Where'd You Go, Bernadette

Summary (from the publisher): Bernadette Fox has vanished.

When her daughter Bee claims a family trip to Antarctica as a reward for perfect grades, Bernadette, a fiercely intelligent shut-in, throws herself into preparations for the trip. But worn down by years of trying to live the Seattle life she never wanted, Ms. Fox is on the brink of a meltdown. And after a school fundraiser goes disastrously awry at her hands, she disappears, leaving her family to pick up the pieces.

Which is exactly what Bee does, weaving together an elaborate web of emails, invoices, and school memos that reveals a secret past Bernadette has been hiding for decades. Where'd You Go Bernadette is an ingenious and unabashedly entertaining novel about a family coming to terms with who they are, and the power of a daughter's love for her mother.

 

Review: Fifteen year old Bee lives in a ramshackle former girls' school with her shut-in, genius mother Bernadette and her workaholic father Elgin. When she claims a family trip to Antarctica as a reward for perfect grades, her mother spirals into a tailspin of anxiety and preparation and ultimately ends up disappearing. Her daughter Bee then proceeds to wade through the trail of emails, school memos, and doctor notes left behind to try to find her mother.

 

The writing style of this novel took some getting used to. This is a satirical, epistolary novel, whose narrative is largely composed of emails, teacher reports, doctor's notes, letters, and invoices. Although I struggled to enjoy the first portion of the book, I gradually began to enjoy the witty, tongue in cheek writing style more and more. Although Bee is the principle narrator, Bernadette is the undeniable star of the book. Her quirky personality, flawed behavior, and ultimate disappearance give shape and meaning to the novel. Semple manages to effortlessly poke fun at multiple types: artistic geniuses, tech employees, conceited and elite parents. For instance, a fellow parent scopes out potential recruits for her child's school commenting, "Judging from the contents of her shopping cart - imported cheese, organic raspberries, fruit wash spray - she is the exact quality of parent we need at Galer Street" (47). It's the type of satire that builds as the novel progress, playing off of its own jokes as it moves towards its conclusion.

 

This was a fast and humorous read. However, I do see how this could be viewed as offensive towards individuals suffering from agoraphobia, as it certainly pokes fun of Bernadette mercilessly for suffering from this condition. Furthermore, the details behind Bernadette's disappearance were wholly implausible and it proved difficult for me to suspend my disbelief. However, I enjoyed reading this enough that I didn't find the lack of believability too troubling.

 

Stars: 4