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

Contemporary fiction meets satire

This book was on my tbr list for a long time now but thanks to my local book club, I finally got to it. Contemporary fiction meets satire set in Seattle with a story told through letters, emails and faxes that give the reader glimpses into the chaos that surrounds Bernadette. This journey will take the reader on a journey through it all, the drama, the meanie moms at her daughter’s school, her insistent neighbor, her disconnected husband who is obsessed with his project at Microsoft, her daughter B and her brilliant mind and all the idiosyncrasies that envelop Bernadette who suddenly disappears before a big family trip to Antarctica.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A fun read

I have a soft spot for quirky fun books. This checked all the boxes. The writing was excellent and the narrator was entertaining. loved every minute of it.

ASEGIRL

This is the first Maria Semple book I've read, and I look forward to reading 'This One is Mine'. I thought Maria has outstanding character development, and the story kept me guessing, and laughing. I thought the narrative performance was above average and enjoyed the performance very much.

Laugh Out Loud

I really enjoyed this book. It is wonderfully funny detailing the highjinks of the denizens of the Seattle/Microsoft, suburban, private school crowd with a sweet underlying family story. The writing is very lively -- the story is told through the email messages, letters, etc. of various characters, each with very distinct voices. While some of the story elements are silly and outlandish for comedic effect, it is not vapid--there is humanity in the emotional unfolding of the story. The narrator gamely takes on some (briefly) required accents, but her main strength is in her energetic characterizations. She also sings exeptionally well for the one verse of a Christmas carol.

For a good laugh, listen to this!

Loved this book that kept me wanting to hear more! Especially wonderful if you've ever lived in a high tech area. Seattle and the Bay area particularly will get a laugh at themselves!

Really enjoyed

Incredibly well written. I do disagree on one point. There are plenty of hair salons in Seattle and we a lot of us color our hair lol.

Worst Narration!

Great story which is the only reason I finished this book. The over-excited, yelling of the dialogue through much of the story was almost more than I could bear. Couldn't speed it up as that only made it worse. I turned volume down, then missed parts when yelling stopped. If prolonged, breathless yelling bothers you, I suggest reading the book rather than this audiobook.

Such a treat!

This book is such a treat! It’s a funny and entertaining mystery of sorts that tugs at your heart. I wasn’t really sure if I would enjoy it but I finished it in 4 days — and that’s only because I made myself space it out a little more :) one of my new favorite books!

Innovative format.

Innovative format which fit the overall story. I can always do without the swearing. For me it distracts from the story.

Excellent book about losing yourself

Spoilers**As a mom of two daughters, I completely understand how it feels to lose yourself in the lives of the children you are raising. This book is about grief, and about the need to let go and move on. It is about the period of limbo some moms enter when they stop living their lives to live for others. I related to Bernadette quite a bit, but could not understand her acceptance of her husband’s infidelity. I cheered for her and her daughter, but I found myself sad at the thought of the pulling away that will happen between them so that they both can grow.