Bridget Jones's Diary

Fielding, Helen.(1998). ISBN-10: 014028009X/ ISBN-13: 978-0140280098. New York: Viking.

Plot
Bridget Jones, a single woman in her early 30’s living in London and working for a publisher, keeps a diary, where she records her struggles to subdue her appetites in the form of lists:numbers of cigarettes smoke, drinks drunk, or calories consumed. She becomes involved with her charming snake of a boss, Daniel, and at the same time can’t help taking an interest in the seemingly haughty Mark Darcy, though their initial meetings went very badly. Bridget records what it’s like to be a ‘singleton’ in a seemingly married world and worries about dying alone to be eaten by wild dogs. Fortunately she has a good group of similarly unattached friends who would probably notice her absence. After it turns out that Daniel cheated on her, Bridget moves on to a new career, and maybe to a different perspective on Mark Darcy.

Reader’s Annotation
In this modern retelling of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, British PR girl Bridget Jones records her weight, her smoking, and her misunderstandings with barrister Mark Darcy in her diary as she searches for true love.

Critique
This book is v. funny--everything is better when told in ‘diary-ese’. Based on Pride and Prejudice, this book is clever, entertaining, and ultimately actually romantic.

About the author
Helen Fielding started writing the B. Jones diary entries as a newspaper column. She was at one time a relief worker in Africa, and wrote a book about it

Genre
Ur-Chick Lit

Curriculum Ties
nope

Booktalking Ideas
The better date--Mark Darcy or Daniel?
Do Bridget’s visits to her parents explain her low self-esteem?
Weird British slang and practices

Reading Level/Interest Age
[Crossover]

Challenge Issues
Sexuality; smoking; drinking

Be knowledgeable about the book and prepared to discuss it calmly. Provide complaint form per board policy; Cite reviews available at http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/product-description/014028009X/ref=dp_proddesc_0?ie=UTF8&n=283155&s=books

1998 British Book of the Year award)

Why Included?
Chick Lit Genre Presentation

Selection Tools
Ur-Chick Lit

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