A review by shonaningyo
Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple
5.0
Oh my God, where to begin with this book?
I am not one for slice of life, but I saw this advertised in Time Magazine; even then, when a book has a glowing review written for it in a widely-read publication do I rarely read it. I mean, what does professional critics know about what's truly "good" or "bad" anyway?
But this book just blew all expectations. I was busy scrawling in my school planner my ideas and thoughts about it as I read it, which is a golden flag signalling that this was truly a very thought-provoking novel.
The fact that it was told through letters, emails, and other assorted messages was an even bigger fun bonus for me.
Here's what I found *SPOILERS AHEAD*
First off, we have the main character, Bernadette Fox. She is intelligent as she is misanthropic and shrewd and sardonic. Her daughter is the light of anyone's life, one of those smart baby-genius types who is bubbly and bright and like, 13 or 15, I'm not sure. She and her daughter and husband live in Seattle, where Bernadette constantly laments of the drudgery of day-to-day life, seeking to evade any and all human contact from the community they have settled in, going so far as to use an outsourced aide online to do everything from set up appointments for her doctor to book flights and travel plans.
What is interesting and unique about this book is that it tricks you into thinking it will be one of those potentially-great stories ruined by cutout-cardboard-characters: Flat, static, cliche. What happens instead is that it is a potentially-great story which is infinitely ENHANCED by tricking the reader into that mindset and then pulling the switch and having the characters come to life and grow and react and communicate with one another that truly leaves me breathless with wonder.
Those who I thought were meddlesome "villains" turned out to be saints. Those I thought to be the protagonists and "tragic heroes" turned out to have quite a few flaws that would make someone think twice about their blind devotion to such a character in the first place.
I thought Bernadette was a martyr in Seattle, but as the book progressed, I came to realize that her behavior is not "normal" in the healthy sense. It is not even "good" in the quirky sense. No, it is ... I can't describe it. But you can't right out say, "she's crazy/weird/wrong" because the book has already (through Bernadette's voice and thoughts) ridiculed those who prefer the conventional lifestyle. You as a reader don't want to prove a fictional character "right" by being "in the wrong" so you side with Bernadette even though you are not thoroughly convinced that it is the right choice. I did it for the first half of the book, and once things got rolling, I was on the fence for the longest time until the end of the book.
Bernadette has an obvious social anxiety and a huge ego that is easily bruised by shortcomings and fate's turn of hand, as well as anything that she views as a personal attack on her character. Her daughter is blind to her mother's blatant emotional imbalance, and her nepotism only makes the realization that she's actually sick even more painful and unnecessarily complicated. The daughter, who I thought was just an innocent little thing, quickly morphs into a bitchy little teenager. Her nice, sweet nature turned sour and ugly, and I hated the little brat the instant she switched.
Other characters seem to morph before the reader's eyes, some for the better and some for the worse (bitchy daughter). The busybody nosy Christian neighbor seems to have one mission in life: Make Bernadette's life a living hell simply for being different. At the very end we see that she does have a heart and that her actions were a result of personal prejudices that she was able to overcome. It was so fascinating seeing a character morph and grow like that. It was liquid and accurately portrayed how someone's thoughts can quickly change within the span of moments, not pages or days. Such a new concept for me. Characters seem to stay and only change slightly at the very end of the story when they "learn" a lesson, but for these characters, they learn as they live on, apply that new knowledge to how they react and converse with other characters, and repeat the process over and over again.
What this story teaches us is that there is a fine line between harmless eccentricity and mental illness, and that just because someone is a little different is no reason to go snooping around, but at the same time that does not give the eccentric person the right to go trampling over everyone else's day-to-day lives simply because they don't agree with the status quo.
Why the hell did Bernadette even settle in Seattle? SEATTLE of all places! That is as liberal and nice as California, without all the rub-it-in-your-face-about-how-awesome-we-are-ness; well, from what I gather from the book it's KIND OF like that, but in a more reserved and modest, humble way. They have great schools there, you know. Why not?
All in all, this book was full of humor, gasps, real life issues, and a message we can all relate to; if you have that one odd aunt or uncle, or completely wacko Mom or Dad that society seems to look down upon despite your fervent love for them, take heart in this book. There is a lesson to be had for all.
5/5 stars. And that's saying something coming from me, who puts 4/5 stars for something I enjoy immensely...
I am not one for slice of life, but I saw this advertised in Time Magazine; even then, when a book has a glowing review written for it in a widely-read publication do I rarely read it. I mean, what does professional critics know about what's truly "good" or "bad" anyway?
But this book just blew all expectations. I was busy scrawling in my school planner my ideas and thoughts about it as I read it, which is a golden flag signalling that this was truly a very thought-provoking novel.
The fact that it was told through letters, emails, and other assorted messages was an even bigger fun bonus for me.
Here's what I found *SPOILERS AHEAD*
First off, we have the main character, Bernadette Fox. She is intelligent as she is misanthropic and shrewd and sardonic. Her daughter is the light of anyone's life, one of those smart baby-genius types who is bubbly and bright and like, 13 or 15, I'm not sure. She and her daughter and husband live in Seattle, where Bernadette constantly laments of the drudgery of day-to-day life, seeking to evade any and all human contact from the community they have settled in, going so far as to use an outsourced aide online to do everything from set up appointments for her doctor to book flights and travel plans.
What is interesting and unique about this book is that it tricks you into thinking it will be one of those potentially-great stories ruined by cutout-cardboard-characters: Flat, static, cliche. What happens instead is that it is a potentially-great story which is infinitely ENHANCED by tricking the reader into that mindset and then pulling the switch and having the characters come to life and grow and react and communicate with one another that truly leaves me breathless with wonder.
Those who I thought were meddlesome "villains" turned out to be saints. Those I thought to be the protagonists and "tragic heroes" turned out to have quite a few flaws that would make someone think twice about their blind devotion to such a character in the first place.
I thought Bernadette was a martyr in Seattle, but as the book progressed, I came to realize that her behavior is not "normal" in the healthy sense. It is not even "good" in the quirky sense. No, it is ... I can't describe it. But you can't right out say, "she's crazy/weird/wrong" because the book has already (through Bernadette's voice and thoughts) ridiculed those who prefer the conventional lifestyle. You as a reader don't want to prove a fictional character "right" by being "in the wrong" so you side with Bernadette even though you are not thoroughly convinced that it is the right choice. I did it for the first half of the book, and once things got rolling, I was on the fence for the longest time until the end of the book.
Bernadette has an obvious social anxiety and a huge ego that is easily bruised by shortcomings and fate's turn of hand, as well as anything that she views as a personal attack on her character. Her daughter is blind to her mother's blatant emotional imbalance, and her nepotism only makes the realization that she's actually sick even more painful and unnecessarily complicated. The daughter, who I thought was just an innocent little thing, quickly morphs into a bitchy little teenager. Her nice, sweet nature turned sour and ugly, and I hated the little brat the instant she switched.
Other characters seem to morph before the reader's eyes, some for the better and some for the worse (bitchy daughter). The busybody nosy Christian neighbor seems to have one mission in life: Make Bernadette's life a living hell simply for being different. At the very end we see that she does have a heart and that her actions were a result of personal prejudices that she was able to overcome. It was so fascinating seeing a character morph and grow like that. It was liquid and accurately portrayed how someone's thoughts can quickly change within the span of moments, not pages or days. Such a new concept for me. Characters seem to stay and only change slightly at the very end of the story when they "learn" a lesson, but for these characters, they learn as they live on, apply that new knowledge to how they react and converse with other characters, and repeat the process over and over again.
What this story teaches us is that there is a fine line between harmless eccentricity and mental illness, and that just because someone is a little different is no reason to go snooping around, but at the same time that does not give the eccentric person the right to go trampling over everyone else's day-to-day lives simply because they don't agree with the status quo.
Why the hell did Bernadette even settle in Seattle? SEATTLE of all places! That is as liberal and nice as California, without all the rub-it-in-your-face-about-how-awesome-we-are-ness; well, from what I gather from the book it's KIND OF like that, but in a more reserved and modest, humble way. They have great schools there, you know. Why not?
All in all, this book was full of humor, gasps, real life issues, and a message we can all relate to; if you have that one odd aunt or uncle, or completely wacko Mom or Dad that society seems to look down upon despite your fervent love for them, take heart in this book. There is a lesson to be had for all.
5/5 stars. And that's saying something coming from me, who puts 4/5 stars for something I enjoy immensely...