Book Review: Bridget Jones's Baby--The Diaries

By Melissa Amster

Bridget Jones, beloved Singleton and global phenomenon, is back with a bump in Bridget Jones's Baby: The Diaries.

8:45 P.M. Realize there have been so many times in my life when have fantasized about going to a scan with Mark or Daniel: just not both at the same time.

Before motherhood, before marriage, Bridget with biological clock ticking very, very loudly, finds herself unexpectedly pregnant at the eleventh hour: a joyful pregnancy which is dominated, however, by a crucial but terribly awkward question – who is the father? Mark Darcy: honourable, decent, notable human rights lawyer? Or Daniel Cleaver: charming, witty, notable fuckwit?

9:45 PM It’s like they’re two halves of the perfect man, who’ll spend the rest of their lives each wanting to outdo the other one. And now it’s all enacting itself in my stomach.

In this gloriously funny, touching story of baby-deadline panic, maternal bliss, and social, professional, technological, culinary and childbirth chaos, Bridget Jones – global phenomenon and the world’s favorite Singleton – is back with a bump. (Synopsis courtesy of Amazon.)

Although I haven't seen the latest Bridget Jones movie yet, I was psyched to receive this book. I plan to see the movie soon, now that it is out on DVD, but I'm glad I read the book first. From what I've heard, Daniel Cleaver is not in the movie. Bridget's friend Jude is not in the book, but IMDb shows her being in the movie. So I guess that even after reading the book, I may still be in for some surprises and changes.

Bridget Jones's Baby: The Diaries was the perfect light read for me. I had been reading some sad and intense novels lately, so this was definitely a pick-me-up. I found myself laughing out loud many, many times. Bridget is still a delightful mess, getting into all sorts of scrapes. On top of being pregnant and not knowing which man from her past is the father, she is also dealing with the drama that her family and friends are going through. And all she really wants sometimes is a cheesy potato. (Which inspired me to want a cheesy potato for dinner recently.)

The only issue I really had was with time. It seems like there would be time errors at various spots in the book. Like she would say she had a scan on Monday, when it was Friday, but then suddenly the scan was "tomorrow." Aside from that, I also couldn't tell if she was writing in her diary or reflecting in her head about a recent experience. It also would have been nice to talk about the actual baby delivering experience, which I'm sure would be amusing on top of everything else she had been going through.

Overall, it was hilarious and entertaining and I am even more excited to watch the movie now.

Thanks to Knopf for the book in exchange for an honest review.

More Bridget Jones novels: