Regardless of who you were to ask, Bernadette Fox sure knew how to stir things up. Her husband, a tech-savvy fan of Microsoft, always saw her as a ridiculously-opinionated life partner. The private school moms of Seattle don’t want to have anything to do with her, all while artists claim her architectural work to be revolutionary. Also, she is the best friend and mother of her fifteen year-old daughter, Bee.
The events of Where’d You Go, Bernadette, by Maria Semple, start as Bernadette suddenly disappears without a trace right after promising her daughter a trip to Antarctica, should she get a good grade. In an attempt to find out what happened to her, Bee starts to compile countless email messages, and more or less secret documents as well as official ones.
As you can guess, most of the book consists of those documents compiled by Bee, and that already sets it apart from the myriad of other novels out there, although it has to be said that the idea itself has originated a while ago. However, Maria Semple doesn’t simply rely on that trick to hook your attention… this novel has plenty more to offer.
To start things off, one of the most interesting aspects of it, for me at least, was watching the transformation that Bernadette has undergone over the years. She used to be lauded as an architectural genius, one with the most promising of careers in front of her.
To start things off, one of the most interesting aspects of it, for me at least, was watching the transformation that Bernadette has undergone over the years. She used to be lauded as an architectural genius, one with the most promising of careers in front of her.
However, as certain events occur in her life she starts developing anxiety issues, one which even require her to hire a virtual assistant in India to manage various day-to-day tasks requiring human interaction. It’s a story, or at least part of it is anyway, about how a person’s genius and incredible talents can be easily squandered away because of how the world works, because of how modern societies have been built.
In addition, I have to say that finding out what actually happened to Bernadette, where she went and why, is quite interesting, especially as you learn more and more about her quirks and idiosyncrasies, mulling over all the possible scenarios in your head.
In addition, I have to say that finding out what actually happened to Bernadette, where she went and why, is quite interesting, especially as you learn more and more about her quirks and idiosyncrasies, mulling over all the possible scenarios in your head.
Despite the subject itself not being exactly humorous (searching for a disappeared mom), the author manages to keep the mood very light, mostly through her character’s unusual and awkward personalities as well as short one-liners, witty comments and quips here and there. As a matter of fact,
I have to say that the use of language in this novel blew me away at times, and it shows that every sentence was crafted with great diligence and to serve a purpose. I definitely intend on reading the book again as I’m a hundred percent positive I missed out on some double-meanings, hidden symbolism and whatnot. All in all, a book I can definitely recommend to anyone who wants to shine a bit of light in their bright day.
 | Maria SemplePersonal site Maria Semple is an American screenwriter and novelist who is known for writing This One is Mine as well as Where'd You Go, Bernadette. As a screenwriter she contributed to a number of successful shows, including Arrested Development, Beverly Hills and Ellen. In 1986 she earned her BA in English from Barnard College. |
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