Olivia Joules and the Overactive Imagination

Having read the Bridget Jones books and having loved them, I looked forward to reading this one. I was not disappointed-far from it. This isn't as funny as the Bridget Jones books, but Olivia has her own little quirks, and makes a great heroine. It's sort of like combining a BJ type character with a James Bond type situation. The climax of the novel was wonderful and I couldn't put the book down until I finished. I can't wait for the movie to be made-should be great! There's also a lot of info about the Arab/Muslim culture, and so the book is educational, too. Read it, but do it when you have time to read it straight through with no interuptions. I highly recommend it to everyone.

Olivia Joules, a spy in the making, varies from Helen Fielding's other literary counterpart, Bridget Jones, in that Olivia is gorgeous, reasonably confident and capable whereas Bridget was unsure, average-looking and a bumbler, EXCEPT, like Bridget, Olivia has an overactive imagination. Olivia Joules is primarily a modern spy thriller, conscious of the post-9/11 era. In the beginning, we meet journalist Olivia after she's been demoted by her pompous boss (a recurring character in Fielding's books) to covering launches of facial creams. She is assigned to a launch in South Beach. Here is where the book gets fun. She whisks off to South Beach, where she meets a dashing gentlemen, then to Catalina Island, then Honduras, and, before you know it, you're in the midst of escapist beach reading where you can feel the sun and see the blue-green water. Of course, in the end, our hero Olivia's overactive imagination is validated and saves the day. This book is light; it's meant to be so. Fielding can write this type of lit and she is truly humorous. I think the only criteria for a book like this is "was it fun?" For me, yes.

Wow, seems like people either loved it or hated it....well...I LOVED THIS BOOK. I flew through it in three days...couldn't put it down! It has parts that are just hilarious, it is suspenseful and I really didn't expect a lot of what happened. Although, I didn't try to analyze it too much either. It is simply a fun read. If you like the show Alias, you will love this. I have loved all of Helen Feildings books and will continue to buy them...in hardcover at that! There is more to be said about this book, but not without giving too much away. And I agree, I hate that.

poor alicia dee. i feel what you're saying, honey. i hate it when people give away the entire plot to the book on the reviews. honestly, couldn't people just write a review without writing the entire synopsis of it? (wait, lemme go check my other reviews to see if i did that or not...) i love olivia. love her. i feared helen fielding would make her massively dull like rosie in cause celeb, one of the worst books i've ever forced myself to read. of course, olivia isn't as endearingly dorky as bridget, but she has her own flaws and idiosyncracies which makes her all the more... olivia. the book, plot, and ideas stand out on their own and away from bridget so if you're expecting bridgetisms, olivia ain't it. i felt that the book, though good, was somewhat dry until professor widgett got involved. hey, yo, i don't care how old he is, he's my new literary lust creature. i want him!!! oops, sorry alicia dee...

I think the reason some people do not like this book is because they are expecting Bridget Jones. While the main character, Olivia, is somewhat similar to Bridget, she is a totally different character and this books reads a lot differenly than the Bridget Jones series. I believe this misconception that this book is along the same lines is why some people did not like the book. I admit the book was slow at the beginning, but once I got into it, I could not put it down and I was laughing out loud right until the end. The plot was very unique and combined serious issues with a daring female spy. Good read!