September 6, 2012 / Leslie

Review & Giveaway: Where’d You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple

Where’d You Go, Bernadette
by Maria Semple

Genre: Fiction
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Publish Date: August 14, 2012
Format: Hardcover | 336 pages
Rating: 4½ of 5

“Bernadette Fox is notorious. To her Microsoft-guru husband, she’s a fearlessly opinionated partner; to fellow private-school mothers in Seattle, she’s a disgrace; to design mavens, she’s a revolutionary architect, and to 15-year-old Bee, she is a best friend and, simply, Mom. When Bernadette disappears, Bee compiles email messages, official documents, secret correspondence–creating a compulsively readable and touching novel.”

Where’d You Go, Bernadette is a fast-paced, fun, satirical look at the stereotypical Seattle culture. This is not your average humorous novel. It is quite original and in many ways defies description.

Bernadette is on the verge of a breakdown, rarely leaves her house, dislikes interacting with people, and uses an internet assistant as a virtual secretary. After a series of run-ins with her neighbors, Bee’s school and her ever growing anxiety over a trip to Antarctica, Bernadette disappears.

The story is told from the point-of-view of daughter Bee using some narrative but mostly a vast assortment of documents — anything and everything: emails, faxes, press releases, doctor bills, reports, notes, articles. While this sounds random, it’s not; it’s woven together seamlessly as we read through correspondence from one person to the next, the story falling into place. The characters are well-drawn and memorable. I’m still laughing about the virtual internet assistant, Manjula.

Although the title implies that Bernadette is missing, she doesn’t disappear until almost the end. The story is a build-up to that point and told after-the-fact by Bee, which I didn’t realize when I first started reading the book. To say much more about the plot would be a spoiler. It’s very enjoyable the way it evolves and the technique of using correspondence works well. It’s fast and fun and may even have you laughing out loud.

If you would like a chance to win a copy of your own, the publisher has generously offered three copies to give away to my readers.

Giveaway Information

Contest is open to those with an address in the US or Canada (No PO boxes).
To enter fill out the form below. For an extra entry, tweet or blog the giveaway prior to 9/15.
The deadline for entry is Sunday, September 16th. I will draw three random winners who will be contacted by email and will have 48 hours to respond with a mailing address. One winner per household.