Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen FieldingMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is the funniest book I've read in ages, maybe ever. I love the movie and have seen it way too many times, so I had all the voices in my head when I read it, which was great. Reading it in the intended British accent made it even funnier.
The only book I've ever read that is close to as funny as this is Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging, which is like the YA version of this book--both written in diary format, with lots of funny stuff and a few British jokes I didn't get. Still, Bridget Jones has been near and dear to me for about ten years now, so I can't believe I hadn't read the book until now.
The book is a different from the movie in a lot of places, such as the general plot. Also, Mark hardly appears in most of the book, while he's in the movie a lot more. And Daniel sort of disappears halfway through the book and she hardly hears from him again. I have to say, I love love love his character. He's not just the rascally literary antogonist--he's like the real scondrel that we've all dated. Or, at least, I've dated that type. Mark wasn't as well developed, and in fact, I found his character a little transparent in the book. Definitely not nearly as well-done as the hilarious Daniel. Every time Daniel was in a scene, I could not stop laughing out loud for minutes on end! His every line and every move was just so...right.
Bridget's friends also get more page-time than they do screen-time. I just loved her friends, especially Shazzer (I HAD this friend in college!) and Tom, who was so lovable and hilarious I just wanted to hug him and giggle every time he showed up. I loved all Bridget's little tips she got from Jude, from the feng-shui "where do I put the wastebasket?" to the zen lectures. All the friends were hilarious and well-developed in short spaces of time.
It's the first book in a long time that I just could not put down--I put off everything I needed to do for three days straight because I wanted to read this book in every spare second. I don't know what else to say except that his book is a hilarious, light read that pretty much every single girl would love, and plenty of not-single girls too. Full of cheeky, irreverent humor that will make anyone with even a pigeon's sense of humor burst into laughter at least ten times.
Quotes: There are way too many to count, I'd end up quoting the whole book. But a few I marked in the last few hours:
RE Pride & Prejudice: "I would hate to see Darcy and Elizabeth in bed, smoking a cigarette afterwards. That would be unnatural and wrong."
"I hate Christmas. Everything is designed for families, romance, warmth, emotion and presents, and if you have no boyfriend, no money, your mother is going out with a missing Portuguese criminal and your friends don't want to be your friend anymore, it makes you want to emigrate to a vicious Muslim regime, where at least all the women are treated like social outcasts."
"Every time I've met Julio he has been clean and coiffed beyond all sense and carrying a gentleman's handbag. Now he was wild, drunk, unkempt and, frankly, just the type I fall for."
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