I have had a busy, busy few months organising such life changing events as my own wedding (at last) and finally securing a promotion at work, whilst also volunteering to be involved in a pilot for a bookselling course and reading an extensive longlist for a bookprize. Needless to say I have been slacking with regards to my treasured little book blog and am feeling a wee bit rusty on the old keyboard. What better book to throw myself back into blogging than Helen Fielding's 'Bridget Jones's Diary'! There are very few women over the age of 25 that don't know of Bridget and her madcap escapades as a singleton in her 30's trying to navigate the terror that is dating in the 1990s. Admittedly a lot of us have experienced Bridget on the silver screen and laughed, and cried with her as her life takes one calamitous turn after another. I felt it was about time I delved into the literary roots of Bridget and get stuck into Fielding's first novel in this bestselling series. Also, with the renewed interest in this series due to the release of a new Bridget Jones's novel, I felt it was pertinent, as a bookseller, to get to grips with this much loved character.First off, I loved it! I was slightly concerned in my observation of similarities between my own life and Bridget's, her approach to food (especially the calorie counting) made me laugh out loud and her over thinking of every situation she ended up in was distressingly familiar. Fielding proves herself to be a keen observer of people and the ways we behave towards one another, she creates a host of incredibly believable characters that have you thinking about your own friendships and how they tend to follow similar patterns from time to time!
As for the delightful love triangle, brilliant! I knew, without a doubt, that Daniel was a total prat from the outset yet the journey I took with Bridget was still surprising nonetheless as she discovers for herself how much of a womanising cad he really is. Mark Darcy was charming to the core, the perfect gentleman in spite of his poor choice in female partners early on in the novel. These two gentleman were very obvious stereotypes, and in all honesty a little one dimensional in their emotional capabilities, but they fitted well into the tale and were important additions to the narrative.
The humour in the novel never ceased to please me and cause fits of giggles, there is a lightness to Fielding's writing that makes even the most dire of situations seem incredibly amusing, even the horrid behaviour of Bridget's emotionally battering, controlling mother is mirth inducing. This is really where the author's true talent shines through and what makes this novel such a great joy to read. What I really loved, in spite of Bridget's sometimes worrying emotional state, was that Fielding threw everything at her and she bounces back every single time. This is a novel as much about optimism as it is about Bridget as a victim of pop culture and social 'norms'.
I did struggle to understand a couple of chapters, when Bridget soothes her emotional suffering with alcohol she becomes indecipherable, as do we all, instead of being frustrating, these little asides ramp up the empathy factor even more.
Upon finishing the book I gained a better understanding of what has made Bridget Jones such an iconic and identifiable character, this is, without a doubt, a genre defining novel and one that is very deserving to be read by anyone who adores chick lit. I can't help but think that without the drunken ramblings of the loveable Bridget we wouldn't have such a wealth of wonderfully light beach reads to chose from every summer. This is not to say that Fielding's work is trash, far from it. This is an apt and memorable observation of single life during the 1990s, written with admirable flair and great fun to boot. There is a little piece of Bridget hidden away in all of us!
I am having strong urges to watch the film again, now where did I put that chocolate bar.......?
