The wonderings, ponderings and other 'ings' of me. Lifestyle, review, news and opinion posts. Chic with a hint of sarcasm... hopefully!

Sunday 13 October 2013

Bridget Jones - Mad At the Author (a sort of open letter to Helen Fielding)



Weight (not telling you) books read 1, reviews of said book 1, number of times cried over book 3 (v gd.) Warning: Beware spoilers.

So I did it, I read the whole of Bridget Jones in a weekend even though I knew Mark Darcy had been killed.  In my naivety I did somehow hope that it had all been a mistake or that he had been forced into witness protection and would turn up in the third scene but alas it was not to be.  So Fielding, I have reviewed your book and seeing as the last time I reviewed a book it was The Slap (writing that I had serious hatred for) this doesn’t bode well for you.

However the fact that I did read it in one weekend meant, at least, I do still think you can write and the comedy scenes you got Bridget into were still funny.  But offing MD is an ever present mistake permeating every page.  

To also miss out Sharon pretty much completely (off being married, since when would Sharon have left Bridget?) and to add insult to fatal injury, killing off Bridget’s dad and Uncle Geoffrey as well! Like we don’t already know men go first, its just all too much.  You should know that I'm not angry, just very disappointed and now mistrusting of any of your future works.   

You see we know there is pain in the world and that death is part of life but we don't go to Bridget Jones to have this point drilled home to us.  If we want the pain of real life we buy Jodi Picoult books, or read and watch the news or look out the window.  If we want pseudo-real life we watch Made In Chelsea or TOWIE*

We are not children that need to be taught about the harsh realities of what someone feels when a father and husband die and all the pain that entails.  We come to Bridget for lighthearted relief from these things, trusting you to provide that relief which is all too sparse these days.  

While I understand writers want to grow and change their characters, a nice divorce or separation would have been much better (with a healthy reconciliation at the end).  As it is the whole book is tinged with a tar like sadness which won't wash off even with the less than realistic and Happy Ever After ending your editor probably forced you to put in.  

You've let us down, you’ve let yourself down and worst of all you've let Bridget down.

A word of warning Sophie Kinsella, don't ever kill off Luke Brandon, I GENUINELY couldn't take it.

*please note, I will never again watch TOWIE, tried it once and spent 3 minutes watching a miniature dog take a dump.
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3 comments

Lauren said...

I really liked this review Ally. You make such a valid point about how Bridget Jones was always about humour and light relief, so to fill it with death, no matter how realistic, is not what most readers would be looking for. A loyal audience has a certain amount of expectation and as you say - she's let them down.

Will probably still read it myself at some point because you know me - I don't like getting into a debate unless I have all the information (50 Shades anyone?!)

Unknown said...

Helen did say she had already received a lot of backlash and hatemail for killing off Darcy. She said he would never have divorced Bridget, he wasn't that sort of man. And Bridget needs to be seen to deal with loss...No, SHE DOESN'T, seems to be the clear response all round.
Think I'll wait a while before reading. But nice post--funny too...although maybe you didn't mean it to be and I'm being callous as you deal with your disappointment...

Anonymous said...

You said so many things in your post that I can only agree with. It is so bizarre that Helen expects us to laugh at Bridget learning how to use Twitter when there is all that sadness around her. I could not finish it. It was heart-breaking. I think this was so not necessary. We have already seen Bridget handle loss (when she and Mark Darcy broke up for a while) so I really do not understand Helen F's "reason" for writing such a depressing book. Anyone could have guessed that Bridget drinks and eats more when she is faced with loss. And her loss could have been lighter... easily...
Anyways, this isn't point. The point is what you said: we read the stories of Bridget because we want to feel joyful...

xoxo, Eszter
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