Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason

Rating:
Summary: Why didn't they base the film on this?!?!?!?!?!?!?
Review: I saw the movie first and hated it so much, I nearly didn't read this brilliant piece of comedy.
A screamingly funny and honest look at the insecurities that plague most women and self-help books that sabotage our lives, the funniest bits in this book center around the relationships between Bridget and her friends.
some of the higest points: the break-up emergency team (complete with wine, icecream and a tape of Pride and Prejudice), the insecurites of her married friend, Magda, and the way her single friends misinterpret her disomfort as smugness and the emergency phone sessions between Bridget, her friends and Mark's recently divorced friend.
The thing about Bridget Jones is that she isn't fat. She just thinks she is. She relies so heavily on the "wisdom" of self-help books that she's nearly guaranteed to always think less of herself.

Even if you hated the movie, read this book. You won't be dissappointed!


Rating:
Summary: A different interpretation of Bridget.....
Review: There is very little that can be said that hasn't been already mentioned in previous reviews. However, after reading both Bridget Jones' books I have now come to the realisation that, beyond the apparent funny story of Bridget's misfortunes, this book is a mockery of the behaviour of young women. The author uses extreme situations to portray the uselessness of the generation's dependence on entities such as the circle of friends, the self-help books, etc. to interpret reality and find support to fight their feeling of inadequacy. From this perspective, more than funny chick lit, this book is a critique of how young women face the most important issues of their lives, such as relationship, insecurities, fertile years, etc. The book also observes the hypocritical basis of female friendship, which is sometimes based on envy and jealousy, and the genetic inter-women competition. Overall, I recommend this book to any person wanting to have a critical appreciation of female thinking and the futility of the strategies that women are using to cope with life. On the other hand, the movies have been unable to translate the author's critical standpoint of the books.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: This book is just as good as the first Bridget Jones, if not better.

Rating:
Summary: A Male Perspective.
Review: I really enjoyed reading BRIDGET JONES. It was funny, slightly quirky, and full of British charm. The book is a modern take on Jane Austen's classic novel and is thoroughly successful at what it does. I enjoyed it so much I was delighted to hear that a sequel had been penned, BRIDGET JONES: THE EDGE OF REASON. I've owned the book for over a year, but with the new movie arriving in theatres, I wanted to make sure I finally read the book. When I read the first page, I was excited to read the further adventures of Bridget Jones.

I was quite disappointed. The first few sections of the book start out alright (however, unlike BRIDGET JONES, BRIDGET JONES: THE EDGE OF REASON isn't divided up according to a monthly calendar). At first Bridget seems to be the same old Bridget that everyone came to love and adore. Then the characters stop acting like they are supposed to act. We all know that Bridget is kind of a basketcase and slightly neurotic, but does anyone really believe that even Bridget could be dumb enough to dump someone like Mark Darcy over the things she ends up dumping him for? Sure there would be fights, arguments, and disagreements, even with someone as remarkable as Mark Darcy. However, no one would actually dump him they way Bridget ends up doing. It's completely out of character, unrealistic, and unnatural. However, Bridget isn't the only one who starts acting crazy. Her friend Tom ends up moving to the United States (he must have a pretty penny to be able to do that), Bridget's Mum has brought an exotic foreigner home to England to visit for awhile, Bridget's Dad is sent to a rehabilitation home, and on it goes. It's as though Bridget and everyone in her world are all suffering from a midlife crisis at the same time (well, except Mark Darcy). Yes, people have midlife crises, and sometimes bad things happen all at once all around us, but not like they do with Bridget. Things get even more bizarre when Bridget goes to Thailand and gets arrested for drug smuggling. It's like a warped version of the limbo--how far can we go.

BRIDGET JONES: THE EDGE OF REASON isn't a terrible book, but it's not a terribly good one either. The story has some good writing and there are memorable moments in the plot. Still, it's just not the same Bridget. Until the last fourth of the book Bridget doesn't grow at all and instead regresses. She makes some improvements just before leaving for Thailand, but by that time she's fallen so far, just about any decision could look like an improvement. Whereas the original BRIDGET JONES was witty, humorous, charming, realistic, and believable, BRIDGET JONES: THE EDGE OF REASON just isn't reasonable. It should have been entitled BRIDGET JONES: BEYOND THE EDGE OF REASON instead.

Rating:
Summary: FAT GIRL FINDS LOVE IN CONTRIVED SEQUEL
Review: Why did BRIDGET JONES'S DIARY need a sequel? So everyone could cash in. In a blatant attempt to make a ton more money, Helen Fielding, penned this needless sequel. Still fat, Bridget finds contrived reasons to break up with Mark Darcy, stretch misunderstanding ala I LOVE LUCY, and then get back together 338 pages later. Nothing new here, but it was an entertaining read.

Anyone looking for insight into Daniel Clever will be disappointed. He appears in about 2 pages of text.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Feel Good "Light" Reading
Review: I was thrilled with this sequel. I love the style in which Fielding writes; it gives the reader a real since of what life is actually like through Bridget's eyes and leaves out all of the "fancy fluff" that can be tedious. Once I began reading this book I could not put it down until 4 hours later when I realized it was 3am! It is so much fun to read and the ending leaves you feeling all warm and happy. We have all been in "Bridget Situations" and I'm sure we can all totally relate to her daily life. It is wondefully witty and, in Bridget's drunken terms "blurdy hurd terput down!"

Rating:
Summary: You gotta love Bridget
Review: I just finished the book last night. The life of Bridget Jones is a silly mix of roadblocks that she puts up for herself. She finally has a boyfriend (Mark Darcy). She has gotten away from her old boss (Daniel Clever) and has a legitimate job as a tv reporter for Sit Up! England. In typical Bridget style, her life starts to unravel. She notices, with help from her friends, that Mark has a new collegue in his law office who is a long legged beautiful woman named Rebecca. Bridget is sure, by watching the 2 of them that Mark no longer loves her and is with Rebecca. The same thing that most women would think. She decides that she has to move on. Included in this, is try to stop smoking (not successful), throwing away her self help books and having work done on her flat. Her friend suggests this guy (Gary) who turns out to be a complete flake and psycho. During all of this, she is still thinks about Mark, but also fantasizes about Prince William and Colin Firth. Now for those who don't know this, Colin Firth is the actor that plays Mark Darcy in the Bridget Jones's movies. As a work assignment, Bridget has to go to Thailand. She brings one of her girlfriends with her as company. The entire trip is a disaster. A man they had met on the plane gives them a gift that has cocaine in it. So Bridget ends up in a Thai prison. She is released eventually. Gary, after leaving her out of money and with a hole in her flat, sends her a bullet, not sure why, but anyway Mark sees it and decides that Bridget should stay at his house in one of the guestrooms. One night she can't sleep so she walks down to the kitchen and nearly scares the hell out of Mark who is coming up the stairs back to his room. She tells him she loves him and he says he feels the same. It is a sort of happily ever after, but not like it is shown in the movie. I recently saw the movie and could see parts of the book in it, but there are also parts that didn't make it or won't there. Buy it. Its fun and a break from reality.

Rating:
Summary: Much better than the first book
Review: I read the first book a week before The Edge of Reason so both are fresh in my mind. I found the second book more of a page turner. I was laughing out loud in bed on Sunday morning while reading the Colin Firth interview! I also saw the movie and naturally, the movie leaves out and changes many of the scenes in the book. I loved the movie, but it is a rare treat to read a book that makes you laugh out loud.