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This book took my mind off agitated fantasizing of Christmas for one whole day, and, in a positive way, used up a large percent of my spare time(which were mostly spent watching all sorts of American tv series, or cooking merely edible macaroni, or msn chatting… ) .
Anyway, after so many hours’ staring at the screen and switching(alt+tab) from acrobat reader to kingsoft 2006, to LDOCE, back to reader again… I’m here, happy and proud, to announce that I’ve finally finished reading this fantastic, witty, humorous, “feministic” novel, and really enjoyed it.
Bridget Jones, a single woman in her early thirties. Singleton as she is, this little woman sometimes worries about “dying alone and being found three weeks later half-eaten by an Alsatian”–exactly the same worry with which Miranda from Sex and the City impressed me deeply.
People kinda describe Bridget as the FATTER Ally Mcbeal in Britain. Cannot agree more! Like the skinny Ally, Bridget always gets crazy, weird or romantic daydreamings, what’s more, she’s not afraid of writing them down in her diary! Poor thing, counting calories consumed, cigarettes smoked, alcohol units imbibed, lottery instants bought in every diary entry, she is also unbelievably optimistic and good at picking creative excuses for weight gained(am I looking in the mirror???).
The whole story started with Bridget’s unrealistic new year resolutions: 13 I WILL’s and 19 I WILL NOT’s in total. Things on the I WILL list are like: stop smoking, or, “drink no more than fourteen alcohol units a week”; while on the I WILL NOT list, there’s one item I think all women could use for reference: “Fall for any of following: alcoholics, workaholics, commitment phobics, people with girlfriends or wives, misogynists, megalomaniacs, chauvinists, emotional fuckwits or freeloaders, perverts.” Blimey! Do remember it should be in the NOT list.
Then her first diary entry on Jan 1st, naturally, reveals “an exceptionally bad start”.
In a witty, laugh-out-funny way, Helen Fielding puts before us tons of interesting stories and hilarious inner thoughts of Bridget. Her sense of humor and wording skills attract me rather than the stories themselves.
For those who have seen the movie, you already know about the main story:
bridget had the crush on her boss Daniel, had a short-term relationship with this fuckwittage, broke up, eliminated prejudice over Mark Darcy(Mark Darcy the “top-notch barrister. Masses of money. Divorced.”), and after the mom accident they started dating, then… Simple enough.
Keywords from BJD:
Singleton
Fuckwittages/fuckwits
Bloody
Smug Marrieds
Inner poise
An excerpt for those who’re expecting their birthdays in a short time:
Bridget: “Humph. Have woken up v. fed up. On top of everything, only two weeks to go until birthday, when will have to face up to the fact that another entire year has gone by, during which everyone else except me has mutated into Smug Married, having children plop, plop, plop, left right and centre and making hundreds of thousands of pounds and inroads into very hub of establishment, while I career rudderless and, boyfriendless through dysfunctional relationships and professional stagnation.”
“plop, plop, plop…”try to read this in british accent. haha, so funny!
For further information…I’ll be more than happy to provide you with the pdf version.
Take the following quiz to see where you fit on the Bridget-O-Meter.
Have you ever:
realized cellulite is creation of fiendish, misogynist extraterrestrial force in grips of which female earthlings are helpless (or entertained similar, late-night theory)
[ ] NEVER [ ] OCCASIONALLY [ ] FREQUENTLY
not heard doorbell rung by attractive man owing to proximity of industrial-strength hairdryer to ear?
[ ] NEVER [ ] OCCASIONALLY [ ] FREQUENTLY
had genuine concern about whereabouts of missing friend tempered by gratification at possessing perfect outfit for funeral?
[ ] NEVER [ ] OCCASIONALLY [ ] FREQUENTLY
calculated likelihood of dying alone, in bad underwear
[ ] NEVER [ ] OCCASIONALLY [ ] FREQUENTLY
found more than four pairs of black pantyhose—each unwearable for a different reason—in drawer at any one time?
[ ] NEVER [ ] OCCASIONALLY [ ] FREQUENTLY
served guests food of a color not existing in nature? (Add five points if color is blue; one point per half-hour period between 8:30 and the hour at which dinner typically materializes; two points if consistently tempted to impress guests with food cannot pronounce.)
[ ] NEVER [ ] OCCASIONALLY [ ] FREQUENTLY
checked phone messages more than six times an hour in any four-day period following initial sexual encounter?
[ ] NEVER [ ] OCCASIONALLY [ ] FREQUENTLY
been late to first day on job because of two+ hours spent on optimum hair/make-up/outfit combo? (Add one point if ensemble still turned out to be dead wrong. Add two points if punctuality continues to prove elusive.)
[ ] NEVER [ ] OCCASIONALLY [ ] FREQUENTLY
Each “never” answer is worth one point; each “occasionally” worth two points; each “frequently” worth three points.
If you score over 25, you may be Bridget—unlike Helen Fielding, who says firmly, “No, I’m not Bridget. I don’t smoke or drink, and I’m a virgin.”
Nonetheless, her hilarious account of the miseries and triumphs of one very modern woman makes Fielding a spokesperson for all of us.
