Where’d You Go, Bernadette

I decided to read Whered You Go, Bernadette after I saw the trailer for the movie and thought it looked like it would be good. After reading the book I no longer have any interest in the movie. It was that bad. There is not a single likable character in the book. Bee was fine for the first 2/3, but then she showed her true colors and turned out to be just as obnoxious and unlikable as her mother. The affair between Bees father and his admin, resulting in the admin getting pregnant, is treated as no big deal and almost expected because his wife is a bit nuts. The health and medical claims are often just plain wrong. The actions of the psychiatrist are utterly ridiculous and unprofessional. The writing is mediocre. The author didnt seem to know how to wrap up the story. The last ten pages rambled on way too long. I do not recommend this book at all.

Fifteen year old Bee lives in Seattle with her parents in a 12,000 square ft building that once was a Catholic school for wayward girls. To say their lifestyle is unconventional would be an understatement. Their “home” has blackberry vines growing through the floorboards, a roof that leaks like a sieve, and an odor that would assault anyone’s nose who might enter; yet the three of them don’t seem to notice. It’s not because of lack of intelligence or money. They all have Einstein level IQs. Elgin has a very high level job at Microsoft, Bernadette is an award winning architect, and Bee has been accepted to a prestigious boarding school.

They are planning on taking a trip to Antarctica over Christmas break, a reward for Bee’s perfect report card. But things start going awry. And then Bernadette disappears…

This is a strange story told in an unique way. It’s told by Bee with the help of emails, letters from school personnel, police reports, medical reports, invoices, etc. This book is satirical; certainly not a book anchored in “everyday life” realism. In this regard, it reminds me a bit of Rachael Joyce’s “The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Frye”.

“Where’d You Go, Bernadette” isn’t for everyone. Of course you can say that about every book ever published, but that goes double here. I would’ve given up on it if not for a reading buddy who pushed me to stick it out. The characters are not likable in the beginning (or understandable), especially Bernadette. But once I got through the first quarter, I was invested in the story. And when I reached the last page, I realized wisps of Bee, Bernadette, and Elgin have been written in my memory bank with a permanent marker. They’ll fade, but never completely leave.

Can’t possibly give this less than 4 stars.

Thank goodness I picked this book back up after not liking the Kindle sample a couple of years ago. It was so odd and quirkylaid out as a series of speakers or written communications alternating to roll out the story. So many others loved the book that I gave it another try. I’m so glad I didn’t miss this highly entertaining, funny, poignant, and remarkably original work.

There are so many layers here, and my review will not do it justice. It is a screamingly funny and intelligent satire of the wealthy, bright, but eccentric “Microsoft executive types” in Seattle. A review on Amazon got it just right: “A whip-smart, hysterical dramady about a family in crisis after the disappearance of its misanthropic matriarch.” That matriarch was Bernadette.

Bernadetteat one time a revolutionary architect with a cult-like followingdropped out of that world to accompany her equally brilliant and odd husband to Seattle for his ground-breaking work in artificial intelligence with Microsoft. Their delightful daughter Bee is achieving great things at school and is relatively oblivious to her family’s eccentricities or her mother’s increasing agitation and agoraphobia in dealing with the “gnats”parents at Bee’s school whose antics and priorities are hilariously sublime satire.

Bernadette’s disappearance sends Bee and her father on a poignant, intense, and globe-trotting search, during which they uncover much about themselves and about the power of love and the importance of being true to one’s self.

In a nutshell, this is a book that begs the reader to not take it seriously, and just simply enjoy the amusement park ride that it is.
This was recommended to me because it was “quirky and fun”. I learned the author had written for a few quirky comedy television shows, which helped me in setting my expectations before jumping in. And just as anticipated, it reads like a screenplay for a fun quirky comedy. Going in with that expectation, I found the book to be a delight to read ~ the author takes what would be heavy issues in reality, and lets us see them in another light hearted way.
Also, having grown up in Seattle, just a few years behind Bill Gates, and having classmates that went to work for Microsoft, there was a nostalgic / sentimental feel for me, as I read through the escapades of Bernadette and the Galer Street Gnats … definitely quirky and fun.

I didn’t care much for this book. With all the hype, I was expecting a seriously funny, interesting book. I didn’t like the characters and the plot was ridiculous. I didn’t care for Bernadette. I thought she was a flake. Maybe to enjoy a book, you have to become engaged with the characters, but for me, I only liked and felt sympathy for the daughter. Now, I’m clearly in the minority of ratings. Many people read and enjoyed this book, so don’t take my rating as the gospel. I think you should at least try a sample to see if the book is to your taste.

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