Where'd You Go, Bernadette

During the summer, I chose to read the book, Where'd You Go, Bernadette. This book takes place in Seattle, and is about a family of 3, Bernadette, her husband Elgie, and her daughter Bee. They are about to go on a trip to Antarctica, when Bernadette mysteriously disappears. 

Bernadette, who was once a well-known architect; famous for being one of the only females to thrive in her field, is now a stay at home mother who has take-home duty at the private school that her daughter Bee goes to. Bernadette experiences depression and anxiety, but also is antisocial. Her main friends are her daughter Bee, and an internet person with the name of "Manjula". Bernadette appears to be a little too trusting with Manjula and gives her valuable and important information about her family which later gets them into trouble.  Bernadette is an outcast to the mothers of the private school, and she knows it. She normally calls the mothers "gnats" and has an intense rivalry with a particular mother named Audrey. “I tried talking to her, but her windows were rolled up and she was pretending not to see me. You’d think she was the first lady of France, with her silk scarf flung just so and huge dark glasses.” (Semple 20). This quote is a description from Audrey's point of view, showing her distaste for Bernadette and how she perceives Bernadette's actions. Even Bernadette's own husband Elgie believes that there is something wrong with Bernadette. He writes to Dr. Kurtz stating: “Dr. Kurtz, I don’t pretend to understand what’s wrong with Bernadette. Is she depressed? Manic? Hooked on pills? Paranoid?  I don’t know what constitutes a mental breakdown. Whatever you want to call it, I think it’s fair to say my wife is in need of serious attention.” (Semple 97). The quote above shows how Elgie is worried for what Bernadette's current mental stage is. 

Over the course of the text, Bernadette seems to become more and more anxious. She begins to get weird and writes weird letters and emails. She even plans to not go on the trip to Antarctica that her daughter Bee wanted to go on. But after Elgie found out about all the emails she wrote to Manjula, he calls in people to get her help. Bernadette then disappears which then causes a huge change in Bee. Bee blamed her Father for the disappearance of Bernadette. She and her Dad still go on the cruise to Antarctica, because Bee intends to find her Mother there. Bee makes up with her dad and together they look for Bernadette. Bee finally finds her Mother and Bernadette seems a lot happier and in better condition. Bernadette is once again interested in Architecture, and her mental health has become much healthier. 

Okay now for my personal opinion! I actually quite enjoyed the book. The characters are all so very real and quirky, and I think it's just so interesting to see things from different point of views, like how Bernadette sees things, to how Audrey sees things. In the beginning of the book, I pretty much hated Audrey but in the end she turns out to be an okay character, although my favorite character will still always be Bernadette. She's so fun and her ways of thinking are so different.

Where'd You Go, Bernadette Article

The article summarizes the book and reviews what kind of character Bernadette is, and all of her attributes.