Mad About the Boy - anyone else read?

[lainiekazan]

I've done an advanced search and can't find a discussion on this book - if there is one I do apologise (I do hate people who start threads without doing a search or even scanning down the topic subjects).

Anyway, what a load of crap. I got more and more irritated. It just read like a film script ready for presentation to Richard Curtis.

[SequinsOfEvents]

I have read it...........not really the most enthralling of reads but passed the time on a flight

Very obvious where it was going (man action wise) which is always disappointing but fairly common in chick lit type stuff I guess.

You're right about film script.....mind you, I found it less irritating than when I watched Love Actually (return flight weirdly!) and realised what a total pile of cack that is!

[5HundredUsernamesLater]

I downloaded the free sample onto my kindle but couldn't get into it so didn't buy the full book.

[BetterWithCheese]

I keep giving up on it and I usually like chick lit. I might make through it some day.

[aliciagardner]

A few chapters from the end here. Okay so far - enjoyable enough, I wasn't expecting it to be anything particularly clever or insightful (it's just Bridget jones, same as ever).

I've read reviews and the general consensus is that it's terrible, but I don't think it differs much from the original BJ (or follow up) in terms of quality.

[Galaxymum]

I found it better than I was expecting - a light read over the New Year, and had some genuinely funny and poignant moments. I do think Helen Fielding is very observant and it felt very contemporary. I liked the commentary of obsessions with social media and texting, and also I thought the grief was emotional and realistic. Mum and Una reminded me ofmy mum and her friends so I felt quite satisfied after reading it actually.

My major problem was so silly but really bugged me. Where was Shaz? She was just written out in a sentence and I wondered if the real Shaz, Sharon Maguire and Helen Fielding fell out. I missed sweary Shaz.

[lainiekazan]

I thought there would be a big reveal over where Shaz had disappeared to. Mark was portrayed as such a saint I would have been sneakily quite pleased if it had turned out she had been with Mark on his humanitarian trip where he'd met his end.

[eslteacher]

I also was really annoyed by the lack of any coherent reason why Shaz had been replaced by Talitha. It seemed so arbitary, unless Fielding was trying to make a point about how friendship groups rarely remain unchanged over time.

I enjoyed the book, though. Agree it was obvious from the first scene with Mr W. where it was all going to end up. I generally liked the humour and the style, it made me laugh out loud more than once, and the overall plot was pretty good. It seemed to me a realistic depiction of where Bridget could be at this stage of her life.

Just a couple of things bugged me: firstly I didn't like all the verbatim Tweeting that we had to read, the style of that really grated on me for some reason and didn't ring true for her character. Secondly, the book was really lacking in funny stand-alone situations that the first two books had in spades, e.g. interviewing Colin Firth, getting high on magic mushrooms in Thailand, the disastrous birthday dinner party, the interludes at her parents' house etc. It felt like this book stayed very much in London (I guess inevitable as she had children in school) and didn't have many stand-alone funny bits that I remember, so it was a bit samey and static all the way through.

[NoSnowJustSand]

It was one of my first reads of 2014 and I deliberately chose it because I knew it would be a quick, fairly light-hearted read. I did wonder about all the tweeting and where on earth Shaz had got to. But yes, it did read the a script and it was mentally assigning actors as I read!

[Alexchallex]

Half way through. Been reading it for months. Loved the first two. This is ok

[Pilesofironing]

Just finished this last night. Thought it was awful to start with but ended up quite enjoying it - quite funny in parts.
I agree that all the Twitter chat is just annoying, and as for Mr W holding up a car with his bare hands - really?? I kept wondering what was wrong with BJ that she is unable to just grow up.
I agree that it is a film script. I have already cast it in my head.

[Thatballwasin]

I think I have got too old for her. I know she was never a proper "everywoman" (a colleague pointing out that despite constant risk of joblessness she seemed be able to live along in a smartish part of London put paid to that) but all the "never have to work again" stuff just meant I felt completely disconnected. The constant tweeting just was just irritating, a stream of tweets about your upcoming date without a single thought to the fact he's reading it, only funny for about 10 seconds.

The weight in pounds thing really pissed me off as well, just lazy.

[hackmum]

I wondered if the weight in pounds thing was either a) because she had an American audience in mind or b) to disguise the fact that she's heavier now than she was in the earlier books. I think it's probably a.

[ShanghaiDiva]

Finished it about an hour ago. It was obvious what was going to happen with MrW and the tweeting/texting was irritating. Pleasant enough read and no need to engage brain.

How old was she when the diaries finished? Thought she was mid 30s so what happened between then and having children at 43/45?

[Trills]

Not everyone chooses to have children straight away after getting married.

Not everyone gets pregnant straight away after choosing to have children.

I would say that if you have plenty of time and are looking for something to read that will be quite good (and enjoyed the other Bridget Jones books) then you should read this

If you have a limited amount of reading time and need to fill it efficiently with only things that are really very good then you can give this one a miss.

[ShanghaiDiva]

trills -agree not everyone has children straight away, but as I was reading wanted Fielding to fill in the gap on what had happened.

[Thatballwasin]

Pounds things was def for US audience which I took as a bit of a kick in the teeth (touchy? Moi??). I really enjoyed the other books. Maybe I would have enjoyed this one more if I'd had a quick skim through them before I started.As it was I felt about 90yrs older than Bridget and that she was a bit of an arse. When I was younger, I cringed with her and wanted to give her a hug but that is perhaps entirely to do with the amount I have changed over time and not to do with The character.

[hollyisalovelyname]

I enjoyed it.
Also imagined it as a film-who did you cast as Rockster?
I also thought the weight in pounds was for U. S. readers