On Independence

WEEK TEN

BOOKS REMAINING:  38

CURRENT BOOK:  Bridget Jones’ Diary by Helen Fielding

After enjoying my delectable pizza on Friday, along with the greater portion of a bottle of chilled white wine and the excellent movie “The Age of Adeline,” I texted the book-loving receptionist from work to see if she had a copy of A Room of One’s Own.  She got back to me when we returned to the office on Tuesday that she did not, so interlibrary loan it is going to have to be.

In the meantime, I finished Bridget Jones’ Diary during an excursion to the beach in Gulfport (not the prettiest beach, but about the closest, and without crowds or traffic even on a holiday weekend because everyone has gone out of town to the prettier beaches).  It was so hot that it was almost unbearable, even under the umbrella.

I appreciated the humor in the novel, and it made me a bit nostalgic for my younger days when I was single and didn’t have to wait for my husband to make decisions, or get the house tidied up, or pretty much anything!  And of course the idea of independence was everywhere this past weekend.  As much as Bridget Jones is susceptible to the pressure from her family and her peers and society in general, that she should have a boyfriend and ultimately get married, there are times I wanted to knock some sense into her.  “Hello!  You’re only 33!  Don’t be in such a hurry!  Men are too much trouble!  Enjoy your freedom!”

My husband still has some growing to do, from being what Bridget and her friends would call an “emotional fuckwad.”

Anyway, Bridget is a very relatable character, as her concerns are very much in line with those of most women her age.  Her family.  Her love life (or lack thereof).  Her job.  Her weight.  I think generally women are more dramatic about things in their 20’s and grow out of it as they get closer to 40, and Bridge is still at the stage where she is trying to rise above it.  The novel chronicles a year in her life as she tries to improve herself, and although she does better in some categories than others, she does find herself in a happier place by New Year’s Eve.  There were some differences in the book, especially at the end, but it was good to hear more of her voice in the novel, as that is where much of the humor stems from.

Anyway, I’m off to put A Room of One’s Own on interlibrary loan.  I was able to find the next book after that on the list, The Color Purple, among the free electronic books and it was available, so I do have that while I am waiting.