Rating: 
Summary: Just never quite comes together
Review: The 2 stars are strictly for the London portion of Rosie's life - which has much of Fielding's talent for humor in romance. But as soon as Rosie's story gets serious, it fails. Granted, as other reviewers pointed out, most of us reading this were attracted by the fact that Helen Fielding is the author. But she had a way to go before she honed the skills that made Bridet Jones so enjoyable to read.
Rating: 
Summary: A Mature Bridget Jones
Review: The London sections are as funny and prone to mishaps as in "Bridget Jones Diary." Oliver and Rosie's relationship is true to life in a sad sort of way since it is based on a hot-and-cold power struggle. Rosie tries to fit with the "famous club" but isn't cut out. In Africa she is needed. Well, actually, she thought about how much Africa would do her good, and then she found out how much good she could do for Africa. She is in charge and has friends. She even is falling for the new Medic. But impending doom from locusts may cause a famine and the only hope is a television plea to the public for aid. Every Cause must have a Celeb to succeed. So, off again to London to try to convince her Famous Club to help. Rosie retains her new self esteem through all the hot-and-cold power plays of Oliver. Again, Bridget Jones but with a point other than finding the right guy. This was an excellent book with political and moral questions woven discreetly into the narrative.
Rating:
Summary: A Mature Bridget Jones
Review: The London sections are as funny and prone to mishaps as in "Bridget Jones Diary." Oliver and Rosie's relationship is true to life in a sad sort of way since it is based on a hot-and-cold power struggle. Rosie tries to fit with the "famous club" but isn't cut out. In Africa she is needed. Well, actually, she thought about how much Africa would do her good, and then she found out how much good she could do for Africa. She is in charge and has friends. She even is falling for the new Medic. But impending doom from locusts may cause a famine and the only hope is a television plea to the public for aid. Every Cause must have a Celeb to succeed. So, off again to London to try to convince her Famous Club to help. Rosie retains her new self esteem through all the hot-and-cold power plays of Oliver. Again, Bridget Jones but with a point other than finding the right guy. This was an excellent book with political and moral questions woven discreetly into the narrative.
Rating:
Summary: Television tribes
Review: We are in Africa, obviously, if we are talking about huts. In Africa decent rains might produce conditions for locusts. In Africa the group from the compound encounters hunger and refugee settlements. Rosie Richardson had a relationship with Oliver Marchant. Unfortunately Oliver was not very nice. At the start of the affair his assistant called her to set up a date. She was fed up with her job and had no bargaining power with Oliver. She went to a party with Oliver and threw up because the drinks were so strong. Perhaps Oliver Marchand and Africa were both versions of Rosie's masochism. Rosie became haunted by images of Africa. She sold all of her clothes to a place called Second Thoughts. She would give the proceeds to Oxfam. Rosie said they did not have to live in luxury and make token gestures. Rosie decided she wanted to go work in Africa. Oscar asked to marry her but no, she was off to Nambula, a fictitious place created by the author. The camp was different at night, foreign and inaccessible. They had 110 arrivals and 5 deaths in one day. People were coming because of the locusts. Next there were 440 arrivals and 19 deaths. The aid workers traveled from Nambula to Kefti to meet the stream of people. They saw locusts decimate fields of crops, meaning--nothing would be available for at least six months. The workers showed photographs of the situation in Kefti to UN officials. Rosie determined to return to London to get the story into the press and to get some celebrities to support the cause. She finds it hard going since for the last four years she had been working in Africa in a refugee camp. Now there was the crisis of the famine but her contacts through Oliver had withered. She runs into Oliver and feels humiliated. He chides her that she is going about things the wrong way. With a great deal of to-ing and fro-ing a television spot is arranged. When Rosie returns to Africa with Oliver and some of the other celebrities she learns that the compound had received help in her absence. The team goes out to seek the people fleeing the locusts. They did find some starving masses. They surmount the problem of positioning to make a television feed. Oliver falls in the rough terrain and one of the African men substitutes for him. He says that year after year the grain mountains and the colossal budgets in the developed countries fail to reach the starving people on time. A friend of the announcer is shown dying. After the broadcst the population at the refugee camp doubles and a lot of journalists visit. Food is received from the celebrity goup, Charitable Acts.
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