Does My Bum Look Big in This?: The Diary of an Insecure Woman

Rating:
Summary: Insight to the life of a "larger" woman
Review: An O.K. read for all us girls with less than model bodies. If you are a model don't read this novel. You wont get any of it. Weir hits on point after point that us regular girls can connect with. Entertaining.

Rating:
Summary: Deliciously neurotic.
Review: Having read the other reviews for this book, I beg to differ. I mean, come on! Ok, so maybe Arabella HAS taken it a little too far in her portrayal of a ridiculously body-conscious thirty-something who more than slightly resembles Bridget Jones. HOWEVER, I think that is the whole point of this book- to take what is such a common thing today- womens' weight insecurities, and write about it to such an extreme that us paranoid women can take a step back and think 'God, do I really sound as ridiculous as her?'.
I personally found Jackie's over-the-top amusing really hilarious. I did relate to it, despite being a bit more sure of myself than she is.
It is meant to be a funny, light read. And that it is.

Rating:
Summary: Not a very funny read
Review: I bought this book because the title reminded me of me. Women all have their "oh my god, I look awful today" moments, I think, and I know that I have them pretty often, so I thought a book that looked at it with irony could be a good remedy. Perhaps I was right, but this book isn't exactly it.

First of all, this is an imitation of Bridget Jones' Diary. Aside from the book being a diary, we have the age of the main character (in her 30s), the fact that she is single and her family gives her a hard time at it, her obnoxious mother, her best friend, whom she calls at any time of the day and night to ask for comfort and help, the fact that she's an assidous reader of self-help books, and that she's constantly alternating bingeing with a very strict diet; all these points she has in common with Bridget. That said, the similarity ends here. Jaqueline, the main character of this book, doesn't have Bridget's humor nor her self-irony, instead she obsessively analizes everything people say and do around her, and concludes each time that there was an implicit message about her being overweight, and having a big bum; she also goes on starvation for days at a time, as preparation for big events. The description of these disturbing behaviours is not filled with irony or made fun of, which make the reader realize that she is slightly paranoid and has an eating disorder - who would want to read the diary of a person like that? Sure not a cheer-up reading.

The constant worrying about how fat she is and so on, that is true, it occurs, but here it's taken way too far, and with that it stops being funny and normal and becomes somewhat... crazy. So this was not a very funny read to me, though it did give me food for thought - how far can we go in our worrying about our less-than-perfect body? How do we stop before that starts influencing the way we see things and we stop having fun and enjoying company because of it?

Rating:
Summary: Not a very funny read
Review: I bought this book because the title reminded me of me. Women all have their "oh my god, I look awful today" moments, I think, and I know that I have them pretty often, so I thought a book that looked at it with irony could be a good remedy. Perhaps I was right, but this book isn't exactly it.

First of all, this is an imitation of Bridget Jones' Diary. Aside from the book being a diary, we have the age of the main character (in her 30s), the fact that she is single and her family gives her a hard time at it, her obnoxious mother, her best friend, whom she calls at any time of the day and night to ask for comfort and help, the fact that she's an assidous reader of self-help books, and that she's constantly alternating bingeing with a very strict diet; all these points she has in common with Bridget. That said, the similarity ends here. Jaqueline, the main character of this book, doesn't have Bridget's humor nor her self-irony, instead she obsessively analizes everything people say and do around her, and concludes each time that there was an implicit message about her being overweight, and having a big bum; she also goes on starvation for days at a time, as preparation for big events. The description of these disturbing behaviours is not filled with irony or made fun of, which make the reader realize that she is slightly paranoid and has an eating disorder - who would want to read the diary of a person like that? Sure not a cheer-up reading.

The constant worrying about how fat she is and so on, that is true, it occurs, but here it's taken way too far, and with that it stops being funny and normal and becomes somewhat... crazy. So this was not a very funny read to me, though it did give me food for thought - how far can we go in our worrying about our less-than-perfect body? How do we stop before that starts influencing the way we see things and we stop having fun and enjoying company because of it?

Rating:
Summary: Ok, but Bridget Jones is better
Review: I could relate to Jackie's angst about her weight, and her quirky relationship with her mother. I think the book has something to say about the way our society puts so much emphasis on physical attractiveness. But Helen Fielding covered that particular issue far more effectively than Weir. That said, Weir does have skill as a writer; she made the relationships between the characters interesting and believeable. I could relate to Jackie's self-consciousness.

The problem is Weir took it too far. I got tired of Jackie's constant whinging and obsessing. She just was not someone I could empathize with in the end, because her perpetual victimhood was just too much to take. I wanted to smack her. The character came as shallow, self-centred, immature and two dimensional.

I, too, struggle with weight issues, so I respect the pressure woman are under to meet the ideal. But most of us, while we have moments of insecurity, don't let our weight rule our entire lives. What was especially bad was Jackie wasn't even all that overweight. The satire fell flat there. I just couldn't relate.

This book is somewhat funny, but not as funny as Helen Fielding. Weir actually borrows some of Fielding's literary techniques, like the diary format and the New Years Resolutions. The novel suffers in that Weir is no Helen Fielding, and Jacqueline is no Bridget Jones. She doesn't have Bridget's wit, or self-awareness. Although imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, the original still can't be beat. Re-read Bridget instead.

Rating:
Summary: hardly groundbreaking, but...
Review: I love the Fast Show, where the title phrase is used repeatedly. I was surprised to discover that this book was a novel. Anyway, at first it was difficult to read, Jackie was so irritating, but I got used to it. It was an enjoyable read. I think, even though we get irritated by the way Jackie analyses everything in her diary, in real life we do the same ourselves.

Rating:
Summary: Ok
Review: I was expecting laugh-out-loud lines from this book & I maybe smiled a couple of times. I found the protagonist too annoying & found it hard to believe that someone in her 30's couldn't work things out herself in the relationships she had with men.

I do realise that it is supposed to be a toungue-in-cheek look at women & their complexes but I couldn't really identify with the protagonist.

The book is easy to read but not very exciting or funny. It is ok if you have nothing else to read and want something very light.

Rating:
Summary: Ugh- the title should have tipped me off
Review: Okay...I have certainly had my "I must gripe about my body" moments (more than I care to admit),and the fact that the cover of this book has a recommendation quote from Joanna Lumley (Patsy Stone from "Absolutely Fabulous", one of my fave shows)and that Weir is a writer for an upcoming Brit comedy show called "Brilliant!" made me give it a whirl. What a disappointment! While I admit laughing at a few places, this grim read is hard to trudge through, mainly because the main character, Jacqueline, does nothing but obsess and complain about her body. She assumes everyone must think horrible thoughts about her simply based on her weight; and while I agree that the majority of America is predujiced against overweight people, I think most people are too concerned about their own lives to worry about criticizing a woman merely because she's a size 14. I've struggled with my own weight in the past so, believe me, I understand the extreme emotional lows and pressures American society burdens women with, but COME ON! Jackie needs to get with the program and either do something about her weight (if it bothers her that much) or quit whining about it. I know, I know...it's easier said than done, but is it not true? I picked this book expecting to have "I see that in myself" moments, but nope! I couldn't be friends with someone like this. Above and beyond the fact that THIS particular Brit lit novel IS a Bridget Jones wannabe. Jackie writes a New Year's resolution list at the beginning (like Bridget) and the diary/journal format is almost identical (apart from the daily weight and fat unit tallying). She is defenitely not as witty or silly as Bridget, and therefore, doesn't get more than 1 star from me. Hate me for it if you want to, but that's my opinion (for what it's worth).

Rating:
Summary: I spit out my peanuts!
Review: Warning DO NOT ATTEMPT TO EAT WHILE READING THIS! I laughed so hard that I spit out my peanuts! I was hooked from the first page! I could totally identify with so much of Jackie's life. It was like reading my own diary and I thought, "wow I am not the only one who has these crazy thoughts!"