Where’d You Go Bernadette was swallowed in its enti
rety by the hype monster. For awhile, you couldn’t exist in book world without being inundated with Maria Semple’s latest novel from every corner. Best Book of the YEAR so many bookish types boasted. And I bought into the hype, bought the book, and then proceeded to be mostly disappointed.
Bernadette is mom to Bee and quite the eccentric. She’s mostly a recluse and hates pretty much everyone in the surrounding Seattle area. But when Bee brings home the perfect report card, Bernadette is forced to give in and accept Bee’s reward – a family vacation to Antarctica. Wackiness starts to unfold in the weeks leading up the the trip until Bernadette suddenly goes missing. Semple’s novel is a collection of correspondences put together by Bee in an attempt to locate her mother. Sounded ingenious.
But here’s the thing – I was mostly bored or annoyed. On the surface, I can’t fault Bernadette much. As a lighthearted beach read there’s a lot to enjoy here. I may have even chuckled out loud once or twice. But read any deeper and things start to unravel. Not all that much happens, and Bernadette is unlikable.
Now unlikable characters can have a lot going for them and are often the most interesting characters to read. That’s where Bernadette fails. I didn’t find Bernadette fleshed out enough to be interesting. I felt there was nothing to learn from her and that mostly the reasons presented by Semple for her craziness weren’t very substantial. I was left scratching my head and mostly just wanting to smack Bernadette. What’s even worse is that all of the adult characters are mostly the same – annoying and not in the least bit interesting. The quirkiness of this book worked against the story when it should have enhanced the story.
At many times, the novel mostly felt like a ‘let’s all hate on Seattle and bash the readers over their heads with Seattle stereotypes’. That gets old quickly. What, if anything, saves this book is Bernadette and Bee’s relationship. Their mother-daughter bond felt unique and honest. I enjoyed the scenes they had together and wished there had been more. I think Bernadette tries a little too hard to be quirky and loses its grip on reality.
Have you read Where’d You Go Bernadette? What did you think? Does it deserve to be on ‘best of’ lists?
The Blog of Litwits 
Dammit, you just had to go and be disappointed! This one’s in my tbr pile, I hope I like it more! 🙂
Lots of people love it so don’t be dismayed!
Okay. 🙂
I loved it, and I also bought into the reasons for her craziness. I agree there isn’t much “deep” there, but I still found it hugely entertaining. Sorry you didn’t like it as much as the hype!
I’m glad you enjoyed and wish I had liked more. I didn’t hate it, though, and don’t regret reading.
Aw rats! Do you think you would have liked it more if you’d read it before the hype? I LOOOOVED this book but I read it before the big hullabaloo about it started so my expectations weren’t all crazy hight.
I probably would have liked it more, I think, because I didn’t hate it by any means. Just didn’t impress me like I thought it would.
So not going to read it. You make me feel less guilty about that.
Always good to lessen the guilt!
I have to say, despite the number of glowing reviews I’ve read of this, I am yet to be convinced it’s something I personally would enjoy. It’s nice to see someone who has had a slightly different experience. I won’t be rushing out to get a copy of this one.
If you don’t think it’s for you, I’d probably skip it. Too many books and too little time.
I listened to the audio of this and thoroughly enjoyed it. On audio, it was a lot of fun!
I can see how this would have made a great audio!
I admit to having some troubles with this novel as well. There were parts I enjoyed and other parts I found a bit annoying. So you are not alone. I’m glad I read it but don’t feel like raving about it. Here is what I wrote about it http://www.thecuecard.com/node/770
Yeah, just a fairly forgettable novel.
I’ve thought from the beginning of the hype that Bernadette sounded like an annoying character, so it’s never made my TBR list. Thanks for the helpful review 🙂
No problem!
Hmmmm. I saw this last week and meant to get over here, because I didn’t agree with your review either. However, that said, I understand. I know people that didn’t like Gone Girl either, which I also loved liked this one. So did you hate Gone Girl too? Just curious. AND it’s all right, if you did. I’ll still follow your blog. 🙂 I like that you’re honest and don’t always follow the trends, just for the sake of following the trends. I think I found you through The Sunday Salon and I’m glad I did.
Tons of people loved Bernadette, but I just didn’t. It was a decent ready, but I think the hype mostly let me down. Plus, we all read differently. As for Gone Girl, I know several who loved and several who hated. I haven’t read it yet, but did enjoy Sharp Objects. So we’ll see!