'Where'd You Go, Bernadette'

Author:  Maria Semple
Published:  2012
Little, Brown and Company
Date Read:  04/04/17

It's been a while since a book made me smile and giggle like a mad woman as much as this book did. Seriously... Just looking back now at the quotes I highlighted to potentially use in this review has me giggling all over again. There's just something about sassy, spunky, neurotic Bernadette that totally won me over. Here lately I've found myself identifying with a lot of really eccentric, slightly unstable characters--but I'm totally at peace with this because these characters are lively and fun and hilarious.

If you knew me well at all, you would totally immediately pick up on how I see myself in Bernadette Fox. So, basically, she works really hard to avoid social interaction and displays a lot of agoraphobic-type tendencies. Okay, yeah... I'm a nurse. I take care of people as my profession, but I also have pretty bad social anxiety and being around people exhausts me some days. (Just being candid here.) None of that is really why I see myself in Bernadette either.

The reason I see myself in Bernadette Fox is essentially the plot of the book: planning a vacation causes her to have a psychotic break and she kind of up and disappears without a trace. I could totally see that happening to me! You probably think I'm joking, but I'm not. This girl gets all worked up planning a shopping trip.

Where'd You Go, Bernadette is hands-down the most creative epistolary novel I've ever read. It is mostly comprised of letters and emails compiled by Bernadette's daughter, Bee, to help her unravel the events leading to her mother's disappearance. The narrated parts of the novel are told in Bee's point-of-view and let me tell you... Maria Semple better write a book about Bee's future mid-life crisis that will develop from taking care of an elderly Bernadette, because it's going to happen and it will be hilarious.

Here's a "Bernadette Fox-ism" that I found particularly hilarious because it was totally random and out of the blue--all because someone on the phone sounded Canadian:

"One of the main reasons I dont like leaving the house is because I might find myself face-to-face with a Canadian. Seattle is crawling with them... The way you might fear a cow sitting down in the middle of the street during rush hour, that's how I fear Canadians."

Why does she fear Canadians? Because they're too nice.

Oh, Bernadette.

☆☆☆☆☆


Review originally posted on Goodreads.