¿Dónde estás, Bernadette? in PopSugar Reading Challenge en Español

Feb 24, 2020 eri b.❀ rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: stars-3, adult

I stormed out and got ice cream and cried in my car.

That was the high point.

The first time I heard about this book was after watching the Where'd You Go, Bernadette movie on a very long flight. I loved it, so much I couldn't wait to read the book; after some inconveniences, I finally managed to read it. I thought I knew what was waiting for me, alas, this book and the movie only equal in concept, because the execution and the characters made a very different impact on me.

So, short story: I

I stormed out and got ice cream and cried in my car.

That was the high point.

The first time I heard about this book was after watching the Where'd You Go, Bernadette movie on a very long flight. I loved it, so much I couldn't wait to read the book; after some inconveniences, I finally managed to read it. I thought I knew what was waiting for me, alas, this book and the movie only equal in concept, because the execution and the characters made a very different impact on me.

So, short story: I liked the movie best.

Long story:

Where'd You Go, Bernadette has a very interesting format, a compilation of news, e-mails, written notes and so on, that describe the months before the disappearance of Bernadette Fox. This includes the life she had before having our, kind of, the protagonist, her daughter Bee. This format per se is nothing bad, I quite enjoyed it, especially how it made me distrusts every single person in there (as they were only capable of telling their truth). I loved the very few pages we had written by Bernadette, a witty, hysterical and vulnerable woman. But that's it for me -I can't find any other good things to say about this book.

I disliked every other character, especially the husband. Bee, too, the genius daughter of Bernadette and Elgie, was nothing special and a very background character, which wouldn't have been so bad if she wasn't intended to be our protagonist. Personally, what I disliked the most was how much the author seemed aware of the privileged position of this family, insisting on mentioning precarious groups in the society but only to make a witty remark about it and then forgetting about them altogether. This made me very uncomfortable; while in the movie the family has the same privileged position, there is never an opening to talk about this privilege. Here, both Bernadette and her daughter seem to be very "woke" about diversity, feminism and other issues, but only to make smart comments about it. I know that the purpose of this book was not to educate, but still, I would have preferred this to be ignored instead of only touching topics so superficially. This is the reason I called the book "too white" -I think only white people would do something like this, showing off their knowledge while doing absolutely nothing to help.

Anyway, probably you're asking yourself why did this girl spend so much time thinking about something that was not even the main point of the story? I'm glad you noted this too. The answer is: nothing interesting happened for about 80% of the book. While the book could have very well depth on gender, motherhood, grief, and marriage, it simply did not deliver. I could not even tell you what was the main point. "An artist needs to create" mayhaps? If it is, I'm afraid to say it was not enough. Maybe it's the format, maybe it's the characters. I really am not sure. Anyhow, there were some parts I enjoyed and made me laugh (and that's the easier way to get into my heart) so there you go, Bernadette. ...more

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Mar 26, 2015 Aida Perez rated it liked it

Shelves: 2015

3 estrellas y media.

No sé como sentirme respecto a este libro, fue bastante entretenido y muy fácil de leer pero el final deja algunos vacios en la historia que me causaron dudas y me parece que fué muy repentino. (view spoiler)

Los personajes son interesantes todos menos Soon-Li (bitch!) ...more

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Feb 25, 2015 irene ✨ rated it really liked it

Es como un 3.8/5. No sé que esperaba del libro, pero me he llevado una sorpresa porque lo disfruté mucho.

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Jan 26, 2020 Isabel Jazmín rated it really liked it · review of another edition

El libro está formado por diferentes tipos de textos: correos electrónicos, narraciones, cartas, fragmentos de la investigación. Cada uno de esos elementos se va coordinando de tal manera que cuando llegamos al final todo encaja.

Además de eso, el estilo es sencillo y atractivo: cada personaje tiene su propia manera de hablar y son fáciles de reconocer, la lectura es ágil y hay humor combinado con el drama.

Mi personaje favorito es Bee: aunque es casi una niña y no tiene ningún poder de decisión, ...more

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May 04, 2015 Lezz Pez rated it really liked it

Al iniciar me costo mucho trabajo, iba lenta en mi lectura, siento que no fluía del todo, pero con forme pasaba las páginas todo cambio, empiezas a tomarle un cariño especial a Bernadette y a Bee, odio a las moscardonas, y me divertí mucho con las aventuras.
Hacia el final del libro comencé a angustiarme, pero el final vale mucho la pena ;)

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May 09, 2013 Satrina T rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2015, mystery, fiction

Great book!

Favorite character: Bernadette, even if sometimes I wanted to shake her. Bee was second favorite, I liked her personality.

Least favorite character: Elgin. No, Elgin, just... no. Audrey was a close second.

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