Customer Reviews

Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy (Unabridged)

I found this book hugely disappointing, both the storyline and the writing itself. Several pages of this books are devoted to fart and vomit jokes. I'd tell my 9 year old students off for writing so badly!

It's very difficult to picture a 50-something Bridget as the only thing Fielding tells us about is her weight, and in fact there's little character description throughout.

Bridget comes over as being incredibly self-absorbed throughout. Darcy leaves her with a lovely house, lots of money and a nanny. She doesn't work for more than a year, and when she gets a lucky break with becoming a script writer for a movie, she's too busy tweeting and texting the aforementioned fart jokes to her toyboy to actually keep the job.

Despite not working and having a nanny, she still can't cope with helping the kids get to school on time or do their homework. She's instead completely preoccupied with finding another man. It's pretty clear early on who she's going to end up with, but it still seems so unlikely that he would fall in love with her through the brief encounters they have.

I thought by the end I might have warmed to her, but no. She basically says at the end that now she's finally got a new man she can once again cope with life. Pathetic!

I physically cringed at some points in this book.

I have never known anybody in reality to obsess so much over twitter followers and take it all so seriously (particularly a 51 year old woman!).

It felt like I wad reading the diary of a 15 year old girl - although I think most 15 year old girls are more emotionally evolved than this incarnation of Bridget. Someone who spends their life not working, not looking after their children, but instead having so much time on their hands that they spend their entire life worrying about men, weight and THEMSELVES only.

She expects her friends (who are equally as 2d as she is!) to be there for her over every little stupid "crisis" she has going on in her life. Yet, when her friend comes to her for support she's more concerned and "hurt" over the fact that they didn't comment on her new coffee maker during their mini breakdown? She then gives some rubbish advice before swiftly changing the conversation back her own problems. How am I ever supposed to feel any empathy, sympathy or connection with someone so superficial?

Daniel Cleaver was just annoying. Who speaks like that. It felt like Fielding was simply making sure she gave Hugh Grant some "funny" one-liners for when the inevitable movie is released.

I wouldn't recommend this book to any fans of the previous books/movies.

I really wish I hadn't read this book, I loved the first two Bridget Jones books and was very disappointed by this one. It has a very weak plot not helped by killing Mark Darcy (why?!?!?). Bridget is still on her man quest and in many ways seems to not have grown up at all. This could have been fantastically funny if it was written as a reflection of Bridget's life after having children and trying to keep the spark in her marriage, instead it's about her chasing a man and trying to loose weight. Helen Fielding your readers have grown up why couldn't you let Bridget do the same?

Worst book I've attempted to read since 'does my bum look big in this' which I eventually threw in the bin. I found myself skimming pages, skipping pages and finally giving up about halfway through. Completely two-dimensional characters lurching from one contrived situation to another. Like the worst Bridget jones fan fiction. First book was funny, second book was a bit cringey, this one is a disaster. I don't know how she could put it out there.

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.

Bridget is now a 51 year old single mum but I doubt many readers can relate to her at all. She has been left financially secure, not needing to work. but toys with writing a screenplay and has a nanny to take the children to school though she really doesn't need one. Her children are pretty much perfect, cheerful, cute little bundles of energy, forever "running off' with their friends and having sleepovers. The characters are lacking in depth and description, including Roxter (?), Mr Wallaker and Bridget herself. I found it hard to picture any of them or their surroundings.
I could excuse this if it were actually funny but I only laughed once, at the obesity clinic, and then felt bad for laughing.
Bridget still has very attentive friends who will happily turn up any time day or night with booze and advice. She easily makes friends with the artily bohemian new neighbour and they are immediately sharing 'problems' and their kids are having sleepovers. Even the caricature of competitive school mum Nicolette becomes her friend in the end. Is no one able to resist Brdget's charms? I found everything came to her a little too easily to relate or connect with her.
This has lost the humour and warmth it once had. She has it all really and wants more. Fielding's only attempts at comedy are getting stuff down herself, being late and getting constantly distracted by her phone. Unfortunately, she is just a bit annoying. Of course, she finds a new perfect man to 'make-it-all-right-in-the-end, like a modern day Cinderella, again. But, worst of all, I found this Bridget to be just a bit....too...SMUG.

.

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.

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.

I bought this having read the original two books years ago and I enjoyed those thoroughly. The singleton Bridget of the 1990s was a cultural phenomenon many could relate to. However, this third instalment is a huge disappointment and I fear that Helen Fielding may have tarnished Bridget's legacy permanently. I had to force myself to finish it as it was actually a rather unpleasant read.

*This review contains spoilers*

In my opinion Helen Fielding has transformed Bridget from a loveably scatty character into a selfish monster. It made sense that a singleton in her 30s such as Bridget would be wrapped up in her own feelings and goals, because she was a single working woman trying to make her own way in life. However, in 'Mad About The Boy', Bridget is 51 and a widow with two young children. Therefore, you would assume that she would have developed as a character during the 15 fictional years that have passed since the last instalment but for some strange reason, she has not. 51-year-old Bridget does not appear to have developed psychologically in any way since the last book, despite having been through several life-changing experiences. Although the opening section of the book is quite moving, it soon becomes clear that Bridget's general approach to life has remained the same as before, which just doesn't make sense. This in itself makes it extremely difficult to visualise Bridget as being 51 rather than in her mid-thirties.

Helen Fielding has taken Bridget's least attractive traits and exaggerated them to the point where all her former charm has been obliterated. Bridget is completely obsessed with her own needs and desires, primarily the pursuit of men and her physical appearance. Everyone else in her life comes way down her list of priorities, including her children. Bridget doesn't work and employs a nanny and a cleaner, yet still struggles to achieve the very short list of domestic tasks she has to deal with. I just can't understand this. 30-something Bridget may have been disorganised and chaotic but she was never an idiot. This new Bridget seems to be unable to handle much at all, to the extent where you wonder if she's actually mentally unstable.

My biggest problem with Bridget's character is her sidelining of her children. She shows a distinct lack of interest in them; for example, she barely shows any concern when she receives a message from her daughter's school saying her daughter has a septic finger! Bridget doesn't seem to be bothered about having much quality time or conversation with her children and spends most of the time palming them off on the nanny, friends or family - the result of this is that we are left knowing very little about them as characters. They are essentially objects wheeled into the story periodically to provide some pathos and then wheeled out again so that Bridget can go back to thinking about herself. Is this really the kind of parenting style Helen Fielding intended Bridget to have? If so, she (Ms Fielding) should be thoroughly ashamed of herself for creating such a self-centred, detached mother.

Helen Fielding has done a similar disservice to Bridget's 'co-stars', making them (almost) as unpleasant and two-dimensional as her heroine. Bridget's friends have been transformed from a witty support network to little more than cynical commentators whose main function is pushing Bridget around and criticising her. This is a shame, as in the earlier books Bridget's friends played such an important role in keeping her going.

As for the plot, it's hard to actually remember what happens in the story, even a couple of days after finishing the book. The key developments are that she dates a toy-boy, is dumped by him and then gets together with a man she initially disliked, after learning that he has integrity and hidden depths. It is essentially a re-hash of the first book's romantic plotline but even then, Roxster and Mr Wallaker are much blander versions of Daniel and Mark. Helen Fielding doesn't manage to make either relationship that believable - both men are left two-dimensional and unrounded as characters. The speed with which Bridget cements her relationship with Mr Wallaker at the end of the book is also totally implausible - she barely knows the man but within a few paragraphs and an epilogue has created domestic bliss with him. It's lazy writing on Helen Fielding's part to plonk a happy ending onto the end in such a vague and clumsy manner and expect readers to be satisfied and in my view, also quite arrogant.

Other than the romance, there is very little else of note in the plot. Bridget's day-to-day life is very dull and a sub-plot about her writing a screenplay, which could potentially have been compelling, is toyed with and ultimately left unresolved. Bridget's obsession with Twitter and texting quickly becomes extremely tedious, as does her friends' preoccupation with online dating. These elements are obviously a mechanism for bringing Bridget into the current era but Fielding overdoes it to such an extent that it becomes ludicrous and cringe-worthy.

When reading the book, I felt strongly that Fielding's mind was firmly focused on the inevitable movie adaptation. She has shoe-horned the character of Daniel Cleaver sporadically into the plot, presumably as a means of getting him on the movie poster and there is ubiquitous product placement throughout the book - I can't think that is purely unintentional. Furthermore, by the way certain characters are described, I got a strong impression that Fielding had already decided who she wanted to be cast for some parts and formed the characters accordingly. Rebecca smacks of Helena Bonham-Carter and Mr Wallaker, a former SAS man with a 'ripped body' who Bridget describes directly as 'James Bond', makes me wonder whether Fielding has her eye on Daniel Craig for that role. We will have to wait and see...

Of course, Bridget's world is still populated by upper middle-class, affluent, mainly white men and women who are obviously shallow in their friendships and world-view. This was the case in the previous books but in this one, Fielding positively revels in her portrayal of an elitist collection of parents decked out in designer clothes, dropping their pretentiously-named children off at the private school gates and seemingly having little else to do but e-mail trivialities about school events to each other. We are all used to this stereotypically charmed world which has been repeatedly shown in Richard Curtis movies but, in the context of a post-recession, ethnically diverse country, it is all rather distasteful and anachronistic.

I think I've gone on enough! I will end by saying that Bridget fans who decide to read this book should be prepared for disappointment.

Omg, what a disappointment! I absolutely loved the first two books and the films (of course!), but as I was reading this sequel I kept wondering if Helen Fielding actually wrote this herself, as with every further page it more and more reminded me of a fan fic. First of all, what happened to all the wonderful sarcastic humour of the first books? Why all the graphic sex scenes? The plot doesn't make sense either: why did she have kids so late? The plot suggests that Bridget married Mark at 35. But then she had Billy at 45 and Mabel at 47? Despite the ticking clock? A bit of a stretch, isn't it? Why and how was Mark killed? How does she manage to get a referral to obesity clinic wearing size 14? The whole Mr.Wallaker romance was visible from the very beginning, no suspense there at al! But my main question to the author is WHY DO YOU HATE YOUR WONDERFUL CHARACTERS? You turned Bridget into a sad sad person who lives on cheese, Daniel Cleaver is laughable in his pathetic advances AND drinks fairy liquid, Mark is dead! This book is a fake and I'll pretend it doesn't exist!