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

Wow!!!

I'm so disappointed that this is over. I couldn't stop listening. This has become my favorite story. Loved it!

What a great tale.

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

The structure of the novel was very entertaining. It was linear, but not your typical narration. Kathleen Wilhoite really mastered the individual voices of the characters.

What did you like best about this story?

It was hilarious and stressful at the same time. I got great insight into the main characters from their own correspondences. I enjoyed getting different perspectives on the same events.

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

Bernadette and Bee were my FAVES! Audrey was a runner up.

Who was the most memorable character of Where'd You Go, Bernadette and why?

Bernadette, because this was her story told by everyone experiencing it.

Any additional comments?

Definitely lived up to the hype.

Spot on Narration

I listen to mostly physiological thrillers so I like to change it up sometimes and this book was a delightful surprise. Kathleen's narration was genius and her repertoire of voices was endless and well crafted!!

Makes me laugh.

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

Great writing and an excellent story. I loved it and expected to hate it. I am looking for another.

What did you like best about this story?

The story.

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

Bernadette's daughter.

If you could take any character from Where'd You Go, Bernadette out to dinner, who would it be and why?

This ask too many questions. I don't like it.

What a strange, fun little listen.

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

At the beginning, I wasn't sure I'd get in to the format, and before I knew it, I was pulled in to the story. I thought the narrator did a wonderful job with Bee. I liked that all the characters were so multi-faceted - often the instinct is to fall to more stereotypical 2D cutouts, but all of the characters evolve to show their many faces throughout the story.

Fifty Shades

Omg- The e-mails back & forth in fifty shades really turned me off. (one of the only I returned)
This book has a lot of them too. I almost quit listening because of similar style. However, I'm so thankful I stuck it out. This book is a hoot, and a treasure.

It sure got my attention

Any additional comments?

Great book. Interesting story. Fantastic reader. I started this book and did not turn it off until I finished. The author smacked so called "do gooders" for their hypocrisy and snarkiness and I appreciated her sentiments. She did all this smacking in a funny and interesting story with great characters and outlandish situations. Even while "smacking" the author does seem to recognize that everything is not black and white. Very well done. The reader is excellent. At first I thought she was over the top, but after the first couple of chapters I realized that she was performing that way for a very good reason and I began to really enjoy her performance. I particularly liked O Holy Night. She sang it extremely well. This book set in my library for months and I am glad I finally downloaded and listened. I am sorry I put it off so long.

Fun story, GREAT reader

Where does Where'd You Go, Bernadette rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Top 10

What was one of the most memorable moments of Where'd You Go, Bernadette?

It turns out this reader can sing, too!

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

She did an excellent job with all the voices. Normally I cringe when readers do accents, but she was perfect. All the characters were distinct and realistic, and none were annoying.

Any additional comments?

When I first realized this was an epistolary novel, I thought maybe it was silly to do it as an audiobook. But I was so impressed with Kathleen Wilhoite, I'd recommend this audiobook to anyone.

Loved the narration

Great narration for the different characters. There are some very, long and boring parts that seemed unnecessary.

The Best!

The best Audible book I have heard, by far! If there were more stars for performance I would add them! Excellent!