SOURCE: “Bridget Jones's Lonely Hearts Club Fans,” in Washington Post, May 18, 1998, pp. D1, D8.

In the following review, Reid highlights the phenomenal success of Bridget Jones's Diary in the United Kingdom and forecasts that the United States will receive the book with equal enthusiasm.

On a good day, Bridget Jones weighs no more than 120 pounds, smokes no more than five cigarettes, imbibes no more than three alcohol units, comes up with one or two clever ideas at the office meeting, and checks her voice mail maybe two or three times to see if her boyfriend has phoned.

On a bad day—of which there are many—the statistics are less satisfying. Still, the obsessive Ms. Jones dutifully records them all in her hilarious but poignant diary: “Saturday 12 August: 129 pounds, alcohol units 3 (v.g.), cigarettes 32 (v.v. bad, particularly since first day of giving up) … voice mail calls 22, minutes...