happened to her, had at one point, happened in my own life once--well to a certain degree it did.
This is a book that I definitely recommend. It still resonates with mainstream culture and society, regardless of its time period, and it is hilarious! I really would love to see this book regain its popularity once more--it deserves more recognition in today's generation.
x, Kayla
P.S.
Fun Fact: The
Bridget Jones Diary, originally started as a weekly newspaper column.
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