Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Bernadette Fox is an architectural genius, MacArthur Grant award winner, and current stay at home mom that lives a bit like a recluse and is just a smidge bitter about it. She lives with her husband, Elgie, who works at “Big Brother” aka Microsoft and is always busy working, and her daughter Bee, who is a 15 year old genius and is set to start at Choate in January and is cashing in all her good grades for a cruise to Antarctica.
Everything goes sideways and Bernadette disappears, leaving everyone wondering where she’s gone and eventually if she’s offed herself. Leaving her daughter Bee as the only one seemingly willing to fight to find her.
An epic fiasco of events unravel that is mapped out between emails, FBI documents, cruise records, doctor’s visits, and even a few handwritten notes, as Bee pieces together where her mom has gone in the aftermath of everything that has happened.
I loved this book. Bernadette was relatable, not because I’m a freaking genius also (I'm not), but because she sacrificed herself for her kid. Determined to have a thriving child, she pushed everything else she loved aside. Even the house they live in, which she planned to redesign completely, she’s left to shambles. The reader comes in at a time that Bee is soon to be off to boarding school, leaving Bernadette more vulnerable than ever. Her husband, a bigger ass than ever, tries to have her committed as opposed to talking to her. I was SO frustrated by Elgie’s behavior and almost quite literally had a cow about.
I laughed so many times at Bernadette’s wit and her nonplussed approach to the mom’s of Gaylor Street. Bee is a lovable character also, there to defend her mom and have her back at a moment’s notice. There’s a lot of depth for such an extraordinarily funny book. Bernadette is dripping with satire and it’s truly a smart book.
Everything goes sideways and Bernadette disappears, leaving everyone wondering where she’s gone and eventually if she’s offed herself. Leaving her daughter Bee as the only one seemingly willing to fight to find her.
An epic fiasco of events unravel that is mapped out between emails, FBI documents, cruise records, doctor’s visits, and even a few handwritten notes, as Bee pieces together where her mom has gone in the aftermath of everything that has happened.
I loved this book. Bernadette was relatable, not because I’m a freaking genius also (I'm not), but because she sacrificed herself for her kid. Determined to have a thriving child, she pushed everything else she loved aside. Even the house they live in, which she planned to redesign completely, she’s left to shambles. The reader comes in at a time that Bee is soon to be off to boarding school, leaving Bernadette more vulnerable than ever. Her husband, a bigger ass than ever, tries to have her committed as opposed to talking to her. I was SO frustrated by Elgie’s behavior and almost quite literally had a cow about.
I laughed so many times at Bernadette’s wit and her nonplussed approach to the mom’s of Gaylor Street. Bee is a lovable character also, there to defend her mom and have her back at a moment’s notice. There’s a lot of depth for such an extraordinarily funny book. Bernadette is dripping with satire and it’s truly a smart book.
Favorite Quotes:
"Here's something about mom: she's bad with annoyances but great in a crisis. If a waiter doesn't refill her water after she asked three times or she forgets her dark glasses when the sun comes out, LOOK OUT! But when it comes to something truly bad happening, mom plugs into this supreme calm. I'm just saying, when things are bad, there's nobody better to have in your corner than mom."
"Maybe that's what religion is, hurling yourself off a cliff and trusting that something bigger will take care of you and carry you to the right place."
“My heart started racing, not the bad kind of heart racing, like I'm going to die. But the good kind of heart racing, like, Hello, can I help you with something? If not, please step aside because I'm about to kick the shit out of life.”
“I felt so full of love for everything. But at the same time, I felt so
hung out to dry there, like nobody could ever understand. I felt so
alone in this world, and so loved at the same time.”
Genre:
Fiction, Women's, Humor, Contemporary
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