Rating: 
Summary: Utterly Disappointed
Review: I really, REALLY loved both of the Bridget Jones books. But when I finished reading Cause Celeb, I wondered why did i waste my time. I think that Helen Fielding should stick to romance with its high-kick of comedy. Anything serious did not seem to be worth my time.
Rating: 
Summary: NOTE TO FIELDING: HUNGER IS UNFUNNY
Review: After reading, and loving, Bridget Jones' Diary, which I got from a British friend about six months before it was published in the US, I happened to glance at the dust jacket and see that Helen Fielding was also the author of another novel, "Cause Celeb." So, the next time I was in the Commonwealth, Australia as it turned out, I went straight to the local bookstore and bought it. I was recently in a local [bookstore] and noticed it on the "New Fiction" bookshelf so I guessed, based on the popularity of Bridget, they've no released it in the States.Now, don't get me wrong, this isn't a bad book and, if I hadn't first met Bridget, I might have liked Rosie Richardson, the TV producer turned end-world-hunger activist, a whole lot better. Fielding herself put it best, saying she thought "Cause Celeb" was a "better" book adding: "People criticize Bridget [for being shallow] but I wrote a book about a a serious issue ("Cause Celeb") and it made no money." And, let's face it, people starving to death in Africa, even in front of minor British celebrities, isn't terribly humorous. Though Fielding does her best and "Cause Celeb" is far from a bad book--there are some very funny moments--it just doesn't hold up to the side-splittingly funny and eminently relatable, for most woman, woes of Bridget: lumpy thighs, louse boyfriends and crap jobs. And, anyway, who said "shallow" was a bad thing?
Rating: 
Summary: WOW!
Review: A week after reading this book, I am still trying to figure out how H. Fielding could possibly be able to come up with a book that contains both hilarious wit and heartbreaking hardship. I'm no literary scholar but I think her ability to tie these 2 extremes into a cohesive book is pretty impressive. How many times have you heard" you'll laugh, you'll cry..." well, you will. If you loved Bridget, you'll love this, and it carries a much deeper message.
Rating: 
Summary: Another Side of Helen Fielding
Review: ...this is NOT Bridget Jones. But it is a very interesting and darkly comedic novel which I thoroughly enjoyed. Switching backwards and forwards chapter to chapter, we are introduced to the young, impressionable Rosie living a somewhat shallow life amongst the London glitterati, and then we meet the more mature Rosie who has gone to Africa to work for an aid organisation in a refugee camp. It is a very interesting look at how people and their priorities can change when faced with what they perceive to be important and what indeed really is. My only criticism is that mid-way through the book, it became a little too entrenched in local African politics that did not need to be quite so detailed in order to set the stage for the reader. Otherwise, I thoroughly enjoyed the book.
Rating:
Summary: Jilted Locust Heroine
Review: Helen Fielding's debut novel, published recently in the US after the smashing success of Bridget Jones's Diary, is sure to enchant any reader. Rosie Richardson, the heroine of the book, begins life as a typical 20-something Londoner. She works in marketing, and is dating Oliver Marchant, a local television personality and member of the "famous club." However, Rosie's life changes dramatically when she visits an African refugee camp for her job. She finds that she cannot live in London knowing of the poverty she left behind, and changes her life dramatically when she becomes a relief worker in Nambula, Africa. Things in Nambula, however, are certainly far from idyllic. Rosie finds out that even the best of the camp workers retain their everyday insecurities and ideosyncracies, making life difficult at times. Things take a dramatic turn for the worse when a plague of locusts and influx of refugees threatens to tip the camp of refugees into a famine of the kind not seen since images of Ethiopia flooded television screens. Not recieving help from her employer or the governmental agencies, Rosie puts it all on the line and journies back to London in a mad-dash attempt to solicit the help of the famous club. The celebrities journey to Africa, and see some startling contrasts and yet are surprised by some similarities. The way Fielding portrays both the celebrities and the refugees is brilliant. The scenes are all touched with humor, but are bittersweet as they portray a world in need of attention and help. The reader comes to know Rosie, the refugees, and celebrities, and cheer for all of them to meet with success.
Rating:
Summary: Not Bridget Jones - thank goodness
Review: Helen Fielding is better know for Bridget Jones than for Rosie Richardson, but Rosie's personality in 'Cause Celeb' is somewhat deeper than Bridget's despite a similar self-depriciating manner. Moments in 'Cause Celeb' are witty and satitical, moments are wise and sexy, but most of all, this book satirises the great 'personalities' of stage and T.V. and shows them for the shallow people they are. It also deals with the deeper subject of famine relief, highlighting the frustrations of welfare workers, and the nightmare administration that clamps the speedy arrival of proper relief for the malnourished. You'll not read 'Cause Celeb' without laughing, but you'll not read it without a deep sense that things could be improved. At both levels, the book succeeds in telling a good story in a stylish way. Not five stars because it didn't grab me where it hurts and keep me riveted. Still plenty good enough for four.
Rating:
Summary: Very good book, but no Bridget Jones
Review: I bought this book as I just LOVED the Bridget Jones' books and movie. While it is funny, it does not have all the side-splitting humor of Bridget Jones. It chronicles a period in the life of a 30-something woman named Rosie and her misadventures in love and adventures in life. It tells the story of her rollercoaster relationship with one man while simultaneously telling of her adventure in Africa being a relief aid worker. She ran to Africa to get away from her prior relationship and in turn found meaning in her life and learned a lot about herself and others. While I was not crazy about the ending, (it wasn't bad I just would have liked to have seen something different/more), I really enjoyed this and I recommend it to any woman who would want to read about someone having the same kind of experiences that we can all relate to.
Rating:
Summary: Sad, mildly amusing caricatures of shallow celebrities
Review: There are two worlds in Rosie Richardson's life. One is the life she ran away from - a life among pretentious, ridiculous, shallow and self-absorbed celebrities. The other is the life she ran to - life among people so poor that they have no choice but to wait to starve to death. Obviously, these are lives are as extremely opposite as one can imagine. Out of urgent necessity, Rosie attempts to get celebrities from her former life to come help in the wilds of Nambula and the results are very melodramtic, perfect for a television mini-series. Several times I was tempted to quit reading, but I kept on. The celebrities were depicted as exaggerated caricatures with not a likable one among them. I find it hard to believe that there does not exist one or two rich famous people who really do care about others. I would have found the story more believable had Ms. Fielding included some such celebs. Another problem is that I don't get a good feeling for what motivates Rosie. What motivates her to date an abusive louse? What motivates her to stay in Nambula? Where does her passion for these things come from? The ending is just a bit too neat and tidy, with a good measure of moral preaching thrown in.
Rating:
Summary: Not my taste...
Review: ...but still a pretty good book. This book is quite a departute from the Bridget Jones books Ms. Fielding has written, although there are a few Bridget-esque foibles sprinkled here and there. I loved the zaniness and self absorbtion of the BJ books and was looking for more of the same but instead found myself reading what I deem to be a moral tale. Essentially this is a book about saving the hungry people in third world nations and how sometimes we Western "do-gooders" don't get the whole picture. We are too blinded by our own self absorbtion. The subject was a difficult one to tackle and I think it was done quite well, it just didn't suit my taste. The characters are very likeable and are at times quite funny. The scenes set in London are much more enjoyable than those set in Africa. (of course, when is reading about starvation ever enjoyable?) I wouldn't mind seeing further exploration of Rosie, Oliver and some of the other characters in future efforts. Just please don't set these future efforts in war torn Africa.
Rating:
Summary: Sex & Sociology
Review: I wanted to read this book because I loved the Bridget Jones novels. I am so glad I did....I got some Bridget Jones and some sociology all in one in "Cause Celeb." Part of this book deals with love relationships and the other parts deal with world hunger. An interesting combination...and a very good book that I found hard to put down.
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