Bridget and Joan's Diary: A Parody: Mad About the Toy Boy by Bridget Golightly (10-Oct-2013) Hardcover

by Bridget Golightly

Meet Bridget and Thelma and Louise on mobility scooters, reluctant residents of the Second Best Magnolia Retirement Home, and lifelong friends joined at the artificial hip.It’s been a wild year for the two rebellious sherry and shoplifting, Sanatogen and sexting, and a mysterious toy boy who threatens their lifelong friendship and possibly even more…

Genres: Humor, Comedy

Unknown Binding

First published October 10, 2013

About the author

Bridget Golightly is eighty-nine years old. She won the 100m, 800m, triple jump and solo synchronised swimming events in the 1968 Mexico Olympic Games. Highlights of her sparkling stage and film career include two Academy Awards as Best Supporting Actress for Little Dorrit and Rocky V, and her much-lauded Titania against Sir John Gielgud’s Bottom. Bridget is also a Nobel Prize-winning mathematician, renowned poet and international peacekeeper, and represented the United Kingdom in the 1959 Eurovision Song Contest with ‘Boom-bang-a-ting-a-ling on a String’. When she’s not busy bringing joy to the world, she likes to relax by drinking a nice cup of tea.

Reviews

[Katy Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nigh impossible to dislike, a quick jolly but darkly humoured dual-diary from 80-something care home residents, as dissimilar from each other as it is possible to be.

An occasional parody of the recent third Bridget Jones book (wrinkletons, calorie counting, a few plot similarities) it works very well in its own right.

Joan is sensible, smart, and sick of Bridget, who keeps interrupting her in the middle of her 25,000 piece Serial Killer jigsaw. Bridget is flighty, flirty, dirty and dotty.

These are their misadventures together. Through day trips, hospital trips, shopping trips and the world of speed dating and texting.

I smiled throughout. The juxtaposed diary sections, with Joan's wry voice showing exactly what happened each day and Bridget's flights and fancy and excess very, very funny and enjoyable. Some great oneliners all the way through, and a lovely ending - just as it should be.

Go on, it's not a Bridget book - more a manual for how to grow old disgracefully... We all need some pointers...

[Fiona MacDonald · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite amusing and a quick enough read. But there was something seriously missing with this parody of Bridget Jones' Diary.
Instead, the humour rests on 2 elderly friends (Bridget and Joan) who record their adventures in a nursing home. I got fed up very early on of the supposedly witty back and forth that happened in the diary i.e. one person saying the day was wonderful and the other saying the day was terrible.

[Karen · Rating 2 out of 5]

No laugh out aloud moments for me

[Nicki · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mercifully short. It has some genuinely funny lines, but most of the humour simply made me groan.

[Miss Donna Duguid · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant book had me laughing out loud for most of it!

[Stella G]

Very misleading and took me a bit to discover this book has nothing to do with Bridget Jones only steals style of Fielding books. I think it's funny I guess but as I am not that age group yet trying to understand it is a bit hard. It doesn't help with two characters talking at the same time is confusing at times. I will see if can get a hold of Fielding to see if she has any plans to write continuing book to this point. It would be funnier than this one. I realize it's a parody but not right using someone else's style of writing to write own book. Not to mention confusing style of it. Good writer no doubt but get own style of writing and not using someone else's style. Fielding is a much loved writer and very successful one too and anyone who loves her books would be making the same mistake I did assuming it was part of her books it isn't.

[Aileen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Picked this up in charity bookshop for a light read in the summer heat. Like the original BJD, the initial sections are fun, causing laugh out loud (LOL = Little Old Lady) moments, causing my husband to sigh frequently as I disturbed him to tell him the latest. However, as the book progresses, it becomes a bit 'same', and I was eventually glad it was a short book, and able to finish in an hour or so.

Having said that, I've put it on the bedside table for the next visit from my Mum, who at 85yo could have served as the inspiration for some of the content! And she will definitely recognise other bits from her own and her friends' behaviours.

[PrettyFlamingo · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a parody of Bridget Jones's Diary it was amusing enough and I did laugh out loud, so to speak, at many of the entries (particularly Bridget's helpline job). Though good fun, it wouldn't work as well if you hadn't read the original BJDs. That said I do think it was actually better than Helen Fielding's Mad About The Boy (which just didn't work, hence the rewritten film script). Apart from the trip to Llandudno which featured ridiculous references, a funny and entertaining book.

[Meredith Spidel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute, fun parody that will leave any Bridget Joan's fan smiling :)

[Thebookvamp · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of hilarious book. I loved the way it's been told about old buddies. Bridget is a most annoying but a cheerful person. Joan is a sweetheart.

[nic the dic · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definetely worth reading if you want to have a quick laugh.

[Vicky Elise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brilliant! Loved it! So whitty and funny!

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Light-hearted. Hilarious. Exactly what I hoped it would be.

[Marian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Funny and absurd, that’s about it.

[Diane Mooney · Rating 3 out of 5]

If your looking for a simple, easy read, this is for you. Gave me a good chuckle.

[Nanni Epp · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bridget und Joan - beide weit über achtzig, gefühlt aber maximal Mitte sechzig - leben gemeinsam im Zweitbesten Magnolia Seniorenheim und sind schon seit Ewigkeiten befreundet. Um Bridget dabei zu unterstützen ihre Gedanken zusammen zu halten und auf dem Boden der Tatsachen zu bleiben, schenkt Joan ihr ein Tagebuch. Sie selbst führt schon lange eins und findet diese Ausdrucksform recht praktisch.

Bridget kann sich mit dem Gedanken anfreunden und trägt dort - wie Joan auch - ihre täglichen Erlebnisse im Seniorenheim ein. Ihre Wahrnehmung der Ereignisse ist jedoch häufig eine andere als die ihrer besten Freundin. Während Bridget ein eher "liderliches Frauenzimmer" ist, sich nach wie vor als Bühnenstar fühlt und eine eher rosarote Betrachtungsweise ihres Lebens hat, ist Joan solide und bodenständig. Zwei konträre Persönlichkeiten, die dennoch auf liebenswerte Art zueinander halten.

"Pasta zum Abendessen. Joan sagt, die Nudeln heißen Tagliatelle. Ein echter Zungenbrecher!

Pasta zum Abendessen. Es gibt Penne, aber ich habe Bridget gesagt, es sind Tagliatelle. Nur um zu sehen, wie ihr die Zähne herausfallen, wenn sie es auszusprechen versucht."

Ich habe "Bridgets und Joans Tagebuch" an einem Nachmittag weggelesen. Die Tagebucheinträge der beiden alten Damen sind so köstlich, dass sich der Leser vor Lachen kringelt. Bridgets verschobene Wahrnehmung, in der sie immer noch von allen, der Männerwelt im besonderen, angehimmelt wird, sorgt für etliche Lacher. Vor allem dann, wenn sie mal wieder Joans Streichen auf den Leim geht und nicht merkt, dass diese ihr Sekundenkleber in die künstliche Hüfte gespritzt oder Wasser in ihre Wodkaflasche gefüllt hat. Ich mag ganz besonders Joans schwarzen Humor und ihre sarkastische Betrachtungsweise.

Ich weiß nicht, wer hinter dem Pseudonym der beiden alten Damen steckt, aber er oder sie hat sich perfekt in sie hineinversetzt und einen Roman geschaffen, der perfekt unterhält. Ein verschenktes Reisetagebuch lässt darauf hoffen, dass wir weitere Geschichten des illustren Duos zu lesen bekommen. Darauf freue ich mich schon jetzt!

[Rebecca Gertz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bridget and Joan are two elderly ladies that live life to the fullest - atleast to their fullest abilities. The author tries to describe the life of elderly people with a lot of humor, which, at times, can seem a bit lame and foreseeable.

Unfortunately, this reduced my interest in reading on, but I am just not somebody to put a book away and I can account for that one of the last stories in the book actually serves as a climax and is by far the funniest.

On a positive note, as a former intern in an elderly care, I can testify that you would definitely find these kinds of relations between elderly ladies - though, there aren't any ladies who are as crazy as Joan in reality.

Altogether I probably wouldn't buy a sequel, because I'd expect it to struggle with humor even more.

[Aunty Janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amusing book which reminded me of 'Ladies of letters'. Some laugh out loud moments and a good fun read.
''Meet Bridget and Joan: Thelma and Louise on mobility scooters, reluctant residents of the Second Best Magnolia Retirement Home, and lifelong friends joined at the artificial hip.
It’s been a wild year for the two rebellious wrinkletons: sherry and shoplifting, Sanatogen and sexting, and a mysterious toy boy who threatens their lifelong friendship and possibly even more…''

[Imogen Armstrong · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sweet idea but not mad about the delivery

I enjoyed the idea of the premise but the content wasn't quite as imaginative as it could have been, with the parody aspect therefore falling a bit flat. Harmless way to pass an hour, however, and I did not dislike the characters (albeit that they're possibly slightly patronising stereotypes of our older generation). One for those who want an easy read.

[Lisa :-) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this up because I wanted something quick and lighthearted to read and that was exactly what I got. This book only took me about two hours to read one Sunday morning but I really enjoyed it. There were even a couple of times when I actually laughed out loud!

This book is nothing groundbreaking but it worth picking up with a cup of tea on a sunny morning.

[Allen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very funny tongue in cheek book, that you just cannot help liking. The characters are very funny and the things they get up to provide lots of laugh out loud moments. Worth reading when you are feeling down or old !!

[Alanna Fowler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Start by saying, no way would I pay £10 for this book, but I didn't! This was a quick read, only took me about an hour and a half but by god did I laugh the whole way through it! Worth it for a little giggle!

[Naomi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Followed Bridget and Joan on twitter and can't wait to read the book.

[Sherry Mackay · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun read. And you can follow them on twitter!

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very funny quick read. Two old friends now in their eighties in a care home both give their versions of the same events through their diaries. How I hope I can be as lively when I am their age.

[Ailsa Britain · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick and amusing...

[Hilary Atkins · Rating 2 out of 5]

This made me laugh a lot when I started but by the time I got to June I was getting very bored with it. Glad I only paid 99p on Amazon.

[Carly · Rating 4 out of 5]

so funny

[Carolyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Laugh out loud funny in parts! Bridget Jones for the double gusset generation!

[Ruth Johnstone · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very, very funny, almost makes you look forward to old age!!