A good friend of mine asked for book recommendations over Winter Break, and the first one that came to my mind was a witty, heartwarming novel by Maria Semple. Published in 2012, Where’d You Go, Bernadette is every bit sarcastic with an unexpected inspirational punch that will have you turning page after page until you suddenly realize that you’ve finished the entire book in one sitting. If you’re anything like me, you’ll probably laugh and cry as you quickly become immersed in this great book.
The majority of the novel is told through a compilation of information about Bernadette put together by her daughter, Bee. In her earlier years, Bernadette was an up-and-coming architect who was awarded a MacArthur “genius grant.” In a profession mostly dominated by males at the time, Bernadette began working on a near-impossible project that ultimately became the downfall of both her career and her personal life. Where’d You Go, Bernadette is the sarcastic, hilarious, heartwarming story of self-acceptance and a refusal to quit, coupled with a few bumps along the way.
Why you should read it: I loved this book because it made me realize that everyone has failures, and while some people choose to give up, others use those failures as fuel to keep going. As a senior at UF, there have been many moments when I question my greater purpose and wonder if I have chosen the right career path, especially at this point in my life. This book gave me a good laugh when I needed it and also a sense of inspiration for pushing through the occasional bumps in the road. I think this book has something for everyone, and, at a time when the looming semester ahead may be overwhelming, this book will help you put things back into perspective with a laugh or two in between.
From the back cover: “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.
Then Bernadette disappears. It began when Bee aced her report card and claimed her promised reward: a family trip to Antarctica. But Bernadette’s intensifying allergy to Seattle — and people in general — has made her so agoraphobic that a virtual assistant in India now runs her most basic errands. A trip to the end of the earth is problematic.
To find her mother, Bee compiles email messages, official documents, secret correspondence — creating a compulsively readable and touching novel about misplaced genius and a mother and daughter’s role in an absurd world.”
I’ll be reviewing Attachments by Rainbow Rowell next time, so get busy reading!
HC xo,The Bookworm Belle