Posted in book reviews

In my quest to find some fiction to read while nursing, I looked over my literature lists last week (how's that for alliteration?) and decided to read Tom Jones by Henry Fielding.  I had to slow down enough to find the book and pull it off the shelf while simultaneously going fast enough that the twins (corralled in the double stroller) could not pull anything off the shelves.  It's a delicate balance.

Right next to The History of Tom Jones, A Foundling was Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding.  I liked the movie well enough so I grabbed that book too.  I thoroughly enjoyed reading it, even though I am a (hopefully not so) Smug Married with seven children.  You really can see your own foibles in her character even if your situation in life is different. She has a "laundry crisis" every so often, which basically means that she hasn't done any laundry and has nothing clean to wear.  Every time she tries to cook she gets too fancy and thinks she is going to transform into a gourmet cook overnight.  On March 19 she decided to serve shepherds pie to her friends on her birthday since it's "British Home Cooking."  Then on March 20, she adds, "Have decided to serve the shepherds pie with Char-Grilled Belgian Endive Salad, Roquefort Lardons and Frizzled Chorizo, to add a fashionable touch (have not tried before but sure it will be easy) followed by individual Grand Marnier soufflés...Expect to become known as brilliant cook and hostess." Her friends end up taking her out to dinner. At one point she reads a magazine article on "Make Parties Work For You" and tries to implement it for her big work party, and then after making all these notes on how she's going to approach the party, writes, "Don't want to go to scary party."

One of the funniest things is how she keeps track of different thing at the beginning of most of the entries: her weight, alcohol drunk and cigarettes smoked, calories, and seasonal items like Valentines and Christmas cards received.  She'll sometimes give reasons why her weight is up or down, like on February 9 "extra fat presumably caused by winter whale blubber."

The end of the book is different from the end of the movie.  I remember thinking the end of the movie was kind of stupid (wasn't she running through the streets of London on Christmas in her underwear?) so I am glad it's different.  I got the sequel out of the library yesterday and can't wait to start reading it!