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

Whoa, what the...?!

Hilariously entertaining, full of surprises, mystery and an all around well put together wild adventure. We must never give up on the things that truly make us who we are!

Great "take me away from the world" read

While much of the story required the narrator to sound overly dramatic, she had an incredible range and number of voices. Light listen with unexpected turns. The author is a master of presenting things in a seemingly random order to accomplish her story telling in a way to develop characters just in time and make me want to know what happened next.

Loved it. Took Bernadette everywhere

I walked with Bernadette, ran with Bernadette, did chores with Bernadette. Yes, that is an amazing part of audiobooks. But I do not normally do that, walks yes but I just could not put Bernadette down (keep the earbuds out) for both the story and the narrator. Kathleen Wilhoite is an AMAZING narrator. Several of us in our book club said that and felt she added so much to the book. So much so we searched other books she narrated to listen to as well.

The book itself is fiction but makes you think, pause about how you judge and treat people. Reminds us we all have blinders and sometimes we get ourselves backed into a corner. But it's a laugh out loud funny book! We all said in our book club we were sad it was over as we miss Bernadette and Kathleen Wilhoite's great narration of all the characters.

Divertida

Muy entretenida la historia. Espero ver la película con Kate Blanchett. Así que a disfrutarla.

brillant

This book is pretty brilliant! It's odd, funny and just downright fun to read. Would def recommend. But it's a light read don't take it too seriously. It was right on time for me. A nice change of pace.

I made myself stop reading...

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

so I would make this wonderful book last. I am treating it like the most incredible piece of chocolate that you really never want to end. You just savor every bite.

What did you like best about this story?

This a unique storyline. It is unpredictable and has total wrapped me in it's loving arms.

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

All of them.

Any additional comments?

I am about 25% through with the book and I have no idea where it is going to go or end up but I want to be Bernadette when I grow up. Wait - I am 63 so I think I am already there.

What A Wild Ride!

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

I really loved this book. I will listen to it again! I thought this book was funny, quirky, sad, truthful, adventurous and sarcastic. Basically life, with a sense of humor.

There are so many things about this book I loved. It took me a moment to figure out what was sarcasm. Once I got the hang of the novels' tone, I was in love with the story.

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

I haven't, but I loved her narration. The different voices cracked me up. I took my youngest to a pretentious preschool and found it super easy to relate to some of the characters. I adored the voices. I could easily picture the cast through the impressions!

Any additional comments?

At first, a novel based on a mothers disapperance didn't appeal to me. I thought it might be too sad and hard to get through. My own mother isn't experiencing good health, and our time together is getting shorter and shorter. It's a subject that is tough for me.

However, this book isn't about losing a mother, it's about a mother, a daughter, a family, and others finding themselves. We often lose sight of ourselves in life. We think we know ourselves and each other. Truth is, once in a while (or a lifetime) some catalyst pushes us into another step or chapter of our being. A chapter we didn't know existed.

This novel follows the changes of a lifetime for many characters. I loved the variety of people in Bernadettes' life. They were rich, well developed, and sometimes funny as hell. I just never knew what was going to happen!

love it!

This book is so awesomely entertaining. Loved the characters ! I would recommend to everyone.

Hilarious, thoughtful, purely entertaining!

You will not be able to stop listening to this book!

I alternated between wanting to listen every second and wanting to stop because I didn't want the book to end.

The characters are so real that I'm honestly bummed I can't go to Seattle and hang out with them.

The story is completely original and beautifully told - with lots of twists and turns - it's utterly delightful. What a great read. I'm recommending it to everyone I know!

Adventure Filled!

What an adventure! I didn't expect to love this book as much as I did, but it was seriously just so much fun. Next stop, Antarctica!