Fans of Helen Fielding's Bridget Jones's Diary will recall that at the end of that sly and funny version of Pride and Prejudice, singleton heroine Bridget landed her Mr. Darcy at last--Mark Darcy, that is. Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason picks up four weeks later, and already the honeymoon is over. In addition to discovering that the man of her dreams votes conservative, left-leaning Bridget is also feeling just a mite uncomfortable with the realities of sharing bed and board with another person: V. complicated actually having man in house as cannot freely spend requisite amount of time in bathroom or turn into gas chamber as conscious of other person late for work, desperate for pee etc.; also disturbed by Mark folding up underpants at night, rendering it strangely embarrassing now simply to keep all own clothes in pile on floor. But all of these problems pale to insignificance with the arrival on the scene of Rebecca, a beautiful, man-hunting arch-nemesis with "thighs like a baby giraffe" and absolutely no girlfriend code of ethics when it comes to poaching another woman's man. Before long, Rebecca's manipulations, Bridget's own insecurities, and a string of misunderstandings (starting with a naked Filipino boy in Mark Darcy's bed and ending with a suggestive valentine from Bridget's dry cleaner) result in "128 lbs. (good), alcohol units 0 (excellent), cigarettes 5 (a pleasant, healthy number), no. times driven past Mark Darcy's house 2 (v.g.), no. of times looked up Mark Darcy's name in phone book to prove still exists 18 (v.g.), 1471 calls 12 (better), no. of phone calls from Mark 0 (tragic).

Fortunately, Bridget has plenty of other problems to distract her. Her mother has returned from a trip to Kenya with a young Masai in tow--to her father's consternation; her best friends Jude, Shazzer, and Tom are all trapped in dating hell themselves; her apartment is in shambles thanks to a dotty carpenter; an unreliable ex-boyfriend has just reentered her life; and now someone is sending Bridget death threats--could it be Mark Darcy? If Bridget Jones's Diary was a modern riff on Pride and Prejudice, its sequel borrows several themes and devices (not to mention a section heading) from another Austen novel, Persuasion. And as in Austen's fiction, here the journey is the destination. A happy ending for Bridget and her pals is a foregone conclusion; how they get there, however, will have you on the edge of your chair--if you haven't already fallen off of it laughing. --Alix Wilber

From Library Journal
In this continuation of her diary, Bridget again recounts the ups and downs of the single life. During this period she has a somewhat steady boyfriend; however, the joys of having a man in her life are tempered by his seeming indifference to her at times. To her consternation she discovers that he is spending time with another woman. Besides the trials and tribulations of this relationship, Bridget must contend with confrontations with an obstinate boss, dealings with a weird contractor, working on her apartment, and the unpleasant experiences during the worst vacation of her life. Through it all Bridget is supported by her married and unmarried friends. Her comments, often overstated, are both harsh and humorous. Reader Tracie Bennett does an outstanding job with the characterizations of the variety of personalities, from Bridget's rather reserved boyfriend to her outspoken female acquaintances. This is a lively and entertaining work suitable for popular fiction collections.ACatherine Swenson, Norwich Univ. Lib., Northfield, VT Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Beliefnet
Bridget is back, in "Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason," and the calorie-counting, thigh-hating, man-hunting hedonist, has found self-help spirituality.

When we last left Bridget had found her Prince Charming. Having spent the better part of a year lusting after one of London's most eligible bachelors, Bridget finally snagged the wealthy attorney Mark Darcy....But we find in "The Edge of Reason" that Darcy's love is no panacea. Between succumbing to Cadbury's chocolate, and fending off the scheming Rebecca, who is out to get Darcy for herself, Bridget turns to self-help. In the end, Bridget finds her salvation--not, however, in a burst of self-confidence and self-reliance--and certainly not in God, who appears in this book only as an exasperated exclamation. She is saved by the same charming rogue who saved her the first time around. .... Bridget's interest in self-help spirituality suggests that even she realizes that there must be more to life than a boring job and a boyfriend who's great in bed. Maybe in the next installment, Bridget will realize she's looking for God.

The New York Times Book Review, Anita Gates
[Fielding's] sequel, Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, necessarily lacks the joy of discovery that accompanied the original, but its heroine is still great company...

The Boston Sunday Globe, August 27, 2000
These last, especially the latest, are tremendously funny and invested with a large, melancholy intelligence.

USA Today
One of the most enchanting heroines to ever overdraw her bank account.

From AudioFile
She's ba-aack! Hopelessly introspective, as funny as Monty Python on estrogen, Bridget Jones returns in this sequel to her wildly popular diary. Treating listeners like a quiet and faithful best friend, Tracie Bennett's Bridget dumps, or whines about, and (finally) celebrates her fascinatingly neurotic life. Bennett truly is the voice of Bridget Jones. Her irreverent style and complete immersion into all the characters results in a thrill-ride through this contemporary woman's psyche. This is a laugh-out-loud audiobook due in no small part to the obvious fun Bennett is having narrating it! Bridget Jones is a better pick-you-up than Prozac. R.A.P. Winner of AUDIOFILE Earphones Award. © AudioFile 2000, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine