Where'd You Go, Bernadette

A Novel

By: Maria Semple

Narrated by: Kathleen Wilhoite

Length: 9 hrs and 35 mins

Publisher's summary

Bernadette Fox is notorious. To her Microsoft-guru husband, she's a fearlessly opinionated partner; to fellow private-school mothers in Seattle, she's a disgrace; to design mavens, she's a revolutionary architect, and to 15-year-old Bee, she is a best friend and, simply, Mom.

Then Bernadette disappears. It began when Bee aced her report card and claimed her promised reward: a family trip to Antarctica. But Bernadette's intensifying allergy to Seattle - and people in general - has made her so agoraphobic that a virtual assistant in India now runs her most basic errands. A trip to the end of the earth is problematic.

To find her mother, Bee compiles email messages, official documents, secret correspondence - creating a compulsively readable and touching novel about misplaced genius and a mother and daughter's role in an absurd world.

©2012 Maria Semple (P)2012 Hachette Audio

LOVED IT!

Awesome story- great characters. Amazing. Mad it took me so long to finally read/listen to it!!

I Should Have Read Rather Than Listened

The book is great fun, so much so that I did not give up early thanks to the narrator's characterization of Bee. I had heard so many great things that I did not preview the sample and just bought it. The narrator does a great job giving each character a distinct voice, but every time Bee came on I wanted to scream. And Bee comes on a lot. However like others, I was blown away by Wilhoite's singing, My recommendation is try the sample. Bee's voice is always high pitched and annoying, not just when she is dancing around because she is getting what she wants for graduation. If you can handle it I do not think you will be disappointed in the audio version of the book. If you are then buy this one to read. Because it is a great story worth discovering.

Uplifting and fun

The narrator does a fantastic job with the story. Captivating and so many laugh out loud moments. Well worth it!

Funny, inventive, and surprising!

I really love this book. The characters are unique and vibrant. Not the run-of-the-mill. if you like humorous fiction, I strongly recommend it.

So glad I purchased this book

What made the experience of listening to Where'd You Go, Bernadette the most enjoyable?

Kathleen Wilhoite's performance. Hands down.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Bernadette and Bee. Bernadette was misunderstood and always interesting. Bee had a great personality, knew what was going on and wasn't afraid to stand for what she believed.

What does Kathleen Wilhoite bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The voices. She was able to capture the voices exactly how I could have imagined and it only helped me to be able to picture the story, characters and events that took place.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

absolutely, you'll have to read to know!

Any additional comments?

It was wonderful.

LOVED IT!

If you could sum up Where'd You Go, Bernadette in three words, what would they be?

Where'd You Go Bernadette can be summed up in three words: Fun, crazy, rebirth

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

Not sure I can even compare this book with another book.

What about Kathleen Wilhoite’s performance did you like?

Kathleen Wilhoite changed characters seamlessly and effortlessly.

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

It made me laugh most of the time and cry just a little.

A difficult start for me

This story line is pretty bazaar but I enjoyed it. I have to confess I almost abandoned this book because I could not get past the first chapter. In the beginning the dialogue is all emails, which drove me crazy. I want to hear a story not hear multiple email conversations. Once I got past that I felt better about finishing the book.

Enjoyed story

First, I would like to say that I really did enjoy this book, however it is very difficult to follow on audio version. I do recommend this to be a physical book read. Lotta communication goes back-and-forth via emails in the story and it is hard to pick up and follow with narration. There were times that I felt like I was a little bit lost and almost quit this book a couple of times. I’m glad that I didn’t because the story was good.

Loved everything except for the accents

Love the story, fantastically witty with some darker undertones but overall very relatable. Buckle up for some horrendous accents from the narrator.

One of the best I’ve heard

The writing is so wonderful, clever, insightful and funny and the narrator is just terrific. She really brings the story of life. Totally enjoyed this title