Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
Where'd You Go, Bernadette  By  cover art

Where'd You Go, Bernadette

By: Maria Semple
Narrated by: Kathleen Wilhoite
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $18.15

Buy for $18.15

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

Soon to be a major film starring Cate Blanchett

Bernadette Fox is notorious. To Elgie Branch, a Microsoft wunderkind, she's his hilarious, volatile, talented, troubled wife. To fellow mothers at the school gate, she's a menace. To design experts, she's a revolutionary architect. And to 15-year-old Bee, she is a best friend, and quite simply, mum. Then Bernadette disappears. And Bee must take a trip to the end of the earth to find her.

Where'd You Go, Bernadette is a compulsively readable, irresistibly written, deeply touching novel about misplaced genius and a mother and daughter's place in the world.

©2012 Maria Semple (P)2012 Hachette Audio

What listeners say about Where'd You Go, Bernadette

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    66
  • 4 Stars
    62
  • 3 Stars
    26
  • 2 Stars
    10
  • 1 Stars
    5
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    85
  • 4 Stars
    33
  • 3 Stars
    20
  • 2 Stars
    5
  • 1 Stars
    3
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    58
  • 4 Stars
    48
  • 3 Stars
    26
  • 2 Stars
    11
  • 1 Stars
    5

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

If you like the genre, this is first rate

The primary narrator is a kid (mid teens). Significant parts of the story come in via emails from her mother, and from parents from her school. So I suppose it's partly a family drama and partly teen fiction, and it's an epistolatory novel. There's drama, back stabbing, infedelity and other bad behaviour, but also redemption for everyone - it has a happy ending. If you can stand all of that, this one is the best I've read in a long time. Very nicely done.

The narrator is good and the book is well served by her ability to differentiate accents, ages and tones of voice. I can't help mentioning that her attempt at a kiwi accent made me wince, but then I'm a kiwi and I know the difference. Probably if you come from anywhere else in the world you won't be bothered and it's a very small part of the book anyway. I'm impressed enough by her abilities to have already looked up other books she's narrated.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Funny and enchanting

What did you love best about Where'd You Go, Bernadette?

I loved the description of living in "Microsoft world" some parts made me laugh out loud.

What did you like best about this story?

I liked that the story was written through the eyes of a fifteen year old girl

Which character – as performed by Kathleen Wilhoite – was your favorite?

Just has to be Bee

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Didn't grab me at all

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

although the narration performance was good, for me this book was a waste of 10 or so hours. The story line imo was very weak and I found it very difficult to concentrate on listening to it. In fact I found myself drifting way off where the story was so boring. Very disappointing. This is the first book that I haven't enjoyed on Audible.

What do you think your next listen will be?

The room

Have you listened to any of Kathleen Wilhoite’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

no

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

absolutely not

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

What a wonderful book!

Would you consider the audio edition of Where'd You Go, Bernadette to be better than the print version?

The audio version was much more fun than reading it -- the reader(s?) was modulation heaven -- fab

What other book might you compare Where'd You Go, Bernadette to and why?

I have enjoyed many books but few surface to the top of the list like this one -- Fredrick and Fredirika; Life Expectancy all had Pat Conroy -level images.
This is brilliantly written with meaningful imagry that congured up the scene in fulll technicolor

Any additional comments?

If you are a mother who juggles the frustrations and rewards of life and home and career and creativity -- this is a great listen.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Excrutiatingly painful

What would have made Where'd You Go, Bernadette better?

Nothing.

Has Where'd You Go, Bernadette turned you off from other books in this genre?

Yes, it has totally put me off "bubblegum" literature / chic lit.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Kathleen Wilhoite?

Anyone other than her.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

No.

Any additional comments?

The story line contains no substance and far removed from reality, the narrator’s voice sounded like nails on a chalkboard and Bernadette’s continual and long winded rants about everything wrong in her privileged world are unbearable. I abandoned the book three times before returning to it with the hope that it would get better. It didn’t.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Whacky and Crazy!

Whacky and crazy story.. at times a little disjointed, but all in all a fun listen. I can say that I would rather have downloaded something with a litt more substance.. but hey.. that's how it goes!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Funny but Clever

Would you listen to Where'd You Go, Bernadette again? Why?

No, as I tend never to read books over again

What did you like best about this story?

The actual story line and the absurdness of some of the characters

Which character – as performed by Kathleen Wilhoite – was your favorite?

Bernadette

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Made me laugh and also cry

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Terrible narration ruined the entire book

I could not even admire the story line the narration was so annoying and badly read the characters came across as imbeciles

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Nice, chilled read

I enjoyed the book overall. Some of the characters’ behaviours triggered my anxiety, and I was hoping for more after the ending.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Entertaining, did not like narrator

Thought this was mildly entertaining, funny in parts, but really disliked the narrator's voice, especially towards the end of the book where she attempted different accents. It was an ok listen overall. Will be interested to see how the movie compares.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!