Я просто обожнюю фільм "Щоденник Бріджит Джонс" 2001 року, який в мене асоціюється з новорічними святами. Декілька років тому купила першоджерело цієї історії, але тільки зараз вирішила нарешті прочитати книжку. Очікувань у мене було купа, що на початку мене дуже гальмувало, адже книжкова історія значно відрізняється від кіношної. Переборовши свої очікування я отримала легку, романтичну історію, з якою можна добре відпочити у новорічний період.

Бріджит Джонс трохи за 30, вона самотня працююча жінка, яка схильна до повноти (за її власною думкою). Вона потерпає від тиску "самовдоволених жонатиків" та своєї матері, яка постійно намагається с кимось познайомити доньку (і якби ж то це було єдиною проблемою, спричиненою мамою Бріджит). На додачу до всього головна героїня закохана у свого боса. У Новий рік Бріджит вирішує вести щоденник, куди впродовж року старанно записує як всі події,що з нею відбулися, так і свою вагу, випитий алкоголь, з'їдені калорії та інше.

"Щоденник Бріджит Джонс" - має багато прозорих та непрозорих натяків на "Гордість та упередження" Джейн Остін. І це не дивно, адже Гелен Філдінґ надихнув на написання книги однойменний серіал 1995 року, чи то правильніше сказати Колін Ферт, який зіграв містера Дарсі - прототипом якого персонажа у "Щоденнику Бріджит Джонс" він став не важко здогадатися. Тож в екранізації зіграти Марка Дарсі міг тільки Колін Ферт, з чим актор впорався чудово.

Книга мені дуже сподобалася, я також продовжую любити і фільм, але відтепер вважаю їх двома абсолютно різними історіями однієї жінки.

So, I have never seen the movies or read the books, and thought it would be a good idea to at least read the first book, since there's a new movie coming out. Not the best decision on my part, I need to learn that reading the book before every single movie isn't always necessary (tell that to my brain though).

I know that this came out in the 90s, and I'm aware it was a very thin-is-in kind of time, but that still doesn't make the casual fatphobia okay to me, nor is it something I want to read about in such great detail.

Perhaps I'm a bit too sensitive, because I struggled with an eating disorder for half of my life, but I couldn't stand to read the way Bridget wrote about herself, thought about herself, how others treated her etc.

On top, Daniel was insufferable, and I felt as if I'd spent eons waiting for Mark Darcy to become a love interest.

And then there was literally zero development, ZERO, they went from meeting to nothing to meeting again to nothing and then suddenly by the end of the book all is grand and he's in love with her??? Where did that come from? I also didn't feel even the tiniest spark between them, they were just so...dull?

There were some parts of the book that were okay, even somewhat funny (like Darcy staring at the bunny tail, I did smile at that) and slightly relatable, and I could see why so many people fell in love with the story, but it was just too much for me.

Hopefully the movie tackles the whole thing better, because I want to give it a chance. But the rest of the books, I'm going to have to pass on.

I think it goes without saying that this is a very funny and witty book, and the main character Bridget Jones is one of the most relatable characters I've read about. I especially liked her intros to every diary entry where we get to know how much she weighs, how many calories she's had during the day, how many cigarettes she has smoken, etc. It was fantastic and actually made me feel quite good about myself, because apparently I'm not the only one with those kind of insecurities.
I have watched the movie adaption of this book several times and I will say that decreaed my reading experience a little bit. I didn't laugh as much at all of the jokes and whimsical twists because I knew they were coming - however, I did laugh out loud once because Bridget's tone of voice and sense of dry humour is amazing.
This is a book that will make you feel good - especially if you are of the female species, even though I'm pretty sure males would find it very entertaining and educating as well :-)

Like our narrator, both funny and deceptively stylish.



(I have not seen the film).

Find all of my reviews at: http://52bookminimum.blogspot.com/

Like so many others out there the holidays can sometimes get me feeling blah. Not like seasonal depression or can’t-get-out-of-bed kind of depression, more like just . . . . “meh.” In an effort to combat that, I do things like going balls out on Christmas decorating well before Thanksgiving, making giant Sunday dinners with all the fixins as soon as the leaves start to change in case I turn into a “please just go get Taco Bell” kind of Mom between Thanksgiving and the New Year and tipping the scales heavier than usual when it comes reading/watching things of the feel good rather than the stabby variety. Thus is the case with Bridget Jones and her diary.

I’m not a big re-reader (but I am HUGE re-watcher). My family always knows I’m about to go spelunking in the basement for decorations as soon as I’ve watched Christmas Vacation (usually as close as possible to the day after Halloween) and it becomes hot cocoa, cookies, snuggly blanket and cozy reads season with the annual viewings of Serendipity and Bridget Jones’ Diary. There’s just something about moments like these . . . .

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Oh and just in case you’re wondering if I’m a pod person, I assure you I’m not. In my world it’s not officially Christmas until this happens . . . .

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Greatest Christmas movie ever. Period.

It seems ol’ Bridge is a fail for the newer generation. The only thing I can say is this is not a story that’s meant to be taken seriously so if you’re not in on the joke, it definitely won’t work for you. Put yourself in the mindset of geriatrics like me and Bridget . . . .

n  “I am a child of Cosmopolitan culture, have been traumatized by supermodels and too many quizzes and know that neither my personality nor my body is up to it if left to its own devices.”n

Realize that Bridget’s inner dialogue regarding weight, alcohol and cigarettes is more of a “first world problem” type of confessional rather than an “I’m going to go stick my head in the oven because I’m a morbidly obese drunk with lung cancer and no one will ever love me” admission.

This was very strange and I don't think I really liked it all that much. Maybe it's because I'm not British so I didn't understand some of the jokes. Or maybe it's because it was written in 1996 and that was over 20 years ago. I really don't know, but I didn't enjoy it much. I haven't ever seen the movie though, so maybe I'll watch that and see how it compares.

Починала з дуже скептичним настроєм, а закінчила бажанням прийти на вечірні посиденьки до Бріджит.

Το αρχέτυπο της chic-lit, η ταινία ήταν μάλλον καλύτερη από το βιβλίο, αν και σιγά την ταινία, εθνικό σκάνδαλο που πήραν μια Αμερικανίδα να υποδυθεί μια σχεδόν εθνική-Αγγλίδα-ηρωίδα, λες και χάθηκαν οι ξενέρωτες, ανέραστες Αγγλίδες, στην χειρότερη περίπτωση, θα μπορούσε να την υποδυθεί η Ματίνα Μανταρινάκη που ήταν πολύ καλή ως Lady Petoula Rufingstone που θυμίζει εμφανισιακά Αγγλίδα ("ε βέβαια, γιατί όλες οι Αγγλίδες είναι σαν γεροντοκόρες"), και μιλάει σωστά Αγγλικά, με το σωστό accent ("ε βέβαια, από μικρή ήταν σπασικάκι"). Μπορεί το βιβλίο να μην ήταν "excellent, marvelous, absolutely fabulous", αλλά κανά δυο χάχανα, μια ανασφαλής κεντρική ηρωίδα (overeater, μανιώδης καπνίστρια, οριακά αλκοολική, αλλά δυο-δυο τους χτυπούσε τους γκόμενους, ο ένας το αφεντικό της, ο άλλος από καλή οικογένεια/δικηγόρος), οριακά παίρνει 3αρι.

Originally posted on A Frolic Through Fiction

n  Ohhhhhhhhhhh how I REALLY didn’t get along with this book. n

Here I was, just coming out of a reading slump, thinking to myself “I need something kind of fun and light-hearted to pull me out of this last bit”. I remembered I had this book for years now. And I mean years. I also remembered that the film – while it’s not necessarilyn   goodn, it’s a guilty pleasure kind of thing for me. So I figured it was about time I read this book.

Ugh.

I just…no. I didn’t like this book.

I hate comparing books to their movies but with this one, it just has to be done. The film is fun and something silly to watch. The book was so incredibly self-pitying and miserable. What’s funny in the film is only worth an eye-roll in the book. I didn’t like any of the characters in the book, but Daniel I n  especiallyn hated. If he spoke to me the way he did to Bridget, he would be out of my life as quick as a flash, the manipulative tool.

Not even my favourite scene from the film is in here.

But enough with the book-to-film comparison.

Because even without the film giving me some idea of what to expect beforehand, I know I still wouldn’t have liked this book. It’s just way too downhearted for me.

I mean, it’s the diary of a thirty-something year old woman who just complains about everything. And yes, I get that it’s her diary. That’s what it’s there for. Vent your thoughts all you like. But you’d think that in AN ENTIRE YEAR, she’d have something good to say at some point, instead of just lots of self-pity, counting calories and the occasional motivational optimism (that’d last for only a paragraph).

Again, I get that it’s a diary. But everything revolves around her. Every single time someone else in this book has a problem – no matter how serious it was – Bridget would only think about how it’d affect her. Her parents had a problem, and she actually said “Am I to be the tragic victim of a broken home now, on top of everything else?” Excuse me – What about how your parents are dealing with this?! AGGHHH.

You’d think that someone with a job and home in London would be relatively happy. Or at least grateful. But no. Apparently your life is pointless if you’re a woman without a husband by the age of 30. But then while thinking this, she and her friends give feminism a bad name by hating and bashing the male gender (OH, unless they’re gay of course) and claiming their generalised rants to be “feminism”. No. It’s not. I know this book was written a while ago and feminism is still a thing being built and understood, but I can’t help but think it’s books like this that make people think all feminists are “man-haters”.

The same goes for the phrase used time and time again in this book: “oh my god I’m so depressed”.

NO. YOU’RE. NOT. You’re miserable for a bit because you didn’t get a phone call or something, yes. I get how bloody negative you are. But you do not have depression. That’d be a different story altogether. Plus there’s no need to say it so many times.

And I n  known that I can’t relate to this. I’m 18 years old – not a 30 something year old who’s worried about being an unlovable spinster for the rest of their life. But quite frankly, I don’t ever want to relate to Bridget Jones. I never want to get to a point where I will count every single calorie, weight gain, cigarette, alcohol unit, or times I’ve called someone. I never want to have such a miserable mind set. I never want to feel like I have to change myself in order for people like me.

Honestly, this isn’t a bad book. It was awfully written or anything like that. I can see why some people might enjoy it. Why some might relate to it.

But personally, I didn’t enjoy this book at all. It was way too negative for me, and I’d have rather just watched the film again.

I know this is a very negative review on my part, so I just want to say sorry if I’ve offended anyone. I really don’t mean to. But I can’t help not liking a book. It just happens sometimes.

n  Rated 1/5 starsn

Miss Jones. I just finished watching Mad About a Boy and I love Miss Jones got her groove back. Bridget Jones's Diary started it all. The funny and sarcastic Miss Jones who can not filter her mouth. I like this book. I was very much entertained.

4 stars

4,25/5
Bawiłam się fantastycznie, kilka rzeczy mnie raziło, ale macham ręką, bo uwielbiam taki groteskowy humor, kiedy bohaterowie robią rzeczy przy których każdy człowiek myśli "przecież nikt normalny by tego nie zrobił"

Bridget Jones's Diary is a book I thought I never would bother to read. I’ve seen the movies, they were fun when they came out, but they didn’t age well. But then, a reading challenge came along.

I knew going in this would be a different experience than what I’ve become accustomed to these last few years of reading. Our modern books strive to be “better” than before. Both authors and readers alike have grown to have a better understanding of people, mental health, and the importance of inclusivity. All of which I’m eternally grateful for. Because like I believe that surrounding yourself with people that are good for you will lead to a better life. Consuming media that is free of toxic thinking will also improve your overall wellbeing.

That being said:
I’m still a millennial.

n  n

I grew up reading girls’ magazines promoting diets, and shaming celebrities for their cellulite while on the next page shaming them for trying to fix the problems these magazines put on blast. All the “top 10 tips on how to make a guy fall for you” lists, that exclusively featured advice on how to degrade and change yourself to avoid the horrible status of “single”.

Because the early 00s was a battleground of two opposite ideals: The burgeoning third-wave feminism that came as a result of women joining the workforce an mass. And the old “wife and mother” first sentiment that has been the norm for so long. So we now had all this money to use on ourselves, and we spent them trying to be pretty for a man, and also on books on feminism. Because like… we knew we should care? I think? Oh shoot, a new episode of sex in the city!

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And all this just made this book feel like coming home. Bridget’s obsession with acquiring the “heroin chic” look of the late 90’s, her shame for not having a _real_ career, but at the same time admiring her stay-at-home mom friends. And the book really explores the dichotomy of this era. Her mom is fed up after her husband retires and still won’t help in the house, but still being portrayed as a villain for doing so. All this just speaks to me on a deeper level, this is how I’ve been raised to think, to feel. So even though it’s not something I still want to relate to, I can’t stop myself from doing so.

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I like to think I’ve grown as a person by recognizing why so much of this book is out of date, and problematic. But I don’t think we can ever escape the nostalgia of our childhood and teens. It will feel like a childhood home, even though the family has moved since then. So for that, I believe this book deserves its place in history for capturing a way of thought and living so well.

Bonus points: The Pride and Prejudice homage. Jane Austen will never go out of style.
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