I recall getting to read this book in its original language (I am Romanian, so getting it in English was a balst) some years ago. A coleague of mine was nice enough to let me read Bridget Jones’s Diary and it was enjoyable.
For the women who are interested in “serious literature” this is just some chick lit that’s not gonna make you use your brains too much, but still it’s a good read for the modern woman.
Bridget is the “normal” woman if you like, the woman living in this society, still “forced” to be a perfect wife/mother but wanting to be something more too. A woman who’s trying to find true love, who wants to have the freedom to get into bed with a guy and still dreams of becoming a married woman eventualy.
Her life is not easy. She’s 33, almost all people her age are or should be married with children, her parents (mother especially) are expecting her to do her “duty” to the society, she’s the paria in most meetings since most relatives/friends are married and she’s still a “spinster”.
Her friends are more “normal” though, even if they are also either in an abusive relationship or plain gay. The normallity comes from their lifestyle in the end. They know to have fun (sometimes this has a hangover as the result), they disect each and every aspect of their lives while also being very well informed on the latest “news” in the “self-help” books area.
I found the book to be amazingly funny. A witty style and some unexpected expressions made me burst into laughter when reading it. And since I did read some of it on my way home while also walking (don’t ask, an old habit of mine), I had people stare at me because I wasn’t just “sleep walking” with a book under my nose, but was also laughing my self senseless.
I found many similar aspects in my life too and I am sure ANY woman who’s reading the book will have the same opinion as I have. We are not Bridget Jones altogether (I am not on a constant diet since I am skinny, I have 2 careers without the “accidents” she’s facing, never had to worry about a boyfriend since this autumn marks our 7 year anniversary etc.), but still most of us face SOME of the issues she’s facing.
Many older relatives of mine are still shocked to see my “way of living”, still consider pre-marital sex to be a very big sin, can’t understand how I make money from just “playing on my computer” etc. The idea in the end is to just focus on ourselves and on our own dreams and ideals, such as Bridget does. She’s got something in mind and she’s really trying to accomplish it. The mistakes she makes mare her HUMAN. She can’t keep on a serious diet, she can’t renounce smoking, her drinking habit also needs work.
But she’s planning her “bettering herself” action and does what a normal person does: tries. Sometimes she’s failing, sometimes we feel like she’s “there”. Sometimes WE feel like we’re there.
So, if you haven’t read the book, try it. The movie, even if more famous is still inferior to it. 
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