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3.85 AVERAGE
3.85 AVERAGE
Despite the premise of a mother going missing, this isn't set up to be a mystery or a thriller. It's more of a quirky story revolving around a unique character. I really enjoyed the first two-thirds of the book or so in particular, with the story being told through emails/letters/etc. The remainder switched to Bee's narration, which was harder to get through. Overall, it's a fun story. And I'm definitely going to start calling people "gnats" now, when they're annoying but not so much where they're worth any energy.
I really enjoyed the format of this book and that it actually had an empowering, happy ending! That seems to be rare
*** ENJOYED THE FILM.
Although I couldn't finish this book, (I gave up on it twice. I thought it was too over-the-top and just not for me),
I went to see the film yesterday and really enjoyed it! Cate Blanchett and Kristin Wiig are fantastic (two of my favorite actors). It really captured what it feels like not to fit in and to feel unmotivated and stuck and on the verge of a mental breakdown.
Although I couldn't finish this book, (I gave up on it twice. I thought it was too over-the-top and just not for me),
I went to see the film yesterday and really enjoyed it! Cate Blanchett and Kristin Wiig are fantastic (two of my favorite actors). It really captured what it feels like not to fit in and to feel unmotivated and stuck and on the verge of a mental breakdown.
This is the type of book which Jane Austen or Oscar Wilde would write about upper middle class 21st century America, and that is one of the highest compliments I can give a book.
The first third of Where'd You Go, Bernadette? introduces all the characters, who should be as ridiculous as the situations in which they find themselves, and yet most of them sound like only slightly exaggerated versions of someone you know. The titular character is a clever Seattle housewife so bored and so repressed that she's becoming a "menace to society". Her meddling next door neighbor is as self-righteous as she is clueless. Other characters include Bernadette's husband, a well-meaning workaholic who works for Microsoft and invented a robot that does everything for you; his admin, a "victimized" divorcee who lives to spread rumors about her boss's wife; a dedicated but tragically bureaucratic psychiatrist; and Bernadette's only friend, an Internet assistant from India who may be part of the Russian mafia. (Hopefully no one knows anyone like that last one.)
The book abruptly turns serious about 150 pages in when several of the characters try to have Bernadette committed and she disappears (hence the title). It's up to her 15-year-old daughter Bee to go through a series of documents, from personal emails to FBI files, and put together the picture of Bernadette, warts and all. And hopefully that picture will help Bee find her.
This book is wickedly funny, and the writing is top-notch. Maria Semple has a new fan, and I highly recommend this novel to anyone.
The first third of Where'd You Go, Bernadette? introduces all the characters, who should be as ridiculous as the situations in which they find themselves, and yet most of them sound like only slightly exaggerated versions of someone you know. The titular character is a clever Seattle housewife so bored and so repressed that she's becoming a "menace to society". Her meddling next door neighbor is as self-righteous as she is clueless. Other characters include Bernadette's husband, a well-meaning workaholic who works for Microsoft and invented a robot that does everything for you; his admin, a "victimized" divorcee who lives to spread rumors about her boss's wife; a dedicated but tragically bureaucratic psychiatrist; and Bernadette's only friend, an Internet assistant from India who may be part of the Russian mafia. (Hopefully no one knows anyone like that last one.)
The book abruptly turns serious about 150 pages in when several of the characters try to have Bernadette committed and she disappears (hence the title). It's up to her 15-year-old daughter Bee to go through a series of documents, from personal emails to FBI files, and put together the picture of Bernadette, warts and all. And hopefully that picture will help Bee find her.
This book is wickedly funny, and the writing is top-notch. Maria Semple has a new fan, and I highly recommend this novel to anyone.
I found the protagonists too white, their problems and complaints too petty and an altogether sense of grandioseness to their problems and their lives. The phrase, first world problems was fixed pernamently in my brain as I read Bernadette fret over her "unchangeable" life and how unsympathetic I found every character.
I started reading this book on a week long yoga retreat. We were having a day of silence, but I found myself laughing out loud within the first few pages. If you are from the Pacific Northwest, you will laugh hard. If you have school age kids, you will laugh even harder.
I then came home to help my son with his fourth grade diarama of Ernest Shackleton's ill fated wreckage of the Endurance. Not only did this remind me of this book, but I was supremely proud of myself for helping construct the icebergs with styrofoam and bit pieces purchased at a scrap store within 2 miles of my house.
The whole school project felt like an ode to Bernadette.
I highly recommend this read!
I then came home to help my son with his fourth grade diarama of Ernest Shackleton's ill fated wreckage of the Endurance. Not only did this remind me of this book, but I was supremely proud of myself for helping construct the icebergs with styrofoam and bit pieces purchased at a scrap store within 2 miles of my house.
The whole school project felt like an ode to Bernadette.
I highly recommend this read!
funny
informative
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes