Edge of Reason
I spent most of yesterday reading Bridget Jones's Diary: Edge of Reason, the second book in the Jones trilogy. It was a lot longer than the first book, I think nearly twice the number of pages. And the first half of it got boring in some parts, since Bridget seemed to be stuck in an endless cycle of 1.) moping about her boyfriendlessness, 2.) complaining about the gaping hole in her wall, and 3.) being annoyed at her mum ringing her up. In that order.
But the second half totally made up for it. Just when I thought Bridget would be stuck doing the same things over and over, waiting for her love interest, Mark Darcy, to save her, Helen Fielding sends her on a life-changing trip to Thailand, where she eventually gets involved in a drug syndicate and gets locked away in Thai jail for 10 days. Amazing. Then when Bridget returns to England, she finds a mysterious golden lipstick-like object with her name engraved on it waiting on her doorstep. Mark Darcy shows up and panics, recognizing it for what it truly is: a bullet. Exciting stuff.
I used to wonder myself whether Bridget Jones was a feminist book or not, especially since in her two books, it's Mark Darcy who ends up saving the day (i.e. getting Mrs. Jones out of that Julio situation in the first book, and then getting Bridget out of Thai jail in the second). But that's kind of the thing about popular feminism: it seems to demand that every woman be a hero, when some women are content being... themselves. Bridget is clumsy, weird, shallow, and self-absorbed, just like any other human being on Earth. And while she did not actually save herself when she was locked away in jail (having instead to rely on Mark Darcy's connections with Amnesty International the DFA), she womaned up and got that British representative, Charles, to get his butt moving on her case. Because really, if you're a British woman with inferior connections trapped in a Thai jail, isn't that really the best you can do? Bridget showed remarkable growth in this book, and even though it was Mark who solved her legal troubles, it was still Bridget's story of self-discovery and finding inner peace. V v good.
Anyway I'm tempted to end this post here, because it just gets worse. But, for the sake of documentation, I must proceed.
Earlier today I did some research on the third Bridget Jones book, Mad About the Boy. My first reaction was that Helen Fielding has a very very strange way of naming her novels. The second one, after all, was called "Edge of Reason," which sounds very formal and serious and not at all like a romantic comedy title. Second reaction, I was surprised that the third novel was released in 2013, which is fairly recent considering the second novel was released in 1999, back when Facebook and Instagram were only figments of imagination. So it's been 14 years since Fielding's last release, and I was wondering how the huge jump in time would play out in the novel.
So I read the plot synopsis.
HUGE MISTAKE.
BECAUSE APPARENTLY BRIDGET IS NOW 51 YEARS OLD.
WITH TWO CHILDREN.
AND MARK DARCY IS DEAD.
Okay. Okay. Breathe. Will think of it no further. Am just going to rewatch the Renee Zellwegger films and everything will be fine and peachy and Mark Darcy will still be living. Goodbye.
lord bakit
But the second half totally made up for it. Just when I thought Bridget would be stuck doing the same things over and over, waiting for her love interest, Mark Darcy, to save her, Helen Fielding sends her on a life-changing trip to Thailand, where she eventually gets involved in a drug syndicate and gets locked away in Thai jail for 10 days. Amazing. Then when Bridget returns to England, she finds a mysterious golden lipstick-like object with her name engraved on it waiting on her doorstep. Mark Darcy shows up and panics, recognizing it for what it truly is: a bullet. Exciting stuff.
I used to wonder myself whether Bridget Jones was a feminist book or not, especially since in her two books, it's Mark Darcy who ends up saving the day (i.e. getting Mrs. Jones out of that Julio situation in the first book, and then getting Bridget out of Thai jail in the second). But that's kind of the thing about popular feminism: it seems to demand that every woman be a hero, when some women are content being... themselves. Bridget is clumsy, weird, shallow, and self-absorbed, just like any other human being on Earth. And while she did not actually save herself when she was locked away in jail (having instead to rely on Mark Darcy's connections with Amnesty International the DFA), she womaned up and got that British representative, Charles, to get his butt moving on her case. Because really, if you're a British woman with inferior connections trapped in a Thai jail, isn't that really the best you can do? Bridget showed remarkable growth in this book, and even though it was Mark who solved her legal troubles, it was still Bridget's story of self-discovery and finding inner peace. V v good.
Anyway I'm tempted to end this post here, because it just gets worse. But, for the sake of documentation, I must proceed.
Earlier today I did some research on the third Bridget Jones book, Mad About the Boy. My first reaction was that Helen Fielding has a very very strange way of naming her novels. The second one, after all, was called "Edge of Reason," which sounds very formal and serious and not at all like a romantic comedy title. Second reaction, I was surprised that the third novel was released in 2013, which is fairly recent considering the second novel was released in 1999, back when Facebook and Instagram were only figments of imagination. So it's been 14 years since Fielding's last release, and I was wondering how the huge jump in time would play out in the novel.
So I read the plot synopsis.
HUGE MISTAKE.
BECAUSE APPARENTLY BRIDGET IS NOW 51 YEARS OLD.
WITH TWO CHILDREN.
AND MARK DARCY IS DEAD.
WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY LORD JESUS WHYYYYYYYYYYYYY WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY WHYYYYYYYYYYYYY WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY WHY WHY WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY I AM JUST GONNA KEEP ON HOLDING THE Y BUTTON UNTIL THE PAIN DISAPPEARS WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY OH GOD IT STILL HURTS WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY
Okay. Okay. Breathe. Will think of it no further. Am just going to rewatch the Renee Zellwegger films and everything will be fine and peachy and Mark Darcy will still be living. Goodbye.
lord bakit
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