Customer Reviews

Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy (Unabridged)

Really mixed feelings about the book. the twitter /text stuff was soooo boring and I nearly gave up there. However as I got into the book, it became really depressing and as a 50 something myself a bit scary. But the dates didn't add up , she had a baby at 48? Then to finish it off she met a man so like Mark.. . No if you loved the 1st two books , keep away from this.

What a shame, I loved the first two books. This one is boring, badly written and uses text conversations and Twitter rubbish far too often. Plus, what is the point of having a book about Bridget without Mr Darcy? Should have left it at 2 books- had to force myself to finish it.

This does not compare to Helen Fielding's previous books. It is boring and not really funny, It concentrates on twitter outpourings and is Bridget is no longer a character you can empathise with. Bad mistake to kill off Mark Darcy as there now seems to be a big gap in the story and it all seems unrealistic.
Unhappy previous Bridget Jones fan!!!

Disappointed that having turned fifty one and alone with two young children after the tragic and sudden loss of the love of her life, Bridget is infinitely more vacuous and self obsessed than when she was a singleton. This is a dreadful book on so many levels, particularly when there was so much scope to develop the central character into maturity while still retaining her sense of humour and self. There was no reference at all to the current economic climate which has impacted on so many, or even reference to social affairs apart from a brief reference to Kate Middleton's mothers penchant for coat dresses. Tiresome and unworthy of my time and the �1.99 spent on the Kindle version. I'm actually grateful that Mark Darcy is out of the frame so as to spare Colin Firth. I just hope the wonderful Rene Zellweger places her reputation above any temptation to try to bring this worn out character back to life.

I never write reviews normally but felt I had to warn people of this terrible book.
I quite enjoyed the original 2 books but the style of writing has not only become outdated and tired but also annoying and boring. I know Helen has tried to bring Bridget up to date but all the texting and tweeting is a bore to read, so I skipped over most of it. I couldn't wait to finish it but it was a slog.
Bridgit also seems to be 51 yrs old which doesn't quite work out with where she left off 15 yrs ago and yet has a son and a 4 yr old daughter, who seems to only flit in and out of her consciousness. She therefore is a terrible mother and very selfishly only thinks about herself and where her life is going.
Fielding is definitely thinking about her movie rites with this shallow written story.

Diabolical.

Lovable, cuddly, foot-in-mouth, just-the-way-you-are Bridget is long gone. In her place is a 51 year old widow obsessed with finding a man (yes, still,- and while we're on the subject, what kind of a name is Roxster?!), losing weight (yes, still, - a referral to an obesity clinic at a size 14? Really Helen? Way to relate to a huge chunk of your original fans there...) and booze (mouthful of wine in the middle of a children's diarrhea/vomit incident? Really?).

As for "hilarious" - if you find nits, poo, vomit, farting, technophobia and juvenile name-calling among parents funny, then you'll split your sides within the first 150 pages. Otherwise, you'll sit as I did, cringing for this ridiculous woman.

Just keep in mind when reading this that Bridget is no longer in her thirties and trying to work out where her life is going. She's 51, with children raised by a Nanny (even though she doesn't work) and a stupid boyfriend. Her friends haven't grown up either, and her mother is still commenting on her life even though she's now in her seventies.

Helen seems to think we've all forgotten who Bridget is - lines from the first two books and films crop up repeatedly. "Daniel, my former emotional f*ckwit boyfriend and Mark's former arch-enemy" or "Running around naked on his parents lawn". Look, I'm all for finding love and discovering who you are no matter what your age, but when these characters are supposed to be in their fifties and they're still having telephone conversations that involve the words "what colour are your knickers, Jones?" - it's time to stop reading.

Helen made a huge mistake getting rid of one of the most popular characters, but she made an even bigger one by writing this drivel in the first place. It's obviously written with the intent of being turned into a film, because it's lost all the sparkle of the first two books and instead is heavily reliant on visuals that will work in a Hollywood movie. The sentence "it's raining men" is actually in here. Repeat references to the Dalai Lama's twitter account and numerous mentions of checking for followers made me want to heave.

Awful.

this is a travesty - a book about nothing with a heroine that doesn't have the appeal she did int he earlier books. Not worth the money

I enjoyed this book and if one has to be widowed then Bridget Jones is doing it in style.
I found the book very sad and very amusing at the same time but towards the end I began to wonder if Bridget Jones realised how lucky she really was.
Financially secure with a London House. Not having to work and with a daily cleaner and a nanny to help out. Baby sitters on tap and no dependant elderly relatives to worry about as they were in "retirement heaven' in their sheltered accommodation. Reality seems to have passed her by.

First things first; I am a man. A not very fabulous man at that.
Feel free to disregard the rest of my review if you wish as clearly I am not Helen Fielding's target market either now or 15 years ago. In my defense, I did read and enjoy Bridget Jones' Diary back in the day. Oh and I have childcare responsibilities so a grown up Bridget should be right up my street.....

ANYWAY. Now you know my credentials or lack there of let's get on with the review:

I agree with every one of the 1 star reviews here, this is a dreadful book. All the points scored against it are easy shots:

The character has not changed in any way in 15 years despite parenthood and two significant bereavements

The tragic events glossed over in the recap are far more interesting then the trivia that makes up the actual plot of the novel, is Helen Fielding scared of depth?

It reads like a synopsis for a movie with Hugh Grant's character shoe horned in purely so the producers of the inevitable film can include his name on the poster

It is not funny - the comedy is horribly contrived and falls flat on it's bottom at every turn

The story is utter trivia - did I mention that already? It bears repeating!

And you will no doubt find your own list of personal pet hates.
Here are mine:

The dismal cultural research (Plants Vs Zombies is not a game in which children use zombies to destroy plants, there are no 'levels' to complete in Minecraft, the last time a child said "Epic Fail" in real life was 2010 and even then they were eternally shunned by their peers for using such dated parlance).

The constant product placement masquerading as authenticity (Apple and Grazia must be delighted among many, many others).

But my biggest problem is Bridget herself, or possibly Helen Fielding's world view as presented by Bridget Jones. Specifically Bridget's many failings as a parent, partner and friend are presented as lovable quirks intended to make her sympathetic. I found such behavior and attitudes fairly amusing 15 years ago but now that she has been cast as a parent see seems like a deeply selfish, self absorbed and shallow person. She completely eclipses her children in her own mind, along with everyone else in her life. Bridget is only really concerned about meeting her own needs. In reality this is hugely destructive in a child's life, so not funny or quirky then. Yes, I am being serious about a chic lit pseudo comic novel - but as the comedy doesn't really work I feel the novel leaves us with a very ugly central character who lives in a permanent state of excusing her own selfishness.
But maybe this is a clever dig at the western mindset? Probably not.

Which leads me on to my second biggest problem with the book; Bridget's life style. although she has suffered a huge personal loss Bridget does not have to work and has a nanny. This leaves her free to wallow in her obsessions, one of which just happens to be screen writing but could just as easily have been decoupage. Personally I am doing my parenting against the back ground of austerity Britain. Every time Bridget wastes a day reading magazines and tweeting then complains about her calorie intake and lack of productivity I find myself getting, well, a bit cross. Jealous yes. But frustrated that she doesn't grow up, turn her phone off, deny her own interests and commit to being present in the moment with her loved ones.
A clever dig by Fielding at the 1% perhaps? Nah, I doubt it.

So it's utter rubbish from being to end, an insult to working parents, to earnest non working parents, to feminism and a celebration of all that is banal in contemporary culture.

But....er, I couldn't put it down.
It's an easy breezy read and perfect for a commute, air port or pool side. Shame on me. Shame on us all.
2 stars then.

...although stood on its own this does make a reasonable read i have to admit that it didnt meet my expectations. There was so much more that could have been written about, i was looking forward to following bridget and mark through the next big steps, how much we have missed going from thirty something to fifties & widowed. it almost feels dismissive.

Although i take some peoples point that its a difficult subject feilding took on and i admit tears did come to my eyes at certain more emotive sections overall i felt disapointed, sections are different but the foundations are the same ~ bridget is still bridget and i could not picture her at 50. Roxster was daniel, daniel was recast as a shell of his former self & mr wallaker needlessly and unconvincingly replaced mark darcy.

i do feel somewhat cheated & although i will happily re read books 1&2 this one wont be reread & i'll simply imagine what could have been a fabulous 3rd..