Where’d You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple

Lindsay and I read Where’d You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple  for the Goodreads Summer Reading Challenge that we are participating in our Traveling Friends Goodreads Group.  Lindsay used this one for the “The book is better: Read a book being adapted for TV or film this year.” and I used it for a “Good as gold:  Read a book that won a Goodreads Choice Award”.

Where’d You Go, Bernadette is a unique, fun and entertaining story that explores the creative side to our quirky, eccentric and endearing main character Bernadette through different documents used in the story.  At first, it took me a bit to get into the flow of the format with the emails, letters, etc. so I decided to listen to parts of this one and I really enjoyed the narrator. I thought it really enhanced the story to hear the different formats used in the story and the narrator was very expressive as she read the story.  I am so curious about the movie and looking forward to watching it when it comes out.

There is a lot of depth here with the different documents and how they are relevant to the disappearance of Bernadette and through them, we can see just how people view Bernadette leaving us questioning Bernadette’s state of mind.  I was also questioning a few other characters as well. We also see the creative side to Bernadette’s husband computer engineer Eligie who creates for Microsoft.  I enjoyed the dynamics here with both of their creative sides and just how different they were from each other as well as how people reacted to them.  

Some things felt a bit over the top here with just how eccentric Bernadette and this story is and towards the end, Maria Semple does push that a bit into an unrealistic way however for me, it felt heartwarming as to how it all came together.

“People like you must create.  If you don’t you become a menace to society. ”

In the end, I was left with so much to think about and so much I wanted to talk about.  I delved into the creative side of people and began to understand the creative people in my life a bit more after reading this one.  I highly recommend for group reads.

Quirky and unforgettable characters with a unique and captivating storyline. 

This novel was a refreshing change of pace from what I have been reading lately. A silly, unpredictable story with eccentric and entertaining characters that had me laughing out loud. I really liked the way the story unfolded through letters, emails, reports and the narrative of Bee, the daughter of the family. Some of the plot overlapped between these points of narration giving a layered look into what was happening which I thought was done very well. 

For me, the first half of the book was more intriguing and enjoyable than the second half. My interest was piqued from the start and my curiosity had me flipping the pages as quickly as possible. The second half of the book began to drag in parts and my connection to the storyline lessened. The plot took an unrealistic route (for me) and lost its spark and intrigue. While I still loved the characters and their quirkiness, I wasn’t invested in what was happening to them.