Can You Keep a Secret? Read Bridget Jones’s Diary

Emma Corrigan thought her life was on the upswing, she had a great job at Panther Cola, a boyfriend of nearly a year and had even been asked to go on her first business trip. Unfortunately, following a disasterous business meeting, her flight home hits severe turbulance and thinking that she’s about to die, Emma chooses to confess her deepest secrets to the handsome stranger in the seat beside her.  To her great relief, the flight arrives safely but the next day, she wishes it hadn’t when the handsome stranger turns out to be Jack Harper, her new boss.  Romance, humour and a happy ending ensue.

“Can You Keep a Secret?” is a great standalone novel by Sophie Kinsella, who is the author of the Shopaholic series and is a wonderful introduction to the world of Chick Lit.

The advent of a sub genre of romantic fiction arrived in 1996 with the publication of Helen Fielding’s Bridget Jones’s Diary. Every woman whether married or single could identify with the less that perfect Miss Jones, our resident “singleton” trying to balance career and relationships and somehow not being able to get anything right. Drawing heavily from Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, Fielding even calls her hero “Mark Darcy”. The novel written as diary entries follow the life of Bridget as she dates a cad, nearly loses her job, loses weight/gains weight, drinks far too much, tries a new career and eventually finds true love.  While it is mostly a romantic romp, there are real moments of pathos and Fielding’s sharp tongue skewers everything from “competitive parenting” to “smug marrieds”.

This book  along with a tub of Rocky Road ice cream should be given to any woman after a break up.