Bridget Jones's Diary

By: Helen Fielding

Narrated by: Tracie Bennett

Length: 3 hrs and 17 mins

Publisher's Summary

Meet Bridget Jones - a 30-something singleton who is certain she would have all the answers if she could:  

A) lose seven pounds
B) stop smoking
C) develop Inner Poise  

Here is the laugh-out-loud daily chronicle of a hilarious year in the life of the devastatingly self-aware Bridget Jones; a year in which she resolves to: reduce the circumference of each thigh by one and a half inches, visit the gym three times a week not merely to buy a sandwich, and form a functional relationship with a responsible adult.

Bridget struggles to keep her life on an even keel - or at least afloat. Whenever her plans meet with disaster, she manages to pick herself up, go out on the town, and tell herself it will be all right in the morning, when life will definitely be different this time and totally alcohol-, calorie-, and perverted-misogynist-free.

Bridget Jones's Diary will make you like yourself for precisely those things you're most ashamed of. And through it all, Bridget will have you helpless with laughter, and shouting, "Bridget Jones is me!" 

Please note: This is the abridged edition. An unabridged version is also available.

©1997 by Helen Fielding (P)1998 by Random House, Inc., Random House AudioBooks, a Division of Random House, Inc.

Critic Reviews

• Nominee for Audio Publishers Association 2001 Audie Award, Humor

“Screamingly funny!” (USA Today)

“Bridget Jones is channeling something so universal and (horrifyingly) familiar that readers will giggle and sigh with collective delight.” (Elle)

“Fielding . . . has rummaged all too knowingly through the bedrooms, closets, hearts, and minds of women everywhere.” (Glamour) 

Better heard than read.

Lighthearted fun. This book is one which really benefited from having a Brit do the narration. Some expressions needed that British accent. I had scanned the book in bookstores and thought that the Bridget seemed to be too much of a lightweight. As narrator Tracie Bennett keeps Bridget Jones sounding real and funny without being too dippy. Picked up my spirits. Glad I gave Bridget Jones a second chance on audio.

Mediocre

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

The story was OK, but the narration was beyond disappointing.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

The narrator's voice was like fingernails on a chalkboard. Her voice, in my opinion, did not sound like it went with the character. I felt like I was listening to an imposter trying too hard to sound like Bridgett, and failing miserably. I'll actually make sure I don't purchase books narrated by this person again. Maybe I should have read the book, rather than listened to it.

Did Bridget Jones's Diary inspire you to do anything?

I can watch the movie now. I'd been putting that off until I'd read the book. I hope the movie isn't as much of a disappointment as the audio book.

Fun listen!

Narrator performed wonderfully both men and women characters and the story is a lot of fun to listen to!

Funny, romantic, excellent

(I am sure there are some lost Audible reviews, because I cannot believe that this title has gone without!) This is an abridged book, and usually I find that offensive (too abrupt, too few details), but this is a GREAT short read. I didn't feel that there was anything missing. I haven't read the full text (sorry, Ms Fielding), but I found this Audible version even more enjoyable than the movie (although it didn't hurt to have a mental note of Colin Firth while listening ;-) Don't avoid this title if you have seen the movie and are worried it will exactly the same -- it isn't. There are many different scenes, many of them laugh-aloud. It is a very fun book. Also kudos to the narrator who brought the many characters to life. This is one of the few Audible titles I will listen to more than once.

Audio best

I agree with the other reviewer that the audio is better than the book. Since so much of Bridget's personality is just sort of talking to herself, the movie just doesn't do that justice, and the book doesn't quite pick up the British vibe like the audio. The narrator really picks up who she is and I laughed out loud at this book. Great job.

Make sure you get 'Edge of Reason' also. Continuation of the story.

V. V. HYSTERICAL

I tried reading this book a few years ago, but never finished it. I also never saw the movie (can't stand Renee Zellwegger.) Needless to say, I decided to give it a listen and I really enjoyed it. The narrator is absolutely perfect... anyone with such an engaging English accent who can snort (literally) with laughter gets a huge thumbs up from me (plus a few snorts of laughter.) Definitely fun and great for a laugh!

Voice acting A, Voice intonations D-

The story gets an A- but that's only because it's more complex than the streamlined movie version, making it tougher to follow at times. (The problem could be that I didn't know the book included more scenes than the movie.) But the reason I am writing this note is to tell anyone who listens to audiobooks in their cars, that this book, while very entertaining, was tough to listen to on the road. The narrator is great at voice acting but she does go from a loud screamy shout (depicting a co-worker) to a conspiratory whisper (the protagonist's father) in one breath. I adjusted my car speaker's audio controls madly, like every 20 seconds, for the entire duration of the book. In the end, it was worth it! But if you're not used to driving with one hand on wheel and the other on the radio volume control, you should think twice about this book.

Bridget Jones's Diary

As expected, hilarious. Great book

For Singletons Everywhere

I listened to this book after seeing the movie, which I thoroughly enjoyed. And I have to admit that I actually liked the movie better that the book! Still, I can't get enough of Bridget Jones, so this was very entertaining and worth the listen.

EXCELLENT IN ALL WAYS

"Bridget Jones's Diary" is one of the funniest books I've ever read. The narrator, Tracie Bennett, is very good and does marvelous voices for all the various characters in the book. I've read this book about 20 times now--as an unabridged hard-copy book and an audio--but it never grows stale. As I recall the follow-up, "Bridget Jones, The Edge of Reason" was excellent, too.