"Maybe that's what religion is, hurling yourself off a cliff and trusting that something bigger will take care of you and carry you to the right place."
Book:
Where’d You Go, Bernadette?
Author:
Maria Semple
Genre:
Contemporary, Mystery, Adult, Humor
Synopsis:
Bernadette Fox has vanished.
When
her daughter Bee claims a family trip to Antarctica as a reward for perfect
grades, Bernadette, a fiercely intelligent shut-in, throws herself into
preparations for the trip. But worn down by years of trying to live the Seattle
life she never wanted, Ms. Fox is on the brink of a meltdown. And after a
school fundraiser goes disastrously awry at her hands, she disappears, leaving
her family to pick up the pieces--which is exactly what Bee does, weaving
together an elaborate web of emails, invoices, and school memos that reveals a
secret past Bernadette has been hiding for decades. Where'd You Go Bernadette
is an ingenious and unabashedly entertaining novel about a family coming to
terms with who they are and the power of a daughter's love for her mother.
What
I thought about it...
I
expected it to be more than this. I
was hoping I'm not wrong in picking up this book after a series of frustration
with the last two books I've read... but saying that I was disappointed with
this is an understatement.
The Writing
The first
few pages I was confused and I don't know what I was reading that I have to
watch the movie trailer for this. After a few pages again, I needed to re-read
the synopsis because I realized I have no idea what's it about. But I gave it
the benefit of the doubt ‘cause you don't always fall in love with the book in
the first 20 pages, right? So I gave it a try and finish it.
The Characters
I
feel indifferent towards all of them. They’ve made so many stupid things that
made it so difficult for me to like them. They are all so detestable.
Also,
I’d like to point out some things:
1. I thought Bernadette is, was, is a genius? So how come she just gave out their
personal information to someone online like a candy without even thinking about their security? Too trusting, Bernadette.
Too trusting.
2. When I finished Part II, I was dizzy like, did I just read a whole chapter that
contains Bernadette’s never-ending rant? (I’m referring to her letter to Paul).
Also, her missing letter to Bee contains unnecessary details that I just kept skimming! She said she’s
not running away from her problems, but I say, what did you do? Where did you
went? What the heck?
3. I’d also like to quote this from Part II:
Elgie once gave me a locket of Saint Bernadette, who had eighteen visions. He said Beeber Bifocal and Twenty Mile were my first two visions. I dropped to my knees at Bee’s incubator and grabbed my locket. “I will never build again,” I said to God. “I will renounce my other sixteen visions if you’ll keep my baby alive.” It worked.
There,
she said it, she’ll never build again. But does that include not fixing their
house even if it, as Elgie (her husband) puts it, was literally returning to
the earth? Their daughter may have survived whatever illness she had as a baby
but living in that uninhabitable house may kill her.
4.
Bernadette talks waaaaay too much. I kinda understand Elgie for going earlier to work and for staying there late. She’s overbearing. But of course, that’s
not an excuse for Elgie to cheat.
5.
Though I know that Manjula is a fraudster, I was confused in the beginning, is
she a virtual assistant or a shrink? Bernadette sure thinks Manjula is a
walking diary.
My
Verdict
I
am angry. How can this be listed as a humor? I can’t find any humor in it. It
is actually sad, for me. And I’d like to end this review (or rant, rather) by
saying that I was kinda hoping that Bernadette really fell off that ship or that she, I hoped, was not found. Stay where you are, Bernadette.
MY RATING
★★☆☆☆
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